- December 17, 2015
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How a Charity Hijacked A Hashtag
Nonprofit organizations are faced with a unique challenge. Namely, how to promote their cause to the widest possible audience, while keeping costs low to ensure the majority of funds go to those in need.
Water is Life came up with a way to leverage an existing social meme and flip it on its head.
As marketers, we all want to create a killer viral campaign. But that’s not the place to start. Only your audience decides whether something goes viral. A successful video or integrated marketing campaign needs to begin with a great creative strategy.
In the case of Water Is Life, the charity deals with life-threatening problems that make most of our daily difficulties seem trivial by comparison. WiL provides clean drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene education programs to needy third-world schools and villages.
An Attempt To End A Hashtag
In 2013, WiL got the idea to take advantage of an Internet meme they thought was troubling, #FirstWorldProblems, and turn it into something positive. The charity called it their “hashtag killer” campaign: “an attempt to end a hashtag rather than promote it.”
The campaign centered on footage of people in Haiti reciting tweets that used the #FirstWorldProblems hashtag, reading lines such as “I hate when my leather seats aren’t heated” and “I hate when my house is so big I need two wireless routers.”
Some Tweeters who used the hashtag received personalized responses from Haitians in an attempt to console them: “I’m sorry you had to get up off the couch.” “I hope your day gets better!”
A concept as poignant and powerful as this one was certain to catch on quickly. Check out the Water is Life hashtag-killer video for yourself.
The FirstWorldProblems campaign caught the attention of celebrities, influencers, and major news outlets. The Huffington Post described it as “the first campaign to ‘reverse-trend’ a popular hashtag.”
Changing The Conversation
Water is Life did more than just complain about #FirstWorldProblems. They did something positive about it, turned it around, and started a movement.
The campaign was able to change the conversation through social media. Instead of people complaining about their own problems, they started using the hashtag to help spread the Water Is Life message and encourage donations.
As a result of the campaign, enough donations came in to provide over 1 million days of clean water to people in need.