Ice Bucket Challenge

Educate millions of new, global supporters while sustaining community impact and concern in the cause.

Challenge

After raising $20k within a couple of hours as the Ice Bucket Challenge gained momentum on social media, ONE HUNDRED partner agency, Porter Novelli uncovered a unique opportunity to take ownership of the campaign; the ALS Association didn’t have the infrastructure to support the increased media attention from the Ice Bucket Challenge. Receiving larger than normal funds not only helped the cause but also led to a new level of scrutiny from the public.

Activation

Porter Novelli needed to steer the conversation around the ALS Association’s work to find treatments and a cure for ALS and communicate the progress made from the donations raised since the challenge.

Porter Novelli then worked with the ALS Association to mitigate the increased media attention by responding to interview requests and proactively addressing donation questions. Additionally, we conducted daily press briefings, sent out press releases and secured interviews with major news outlets, such as Good Morning America, TIME and Yahoo News.

Finally, Porter Novelli created an educational microsite and used the space to address how the millions in donations will help with progress towards finding treatments and a cure for ALS through care services, advocacy and research.

Results

• $220M raised globally; $115M raised nationally
• Tripled the amount of research conducted each year on ALS
• Coverage on 2K+ radio, TV and other major outlets such as TIME, BBC, Huffington Post, Yahoo News, Washington Post, CNN, Good Morning America and The Today Show
• Facilitated partnerships between university scientists and drug industry leaders, and helped fund new global collaborative research initiatives