Online Campaigns are usually developed with the objective of influencing the target audience into accepting the ideas, services or products that are on offer. Online campaigns come in different formats and are targeted at influencing specific individuals. These types of campaigns only take place through the internet on platforms such as social media, websites, blogs among others (Feldmann, 2016). Effective usage of public relations can go a long way into improving the success of an online campaign. Public relations is effective in ensuring online campaigns are successful due to the rapport that it helps to create with the audience (Feldmann, 2016). The development of the relationship is important to help keep the audience interested. This paper has focused on the Ice Bucket Challenge, which is an online campaign that was initiated in 2014. There will be an analysis of the role and impact that public relations had in the Ice Bucket Challenge.

The Ice Bucket Challenge is an online campaign that was initiated in 2014. The campaign was instigated by Pete Frates who had been diagnosed with (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) ALS (Hill & Thompson-Hayes, 2017). The challenge involves an individual pouring a bucket of water and ice over their head. This is done by another individual, or it can be self-administered. The aspiration of the campaign was to create awareness regarding the ALS disease. It was a campaign to help bring in donations that would help in conducting research to help understand the disease better. The participants needed to be filmed as they undertook the challenge. The videos taken are then uploaded on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. After undertaking the challenge, the participant was required to nominate someone else to undertake the challenge. When an individual was nominated, they were expected to comply within 24 hours (Limoges, 2014). Individuals that did not intend to comply had the option to forfeit and make a charitable donation of $100. This online campaign could be regarded as being a success. It helped in the raising of more than $100 million. With the donations acquired in 2014, scientists have been able to discover a new ALS gene (NEK1), which is recognized to be among the most common genetic contributors to this disease (Hill & Thompson-Hayes, 2017). This is an important discovery for drug development.

Public relations played a significant role in ensuring the success of the Ice Bucket Challenge. Among the ways that public relations helped in this online campaign is that it enabled the concept to be regarded as being genuine. The campaign was not created by the facilities involved with ALS research. It commenced as a charity challenge where Pete Frates; a former baseball player that had been diagnosed with ALS embraced the challenge on 31st July of 2014 (Limoges, 2014). Given Frates condition, the message that was being sent was that this campaign was genuine, and exhibited humble grassroots beginnings. This aspect made the campaign more effective. The message that was being delivered here was that of eliciting pity and encouraging people to get involved to help individuals with ALS have a chance of better living. Being that this campaign was being spearheaded by an individual who had already been diagnosed with ALS, this made people more interested. There was the notion that the funds derived from this campaign would go a long way into helping such people improve their lives (Kim, 2016). When a message that is being passed around comes out as being genuine, the public comes out to support the course in good numbers. This form of public relations tries to hit an emotional cord that helps to entice the public into being part of the campaign.

Another role that public relations played in this campaign is that it helped to connect people. The campaign used a rather unique way of connecting with people. Instead of connecting with people as a brand, the Ice Bucket Challenge opted to help people connect with each other. This form of public relations is more effective given the influence that comes with the approach. The campaign used an approach where an individual was being enticed to participate by their friend or close colleagues rather than an organization (Kim, 2016). This was by way of tagging friends on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Other friends tend to see the invitation, and such an aspect will trigger a call to action. When people are invited to participate in activities by people they know, the probability of acceptance is usually high. The message being passed is usually taken with the weight that it deserves.

Public relations also played the role of involving as many people as possible. This was through the people that were used in passing the message around. The campaign brought in several celebrities who supported the course since the moment of its inception. There were numerous celebrities such as George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, LeBron James, “Weird Al” Yankovic, and Rusell Brand. People like Barack Obama and David Cameron were challenged but declined in favor of making donations (Kim, 2016). Stephen Hawking also declined the challenge since he had contracted pneumonia the previous year, but his children took the challenge on his behalf. The involvement of celebrities brought more impact on this campaign. This is due to the credibility that they bring along. They are respected people in the society and tend to enjoy huge followings. When celebrities are passing a message around, many people tend to get interested, and there is a high probability they will act upon the information being circulated. Celebrities tend to influence masses since there are many people that want to be associated with them hence are likely to indulge in activities that make this possible (Theaker, 2016). This form of public relations makes it possible for campaigns to go viral within a short period.

The impact of public relations on the Ice Bucket Challenge is that it enabled ALS research bodies to enjoy free advertising. Within the period when the campaign was initiated, there were millions of videos posted on different social media platforms. This was a form of exposure that these research facilities had not enjoyed in the past. Now people understood the existence of ALS and were willing to give donations to help research facilities come up with ways of ensuring that victims of the disease have the opportunity of surviving given the medications that were going to be developed. In 2013, between 29th July and 28th August, the ALS association was only able to raise $2.7 million. By raising this amount, the association had invested significant amounts through fundraising and advertising efforts. In 2014 on the other hand (after the Ice Bucket Challenge; within the same period), the association was able to raise $98.2 million through that campaign only (Limoges, 2014). The ALS Association did not have to make any investments in advertising. The publicity that came with the campaign was sufficient to raise numerous funds.

Another impact that public relations had on the Ice Bucket Challenge is the creation of awareness. Many people came to learn of ALS due to the publicity that the campaign had on social media during that period. When people are made aware of the existence of something, they go ahead and learn several things regarding the issue. Having a good understanding makes it possible for people to take the desired action (Kim, 2016).  In this case, the creation of awareness was enabled by the engagement that was made possible by positive public relations. When friends and colleagues are discussing something among themselves, the engagement level is usually high. This is enabled by the familiarity that already exists.  The awareness helped in understanding how serious ALS can be. This cultivates the desire within people to make a contribution into ensuring that such research has been conducted to help come up with ways of dealing with the condition.

In conclusion, it is apparent that public relations play a significant role in ensuring the success of online campaigns. How the Ice Bucket Challenge became a success is a true indication of this aspect. Public relations influenced the direction of the campaign by ensuring that there is the engagement of the audience who were intended to receive the message of the campaign. When a message is being transmitted from one friend to the other, it becomes easier for the people to take action. This is due to the levels of influence and trust that are involved. The publicity that comes with celebrities is also very effective. People have the tendency of following activities that celebrities embrace. This was among the reasons why the Ice Bucket Challenge became a success since numerous celebrities were involved in spreading the message. This online campaign acted as a lesson for people intended to run online campaigns in future on how they can leverage on public relations to help actualize the desired results. This is because public relations are an effective tool in creating awareness. However, it is good to be careful while relying on public relations since it can either bring positive or negative impacts depending on the message that is being spread.

Bibliography

Feldmann, D. (2016). Social movements for good: how companies and causes create viral change. John Wiley & Sons.

Hill, M., & Thompson-Hayes, M. (2017). From awareness to commitment in public health campaigns: The Awareness Myth. Rowman & Littlefield.

Kim, C. (2016). Social Media Campaigns: Strategies for Public Relations and Marketing. Taylor and Francis.

Limoges, A. (2014). The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge: A PR Success Story for Nonprofits – RLF. Retrieved June 28, 2017, from RLF: http://rlfcommunications.com/2014/09/09/the-als-ice-bucket-challenge-a-pr-success-story-for-nonprofits/

Theaker, A. (2016). The Public Relations Handbook. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis.

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