Atheist Bus Campaign

Atheist Bus Campaign: Why did it work? Jon Worth – Atheist Bus Campaign Webmanager www.atheistbus.org.uk www.humanism.org.uk

Timeline

August 2008 – Ariane and Jon meet, discuss a strategy. Ariane gets organisational backing from the British Humanist Association, financial backing from Richard Dawkins. Jon develops website for re-launch. 21 October 2008 – atheistcampaign.org launches, with the fundraising target of £5500 to pay for bus ads with the slogan “God probably doesn’t exist. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” 21-24 October 2008 – the £5500 target is reached within 10 hours of the launch of the site, and £100000 is exceeded by the end of the first week after launch. Media coverage in all the major UK press, radio, TV, and international press in Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, USA, Australia

Quirky and simple idea
The idea can be explained in one sentence. It’s a bit mad, it’s fun
Celebrity backing
Target would have been reached, but not as easily without the backing of Richard Dawkins
Organisational strength
Robust organisation – especially on financial aspects – from the British Humanist Association
6 Lessons It’s putting atheist ads on London buses

6 Lessons (cont.)
Online + offline media
Original article on the website of a newspaper, bloggers pursue idea, press coverage, online donations
Dedicated team
2 people initially, plenty of late nights… Grew to incorporate BHA staff
Simple and cheap technology
Open source software (Wordpress) for the site, dedicated charity donation system (Justgiving), use of Facebook, Twitter

Crucially…
No-one had ever done something like it before – it’s a positive and fun way to be an atheist*
In what circumstances could a campaign of a similar scale and style be replicated?
* 2 minutes about it on Have I Got News For You

Some resources
Guide to blog advocacy
http://www.digiactive.org/2008/02/15/guide-blog-for-a-cause-the-global-voices-guide-to-blog-advocacy/
How to get started in Social Media
http://blog.helpfultechnology.com/2009/01/how-to-get-started-in-social-media/
8 Tips for Charity Websites http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/03/8-tips-to-design-a-charity-website/
opensourceCMS http://opensourcecms.com/

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Atheist Bus Campaign

by Jon Worth

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