Viral Brilliance: ALS Meets Old Spice Guy

Among the millions of social media viral ideas, the recent ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has been one of the most successful to date. Celebrities, CEOs, and even former Presidents are taking on the challenge. The last campaign to get a similar buzz was the 2011 Old Spice ‘guy’ campaign featuring Isaiah Mustafa. Both campaigns are/were extremely successful—ALS has raised almost $100 million and Old Spice saw a 107% increase in sales (according to Media Measurement).

Five Keys to Successful Viral Campaigns

What differentiates these two campaigns from others and made them successfully viral phenomena? They both followed very clear ‘rules’ of social media success. They used the value of community and the Internet’s ability to connect to people globally and get people talking locally.

1. Eclectic Campaigns Relate Directly to Organization’s Goals

ALS:

Often known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease” and associated most recently with another baseball player, Pete Frates, the ALS ice water challenge plays on the fact that sporting events often end with coaches having a bucket of icy Gatorade thrown over their heads.

Old Spice:

Taking a tongue-and-cheek look at “being a man” with a brand positioned to be an expert on masculinity, it spoke to both men and women (women are important here because they do a large percentage of the purchasing of men’s products—for their husbands, boyfriends, sons, etc).

2. Easy to Engage and (relatively) Immediate Feedback

ALS:

Pour a bucket of icy water over your head; challenge others.

Old Spice: Post a comment and get a response from Old Spice Guy Isaiah Mustafa.

3. Stream Content Continuously

ALS:

New challenges are accepted in 24 hours with people posting videos online. Videos average approximately two to three minutes each.

Old Spice:

The Company found comments and shot responses within an average of seven minutes (per Inc. Magazine). The videos average less than one minute.

4. Use of Multiple Platforms


ALS:

Being shared on many social media platforms of individuals’ choice. Then the short videos are simple for people to share on their favorite social media platforms—such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and so on.

Old Spice:

Started on YouTube but messages and comments that were posted across a variety of social media platforms were answered through video messages accessed via YouTube.

5. Trust the Team


Once these campaigns went viral, the organizations did not micro manage the results. ALS shared updates on giving milestones and reminded people to give, while Old Spice executives allowed their marketing and communications teams to execute the approved plan.

So here’s our challenge to you—what’s your next viral campaign?

Viral Brilliance: ALS Meets Old Spice Guy