Will the Viral Marketing Effects from the Ice Bucket Challenge Detract From Other NonProfit Fund-Raising Efforts?

Ice Bucket ChallengeIf you participate in Facebook, there is no escaping all the buckets of water dumping over people’s heads.

Some have raised concerns about the wasting of water. But today I found really interesting thoughts on the Ice Bucket Challenge from Mike Rowe from a marketing perspective.

As I read thru his post, I was shaking my head in disagreement. Then I got to the zero sum game idea. I remembered when the earthquake happened in Haiti when the idea of texting $10 was new and fresh.

Yeah, Mike. You are probably right. It is all about marketing.

Making donating fun and interesting really lifts response. No matter if you are riding your bike 150 miles to fund MS research, or walking 60 miles to fight breast cancer, or walking a mile in high-heel shoes for rape crisis support — involving people in your nonprofit fund raiser can be a whole lot more effective in raising awareness (and $ too) than many traditional fund raising tactics like a gala dinner or a silent auction or even a direct mail campaign.

As usual Mike, thanks for making me think about it.

Author: Chris Brown

Business owner operating a marketing consulting firm. Online Publisher. Keynote Speaker.