The #IceBucketChallenge, the hype cycle and an experiment we didn’t know we were going through.

As written earlier this week by the Chief Creative Officer at Wunderman UK, in his great piece – on How an Ice Bucket Broke the Laws of Marketing... 

“The latest figures show there have been over 2.4 million #icebucketchallenge videos on Facebook, 3.7 million videos on Instagram, and 4.5 million mentions on Twitter. More than 28 million people have engaged with the campaign on social media (comments, likes and uploads).…In just August, the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association has collected US$98.2 million in donations (over 36 times the amount donated in the same month in the previous year).”

But apart from the money raised (which is surely the main point) the phenomena is of interest to me from a theoretical POV because it obeys The Hype Cycle (something I love)

Personally don’t believe it breaks marketing rules at all, as Matt B from Wundermann believes, in fact argue there are 12 good reasons why it works so well – many from a marketing POV. But…  

Have we been through the cycle?

However, I have noticed that we have been through the hype cycle. Which has taken a LOT longer than many people think i.e. the ice bucket challenge as a concept started in 2013, which was then adopted by ALS in July 2014 only to really take off with the trigger of tech CEO’s doing it and then celebrity CEO’s and then celebrities. In some respect the whole thing has acted like a perfect storm with lightning striking for the charity.

The concept also managed organically to use such celebrities and techies to “cross the chasm” to go from visionaries (the people who thought this up were sports people mainly – as they have a culture of pranks) to early adopters and techies crossing the chasm with the power of celebrities.  

It is on interest to me as a reporter asked me the other day….

“Did I think the ice bucket challenge, as an idea, was over?”

My reply which wasn’t aired was I thought the concept was over when my mother in law did a challenge last week. (August 26^th). But I may have been wrong – as in silver surfer terms they are very much early adopters (my father in law has his own 3D printer already) so perhaps we are not done yet with the #icebucketchallenge

Key take aways:

• Everything goes through a hype cycle.
• It depends which group you are part of to how you see it.
• Marketing can be the technological trigger which causes the hype – but it is much more likely to be celebrity endorsement – on top of technology and social media.
• The trough of disillusionment creates new opportunities for 2^nd generation idea creators 

i.e. As Matt from Winderman reports:

“In the UK, the Motor Neurone Disease Association was given £2.7 million in just one week (22-29 August) from ice bucket devotees, compared to the average £200,000 donated in a normal week.

Macmillian Cancer Support in the UK responded to social pressure and jumped on this icy bandwagon, raising £3 million.”

What I would like to know is. 

Where do you think we are now with it?

Position 1, 2,3, or 4 and why?

Has your company done it yet? 

Has your grandma done it yet?

Are you bored of it already? 

Is money still being made for ALS?