As the viral video captures the world: starring Sergey Brin, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Michael Dell, Marissa Mayer and others

Flashmob ALS Ice Bucket Challenge to capture the whole world in a matter of days and earned the title of pr-year stocks. Terms flashmob: if you are challenged, you have to pour yourself buckets of ice water, and photograph the process on video, and in the end to pass the baton to a few friends. If you have completed the task, the amount of donations for the study of the disease ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) for you - $ 10 if you do not dare to - $ 100. Today, it has participated such stars of world IT-industry as Sergey Brin, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Michael Dell, Marissa Mayer and many others. We want to share thoughts Aaron Friedman on the subject of why this campaign has captured the world actually becoming a virus №1. The article was written in the first person. By expert on marketing and SEO, we have added a few videos of the Russian participants of the flash mob. Enjoy!



It all happened too fast. I got a call from my friend, and, frankly, had no idea what was going on. Waking up in the morning, I thought, "That damn, do I really have to do it ?!»

I wonder what it will become the largest Internet sensation of the year (and still it is)! ..

How it all began

In itself, the concept practically has no obvious connection with the disease ALS, some media claim that this tradition was born in golf clubs, they say, there's players challenge each other, pouring ice water from a bucket.

Now, this tradition has been associated with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease), she got a huge popularity in early August. Obviously, it started as a result of joint efforts of the former baseball player Pete Freytsa, who last year discovered ALS, and Pete Quinn from Yonkers, New York, sick in May.

Original video #IceBucketChallenge was published on page Freytsa Fund, through which people can learn more about ALS, as well as on the page to Facebook, which he called Team Frate Train.

Meanwhile in New York, Pete Quinn raised money for their own treatment, using the hashtag #QuinnForTheWin, along with funding for research of ALS. He even managed to attract a few local news channels.

As a result, the video began to spread with great speed - a lot of people who live in the northeast, especially in Boston, where he lives Freyts, threw each other such "challenges" (how to make the content so that they wanted to share with each other a huge the number of people we had talked in the article & quot; 7 ways to increase the number repost your blog & quot;).

The action was not limited to the northeastern part of the state, or even all of the United States. Reported to Facebook, the highest rating on results at the video of the other English-speaking countries: Australia, New Zealand and Canada. If you view the social networks, it becomes clear that this action has reached almost all countries of the world (in the UK ALS known as rapidly progressive motor neuron disease or motor neurone disease).

Data on viral charity

The graphs speak for themselves - Facebook shared data Monday according to which:

• 28+ million users discussing this tradition;
• published about 2, 4 million videos of people who cast the same "challenge»;
• a "flash mob" joined by hundreds of celebrities and stars.

Rate the incredible popularity of this trend and Google:

As of 19th August 2013 ALS challenge still remained one of the most urgent topics on Google.

Screenshot taken from Google Trends 8/20/2014
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Interestingly, the Yahoo News does not consider IceBucketChallenge one of the trend.

Source: Yahoo 8/19/2014

And according to Twitter this topic is still a trend:

Immediate response The ALS Association

Despite the fact that the creators of the meme was not originally focused on the association of ALS, the organization quickly ignited the interest (or more correctly, to break the ice?) Campaign, linking it with.

For the first time the organization has declared the existence of this phenomenon at the end of July, when retvitnula following post, which appeared in the midst of discussions, a group of other attempts to raise funds for charity. The tweet said: "People with Facebook poured on his head a bucket of ice water to fight ALS, one bucket in one go».

Representatives of the Association did not take long to realize that this phenomenon can be a crazy sensation. Since the organization began to adjust his Twitter under the share is included in many discussions on this subject, and on the website of the organization was set up a separate section, which regularly publish information on the progress of the campaign.

"To experience the phenomenon of IceBucketChallenge, disseminate information about ALS on all social networks. Challenge your friends and family today! "Reads a posting on the website of the organization.

Financial Success

We, as marketers, we know that the virus spread - it is certainly important, but the main objective is still to achieve financial results. In fact, the campaign has caused a lot of criticism: some people expressed that pouring ice water does not help fight ALS people confronted with the disease.

But critics almost immediately fell silent when the August 19 Association ALS published data that have been collected beginning #IceBucketChallenge пожертвования for $ 22.9 million. dollars . This is significant progress, because last year in the same period were collected just $ 1, 9 million. And on August 24, just 5 days later, the amount of достигла at $ 70, 2 million !

The involvement of the IT-industry

Among the many stars of world IT-industry, vylivshih the bucket of ice water, and donated funds, you can select the best-known people in the industry - Sergey Brin, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Michael Dell, Marissa Mayer
Videos Mark Zuckerberg



Video Bill Gates



The founders of Google, Larry and Sergey are also not left behind. However, they are slightly broken the rules, do not challenge your friends, but promised that soon will.



Video Marissa Mayer



Even popular SEO- and IT-company challenge each other, including Mayer Reich, CEO RankAbove, who challenged the CEOs of competing SEO-companies - Conductor, SearchMetrics and Brightedge (so, where is your video, gentlemen?).

Success Secrets

Of course, any marketer wondering what caused such a resounding success. Why it is among the many campaigns, this has received such widespread? I think the point is this:

1. Influential persons. B> The campaign began Pete Freyts, a well-known figure in the sport, which by then already involved in fundraising for ALS, and did not conceal their diagnosis.

2. Geography. B> and Freyts, and Pete Quinn live in the northeastern part of the United States in a rather large settlements. Of course, people are more inclined to support those who are near, and the east coast of the States rather densely populated.

3. Access multimedia content creation tools
4. Without conflict. Many viral campaigns (or those that are just trying to be widely distributed) contain an element of controversy, perhaps, political or economic. The campaign did not incite any hatred.

5. Time limit. Those who have been challenged, should do the job for 24 hours, which does not postpone the creation of video for later and forget about it.

6. Great summer fun only. B> I wonder whether went to the campaign so Delek, if not opened during the hot summer days? Pouring ice water are unlikely to be so popular, for example, in February (although its distribution in Australia and by a new Zealand suggests otherwise). Plus - it's great fun - watch adult uncles and aunts doused himself with water from head to foot, not in vain pouring so popular at fairs.

And finally, the call itself

No one is still tired of seeing the virus calls the news. At some point, everyone in the world to accept the call, it is only a matter of time.
So I continue to viral spread and challenge the few people who work in our area, but have not yet participated in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge: Matt Cutts, Barry Schwartz, Duane Forrester, John Henshaw and Rand Fishkin. Guys, you have 24 hours! Good luck!

Russia has not gone away.

History would remain unfinished, to say that the virus has come to us in Russia. Among the famous Russians in the flashmob attended by the co-owner Mail.Ru Group and founder of DST Global Yuri Milner and his wife Julia.



Star Domestic IT-industry can not bring in russkosti share. For example, messenger QIP founder Sergey Kravtsov oblilsya a bucket of ice water, after pouring in a bottle of whiskey.



And the owner LiveInternet Herman Klimenko went another way: changed the concept of flashmob - instead of dousing with cold water, he decided to "throw a real challenge to Russian", which lay in the fact that his friends have to drink a glass of vodka without snack.

But not all the influential people as encouraging the idea of ​​pouring. For example, Igor Matsanyuk, founder of an investment fund IMI, as well as the founder and former president of the Russian IT-holding company Astrum Online Entertainment, has refused to take water treatments.

Flashmob continues, the amount of donations is increasing. Who knows, maybe it will last until the winter?

PS: One and a half months ago, we have placed ourselves in a blog on the topic of infographics viral spread of content you created. If anyone is wondering after reading the article above, you are welcome - & quot; Вирусный effect: how to make so that your content shared? & quot ;. If friends offer you a part in ALS Ice Bucket Challenge:
Be sure will take part will participate and others invite has already participated Ignore I will send them away Only registered users can participate in the survey. Sign , please. Voted 813 people. Abstain 285 people.

Source: habrahabr.ru/company/witget/blog/234275/