Viva’s Blog: ALS’ ice bucket challenge is sticky. Are you?

There’s a reason the ALS Association, the non-profit devoted to searching for new treatments and a cure of Lou Gehrig’s disease, has raised $11.4 million in the last 18 days: the ice bucket challenge.

This social media phenomenon involves dumping a pail of ice-cold water over your head and then challenging three other people to do the same within 24 hours. Not in the mood to get wet? Donate $100 to the ALS Association instead. The idea and videos have gone viral and generated the stickiness that marketers crave.

What can marketers learn from ALS’ success? Here are three takeaways:

#1: It’s accessible.
Unlike some charity events that require participants to accomplish amazing physical feats or take an extended period of time, anyone can get a bucket of cold water dumped on their head. It doesn’t require special equipment, physical prowess or a lot of time. Anyone of any age in virtually any location can play.

#2: It’s a game.
Games are fun. Great ones are engaging and addicting. Challenging friends to dump a bucket of ice cold water on their heads is a great example of gamification. This 21^st century marketing tool is defined as the application of game mechanics and design techniques to engage and motivate people to achieve their goals. Gartner, the data-driven technology research behemoth, predicts that by 2015, more than 70% of Global 2000 organizations will have at least one gamified application.

#3: It’s buzz worthy.
When was the last time you saw celebrities ranging from Bill Gates to LeBron James completing the same challenge as you and your Facebook friends? The story is emotional, the participant’s reaction is surprising and the sound effects help contribute to the drama. Hence the reason hundreds of thousands of ice bucket challenges are already posted on YouTube alone.

Make it easy. Make it fun. Make it worth talking about.

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