6 Viral-Marketing Lessons to Learn From the Ice Bucket Challenge

Social feeds from across the country are chock-full of videos and photos of celebrities, inventors, CEOs, athletes and politicians all taking part in the most recent viral sensation: the Ice Bucket Challenge.

Whether you've laughed at your friend’s reaction to the ice cold water or taken the challenge yourself, postings about it are everywhere. This initiative has achieved something that's every marketer’s dream: goingviral and capturing wide attention across the nation in a month or two.

How did this simple initiative turn into a movement that has scored participation from some of the biggest names in the country, includingBill Gates, Sheryl Sandberg, Mark Zuckerberg, Kobe Bryant, Oprah and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie?  

Related: What You Can Learn About Marketing From an 'Icy' Phenomenon

The Ice Bucket Challenge benefits the ALS Association, which is dedicated to raising funds to research a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis as well as caring for those with the disease. It gained steam with the participation of Beverly, Mass.-based Pete Frates, who since 2012 has had the illness (also called Lou Gehrig's disease).

Startups, established firms and marketers of all types can learn from the success of the Ice Bucket Challenge. Those trying to develop a viral campaign can take the following steps:

1. Identify the goal or cause.

The goal of the Ice Bucket Challenge has been to spread awareness and raise funds for ALS research and its success has exceeded initial expectations. The objective is simple and clear and the challenge doesn’t require much effort from participants: going online to donate or pouring a bucket of ice water over the head, or both.

Today’s consumers like simplicity and direct messaging. They typically won’t take the time to read through an entire article, newsletter or web page to understand a message. Marketers, simplicity is your friend.

2. Make it fun and easy.

Few things are funnier than seeing people have ice poured all over them and watching them cringe, scream or freeze in place. The web has been flooded with comical videos and images of those who have accepted the challenge.

People like to laugh, so keep members of your audience entertained with a video or photo that they would enjoy viewing. Keeping things lighthearted lets people connect with an organization on a human level and can encourage further engagement in an authentic way. 

3. Add immediacy.

Those asked to take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge have only 24 hours to do so.

If you want an idea to flourish, keep the window of time brief to propel the process forward rapidly. By giving your audience a deadline, the initiative will become a greater priority. 

Related: 5 Social-Media Marketing Lessons From the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

4. Understand the power of multiplication.

The ALS challenge calls on participants to encourage three additional people to participate, thus creating a multiplier effect.

When possible, let consumers involved in an initiative have a chance to engage with their network so as to experience the joy of others joining in. The bonus for a marketer is bringing increased exposure to a company's brand. 

5. Share on many platforms.

News of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is being shared on many social-media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

If you’re hoping for an idea or campaign to go viral, make it easy for others to share updates across multiple platforms. Don’t give people a reason to not become involved. 

6. Give participants a chance to feel good.

Everyone loves to feel a little better about himself (or herself). The Ice Bucket Challenge raises funds for a medical cause, and no matter the size of a donation, participants can feel good because they're helping others in need.

Plus, the challenge gives participants a sense of unity: They are sharing positive feelings and a goal with the rich and famous.

Setting up an initiative like this lets participants also allows for an emotional connection with an organization and opens up an opportunity for conversation. 

Related: A Benign Virus: Your Company's Content Shared Across Social Media

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/236843

Why the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Went Viral

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/ice-bucket-challenge-viral/

MIC LISTEN TO THE PODCAST:

Jonah Berger and Tony Heyl on the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

01:55

26:43

If your social media feeds haven’t been clogged with videos of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge this week, then you’re in the minority.

The campaign involves people dumping buckets of ice water on themselves (or being doused by others), sharing a video of the experience and nominating others to give it a try as a way to build awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS.) Otherwise known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” ALS is a progressive disease that causes nerve cells to deteriorate and eventually leads to total paralysis and death.

With its combination of emotion, challenge and social currency, the campaign has become something of a marketing phenomenon, Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger said in an interview on the Knowledge@Wharton show on Wharton Business Radio on SiriusXM channel 111.  The challenge has been passed among neighbors, friends and relatives, but also to celebrities including Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Michael Jordan, Anna Wintour and Ben Affleck. Millions of videos have been shared on Facebook, YouTube and other social networks.

“People don’t want to be left out. Anytime you’re at a cocktail party and someone is talking about something, whether it’s a brand or a new band, … you don’t want to be the only person in the group who has no idea what they’re talking about,” noted Berger, who studies word-of-mouth and why things go viral. “It’s almost like a duel: You’re calling out a friend of yours and it’s very hard for the friend to say no. It’s a signal of who they are so they want to step up to the challenge…. It’s almost the best type of chain letter in that respect.”

–Jonah Berger

Secondly, the ice bucket challenge benefits a worthy cause, “so it’s hard to say no,” Berger said. “It makes you look good to be part of this movement. There is also the challenge aspect of it…. It’s almost like a duel: You’re calling out a friend of yours and it’s very hard for the friend to say no. It’s a signal of who they are so they want to step up to the challenge…. It’s almost the best type of chain letter in that respect.”  Twitter 

The challenge has led to some backlash, with some people questioning how many who doused themselves actually donated money or have taken the time to understand the disease. Others have said the ice bucket campaign has obscured the needs of other worthy causes and some critics note that it is a waste of water. It’s also led to at least one parody — a trending hashtag on Twitter on Thursday was #PayMyTuitionChallenge in which users “nominated” various celebrities to finance their college education. 

The ice bucket challenge has raised $53.3 million in donations for the ALS Association since July 29, compared with $2.1 million at this time last year, according to Tony Heyl, director of communications and public policy for the Philadelphia chapter of the group. Heyl appeared on the Sirius show with Berger. More than one million new donors have contributed to that total.

Berger noted that it’s probably true that some of the people who have taken the challenge don’t know a lot about ALS. “Ideally, you would love everybody who finds out about this challenge to become more aware of the disease, not just donate, not just take part in the easy aspect of it,” he said. “That said, if you are increasing donations and if at least some portion of the people who take this challenge become more aware of this disease, I think it’s good for the ALS Association at the end of the day.” 

Before being tied to ALS, the ice bucket challenge made other appearances in the Internet and even on the Today show when host Matt Lauer was doused in July. Then Pete Frates, a former college baseball player who is living with ALS, learned about the challenge from a friend. Frates recorded his own video (since “ice water and ALS are a bad mix,” Frates bobbed his head to the rap “Ice Ice Baby” instead) and encouraged others to do it in the name of raising awareness of the disease. 

Heyl, who has had friends and neighbors donate money out of the blue since the challenge started to spread, said he’s not worried about the backlash. “I’m sure there are people who are doing this, and they’re doing it not because of ALS but they’re it doing it because of friends, but that’s a minority,” he noted. “If there are some people that are taking advantage of that, but in addition to that, the cause has raised $41 million, then I don’t care that they did that. I care that the cause is making a difference to our families.” 

Bill Gates accepts a challenge from Mark Zuckerberg