ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge...

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Disease (ALS) is a disorder that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. According to population studies in the U.S, a little over 6,000 people are diagnosed each year, which is 15 new cases a day! Although the disease is variable, the average life span is 2 to 5 years from the time of diagnosis. ALS is an extremely progressive disease and will eventually take away a persons ability to walk, dress, write, speak, swallow, breathe and live. 

In the Summer of 2014, ALS Association ran one of the most engaging social media campaigns of its time, the 'Ice Bucket Challenge'. The campaign required you to record yourself getting a bucket of ice cold water thrown over your head in order to raise awareness for those suffering with ALS. After you have taken part in the challenge you must nominate your friends to do the same, passing on the challenge and spreading awareness and donating to the cause. The campaign generated 70 biliion views and raised $220 million dollars for the ALS Association.

The campaign was so popular that many many celebrities also got involved. Doing their bit to donate to the cause and spread awareness to their fans. Some of the most famous celebrities in the world competed in the challenge, just fuelling its success and social media power within the world such as, Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian, Bill Gates and Martha Stewart.

The ALS Association spent no money on promoting this campaign, because it was a good idea it sold itself. People were very eager to get involved and do their bit for a good cause because it involved fun, community and charity. ALS Association was awarded the Facebook for Good award in the Facebook Awards for the success of the campaign.

During the campaign, ALS responded to the masses of support and donations around the world with an update of how the money was being used towards helping the cause. As you can see in the image below, the majority of the earnings went towards research of the disease and hopefully one day finding a cure or a way to help those suffering.

Overall, The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was an amazing success and got the world involved together to raise awareness for something important. The fact that the campaign cost nothing to run and still turned over a major profit means that if social media is continued to be used appropriately for all media and public relations campaigns, good results can be made and objectives can be met.

Bibliography

Viddyad. (2016) The top 5 social media campaigns of all time. Available at: http://www.viddyad.com/the-top-5-social-media-campaigns-of-all-time/ [Accessed 28 November 2016]

Holen, M. (2014) Ice bucket challenge has raised $22million worldwide. Available at: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2014/12/12/ice-bucket-challenge-has-raised-220-million.html [Accessed 28 November 2016]

Stampler, L. (2014) Here are the 27 best celebrity ALS Ice bucket challenge videos. Available at: http://time.com/3111965/here-are-the-27-best-celebrity-ice-bucket-challenge-videos/ [Accessed 28 November 2016]

ALS Association. (2016) ALS Association. Available at: http://www.alsa.org/about-als/facts-you-should-know.html?referrer=https://www.google.ie/ [Accessed 28 November 2016]