Ice Bucket Challenge Accepted
If you are like many of us, you have either dumped a bucket of ice water over your head or seen the majority of your friends do the #ALSIcebucketchallenge. Stop for a second and think about this phenomenon. First, ALS has raised $41 million dollarssince the challenge started, this is more than double what they raised in all of 2013. Second, the amount of free PR is un-measurable as awareness is at an all time high for this horrible disease. You may think the challenge is silly but there is a bigger point here, everyone from super stars to your neighbor are dumping ice over their heads in support of a common problem. More importantly, this entire campaign had next to nothing in expense.
I can’t think of a better way to explain insurance agency’s marketing strategy/social media than the ice bucket challenge. Imagine if Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and more than anything our smart phones didn’t exist… neither would the $41 million dollars to ALS. Social media is a megaphone! Back when I was a kid in order to get this done you would have to write a letter, be privileged enough to own a camcorder and send VHS tapes to your friends who probably wouldn’t get it!
So, how does this apply to your agency. In my town of East Greenwich, RI the businesses got smart. It started with the iconic Allie’s Donuts (check out how they did it on their Facebook page), the place to go in RI for the best donuts. They created their famous donut cake to challenge some other great local businesses. As the ice started dumping the small businesses would advertise via their email and social channels when the ice dumping would begin as well as specials that entire day for the community to enjoy. They did all the ice dumping in front of their locations to bring awareness to a d
