Ice Bucket Challenge: A Philanthropic Phenomenon

^{How a nonprofit capitalized on the most popular philanthropy campaign in history}

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Before the summer of 2023 stole the show with sweltering temperatures, 2014 held the crown for the hottest summer ever recorded on Earth. At the time, social media was continuing its takeover of everyday life and smartphone videos became the “it” medium for consumption. This was also peak Vine (RIP) time—trends like “what are those” and “my name’s Jeff” were going 💪. 

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The temperatures and social media trends of the summer helped set the stage for a viral video campaign that captured the world by storm—the #IceBucketChallenge. 

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This week, Case Studied explores how a PR agency helped the ALS Association capitalize on the most popular philanthropy campaign in history.

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‍The Brief:

On July 15th, then-professional golfer Chris Kennedy was challenged to dump a bucket of ice on his head to support the charity of his choice. Up to this point, the Ice Bucket Challenge wasn’t affiliated with any specific charities. Kennedy chose the ALS Association, the largest national non-profit organization dedicated to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (aka Lou Gehrig’s disease). This decision lit the match for the explosion that became the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS.

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Once Kennedy’s video was shared, other folks in his circle and community began participating, contributing to the same charity. Eventually, the campaign reached two significant figures who had been diagnosed with ALS: Pat Quinn and Pete Frates. Both built established followings to raise awareness and money for a cure for ALS following their diagnosis. And they each leveraged their platforms to share the campaign, launching a global event. 

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Frates, having played college baseball for the Boston College Eagles, was able to get participation from many prominent professional athletes in the Boston area like Jason Varitek, Matt Ryan and Brad Marchand. The campaign continued to grow and virality soon set in. 

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With that, a challenge emerged: how could the ALS Association leverage their moment? How could they make the most of this viral campaign that fell into their lap?  

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The answer turned out to be simple: they got Porter Novelli and Brian Frederick involved.

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The Execution:

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With hundreds of media outlets reaching out to the ALS Association to coordinate interviews, the team wasn’t equipped to handle the press barrage that followed.

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So they reached out to Brian Frederick, who worked in PR at Porter Novelli, to help with crisis management (in this case, the good kind of crisis). The org needed someone who could coordinate messaging, digital experiences, and fundraising. 

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As noted by the Porter Novelli team, “the campaign itself outpaced education of both the organization and the illness it’s trying to eradicate.” With such a huge opportunity in front of them, the Porter Novelli and the ALS Association need to make sure:
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🌱the campaign continued to grow
📖the information shared about ALS was accurate
⚕️they capitalized on a once in a lifetime moment to raise money for a cure

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With all those goals in mind, Porter Novelli didn’t just put together a comprehensive communication strategy and call it a day. 

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They worked with the Association to optimize their donation form for the volume of traffic it was getting. They modernized the organization’s brand to make it more accessible to younger audiences participating in the challenge. And they simplified information about ALS as a disease into bite-sized pieces that were easy to understand. 

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The Results:

After the ice melted, over $220 million dollars was raised to support finding a cure for ALS. 

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At its peak, more than 70,000 tweets with hashtags related to the campaign were shared. Videos with some of the world's most prominent figures were shared, including Oprah, Lebron James, and Bill Gates.

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In the years following the challenge, reports found that donations from the Ice Bucket Challenge allowed the ALS Association to increase its annual funding for research by 187%. Researchers used the funding for new clinical trials to test possible treatments and expand the network of scientists working to develop a cure. 

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To turn up the heat on an already heart-warming story, Brian Frederick joined the ALS Association full-time, where he’s been employed now for over 8 years. 

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For their part, Porter Novelli helped secure coverage on more than 2k media outlets, ranging from CNN and BBC to Good Morning America and the Today Show. In acknowledgement of their excellent work, they won a Gold Cannes Lion, the first in the agency's history.

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The Takeaways:

You might wonder, How can I recreate one of the largest viral campaigns in the history of the internet? 

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Unfortunately, you can’t. But you can make sure you’re in the right place at the right time, you take action quickly, and you capitalize on key moments. 

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Here are some key takeaways from the #IceBucketChallenge:

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1. Listen for social trends related to your business

The internet is a strange place. Amidst the chaos, countless trends come up related to products, music, social issues and more. Tomorrow, your customers might come up with a new use case for your product that goes viral.
Make sure you’re listening so when that does happen, you can help take it to the next level.

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2. Optimize your funnel for success

Even the most successful campaigns have leaky funnels. In the case of the ALS Association, their donation flow was causing them to lose potential research funds despite incredible traffic.

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Invest in optimizing your landing pages, websites, and digital flows so when traffic does spike, you aren’t scrambling to keep up.

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3. Know when it’s time to bring in the experts

Agency partners exist to provide expert level support for specialized needs. You may intend to build everything in-house but sometimes, your business requires resources you can’t staff internally.

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Having the right vetted partners that can support you, complement your team, and level up your marketing is a super power. 

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You can support the ALS Association and their efforts to find a cure here. 

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