Dear Healthcare: No one is watching your commercials or reading your flyers b/c they are outside doing the #IceBucketChallenge #hcldr
— D’Anna Holmes (@PoPculture_px) August 27, 2014
What started as a grassroots campaign has raised more than $100 million for the ALS Association in the last month. Not to mention, it’s gotten Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak, Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini and Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove to get soaked on camera. Now that’s a powerful force.
Since the Ice Bucket Challenge fever has started to wane, it’s time to reflect on why this mashup of social media, charitable giving and rare disease awareness worked so well, and what other charities and healthcare organizations can learn about raising money or awareness using social media.
Here are a few points from analyses of the campaign that are worth reading:
Make it social. Forbes contributor Rick Smith points to the role of a so-called audience effect in the success of the campaign – an increase in people’s willingness to donate in the presence of observers. This is one reason social media could be a boon for charitable organizations.
T2 this was a very public display of INDIVIDUAL contributions as opposed to publicity about an organization’s event #hcldr — Scott Strange (@Strangely_T1) August 27, 2014
Make it personal and focused. Annie Lowrey from New York magazine points out that it started with a simple story and a hashtag started by two ALS sufferers. The challenge also makes a clear ask: Donate $100 or dump a bucket of ice water over your head. Anyone can understand it and do it.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Make it fun. Jon Forenbury at Forbes notes that other causes are already trying to replicate the challenge’s success, like Doubtfire Face for Suicide Prevention.
No cause is too small. Mary Dunkle, VP of communications for the National Organization for Rare Disorders, told the Wall Street Journal: “To some extent the internet does level the playing field and provide opportunities even for people with extremely rare diseases to generate public support.”
T1 #raredisease can be isolating for patients; #IceBucketChallenge may help raise patient spirits & draw attention to caretakers too #hcldr — Stephanie Fischer (@SDFatPhRMA) August 27, 2014
Is there a long-term strategy? It’s undeniable that the challenge was a short-term success for awareness and funding for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research, but will it have a long-term impact on funding and engagement? That’s what Jason Berek-Lewis, a social media, PR and sales consultant, questions in a post over at Health Startups. “Where my grandparents and parents once gave a donation by check […] Millenials feel that clicking the Like button on a Facebook post or sharing an image to Snapchat or Instagram is the best way to rally behind a cause,” he writes. “Organisers/ campaigners should be using the high visibility of the ice bucket challenges to be advocating for more funding to go into research, better access to earlier health interventions, improved access to medical specialists for people living with the condition.”
