Ice Bucket Challenge Survey: Social Media Campaigns Considered Effective

A new trend is emerging across a number of social media channels. People are dumping buckets of ice water over their heads to raise money and awareness for ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gherig’s Disease. Some have criticized the relevance and effectiveness of the Ice Bucket Challenge. But the ALS Association has already raised millions of dollars more in the past couple of months than it has in previous years. So what do people think about the Ice Bucket Challenge? And how many have participated so far?

Ice Bucket Challenge

In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, just 6% of respondents said they have already taken the Ice Bucket Challenge. However, another 50% said that they have seen others take the Ice Bucket Challenge. And 44% said they haven’t taken it or seen anyone else take it. In general, 38% of respondents said they think the Ice Bucket Challenge has been very effective in its goal of raising money and awareness for ALS. 21% think the Ice Bucket Challenge has been somewhat effective. 8% think it has not been very effective. And 6% do not think it has been effective at all. The remaining 28% were unsure.

ALS Awareness

More specifically, 17% of respondents said they only even know what ALS is thanks to the Ice Bucket Challenge. 53% said they know what ALS is, but not because of the Ice Bucket Challenge. And 30% said they do not know what ALS is. In terms of fundraising, 6% of respondents said that they have donated to the ALS Association because of the Ice Bucket Challenge. 10% said they have donated to the ALS Association, but not because of the Ice Bucket Challenge. And 84% said they have never donated to the ALS Association.

Social Media Campaigns

In general, 48% of respondents said they think social media campaigns like the Ice Bucket Challenge can be very effective when it comes to raising money and awareness for charitable causes. 39% think social media campaigns can be somewhat effective. 7% think they are not very effective. And another 7% think they are not effective at all. You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: Bill Gates ice bucket challenge from FlickrWhat do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.

Results were collected on August 19 via AYTM’s online survey panel.