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Thursday Buzz: Ice Bucket Challenge Will Return #EveryAugustUntilACure

After last summer's soaking success, the ALS Association is bringing back the Ice Bucket Challenge. Plus: How to correctly price that membership deal.

Didn’t face an Ice Bucket Challenge last summer? Well, now you have a second chance to get soaked.

The latest edition of the Ice Bucket Challenge, sponsored by the ALS Association (ALSA) to benefit amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research and raise awareness about the disease, will take place this August. Those getting in on the action are already sharing their videos via the hashtag #EveryAugustUntilACure.

“Last year gave the ALS community hope for the first time in a long time,” Pat Quinn, the co-founder of the challenge and an ALS patient, said in a news release. Quinn joined partner Pete Frates launching this year’s campaign in Boston last week.

The challenge garnered almost 17 million participants last year and filled the internet with videos of people being soaked in ice water. More important, the challenge raised $220 million globally, of which $115 million was donated to ALSA.

ALSA is being careful in how it’s going about this year’s reboot: It wants to capitalize on last year’s viral success but will watch how it advertises and pushes the campaign.

So far, it’s off to a good start, thanks to the world of baseball: The Boston Red Sox and Major League Baseball have already pitched in, with MLB donating $100,000 and the Red Sox helping to launch this year’s challenge. Minor League Baseball has also challenged each of its 160 teams to take part—which means they’re gonna need a lot of buckets.

“But we still need the public’s help to keep the momentum going,” Quinn stressed. “We plan to do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge again this August and every August until we find a cure.”

Pricing As Science

It’s not an art. Pricing is a science of data and research. Colleen Dilenschneider, a blogger at Know Your Own Bone, says organizations have to find a “sweet spot,” where pricing will bring in profit but not threaten participation levels.

While her video (above) and latest blog post focuses on admission at museums and similar cultural facilities, Dilenschneider’s insight can help associations and organizations look at pricing for their memberships—and more.

Links For Your Day

Marketing emails just got better. Campaign Monitor launched a new transactional email platform for marketers to design generated emails, Barry Levine at VentureBeat reports.

Facebook’s newest features. The network now has a live-streaming app so exclusive that it’s for celebs only. Also easier communication between businesses and customers on Messenger.

Downloaded Windows 10? Check your privacy settings. The automatic settings are a bit iffy, so Lifehacker‘s Whitson Gordon looked at everything and shows you how to secure it all.

(ALS Association)

Patrick deHahn

By Patrick deHahn

Patrick deHahn is a contributor to Associations Now. MORE

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