Friday February 21st 2014, was another record breaking day for Today FM and the Irish Cancer Society as they regained their place in the Guinness World Records for their award winning Shave or Dye campaign.
Both Today FM and the Irish Cancer Society put the call out and have been ‘head-hunting’ intensely for participants. We decided to take a look back at the key moments in the history of Shave or Dye.
Olytico monitored and analysed conversations which included the hashtag ‘#shaveordye’ or the phrase ‘Shave or Dye’.
Shave or Dye – Twitter Trends
Shave or Dye continues to grow in popularity, and nowhere is this growth more evident than on Twitter. Since 2010, conversation online in Ireland about the effort to raise funds and break records has continually increased, as can be seen in the graph below.
The five major peaks on the chart represent the month of February each year and illustrate the impact of the Shave or Dye record breaking attempts. People tweeting pictures, videos, messages of support and their own achievements were also significant drivers of mentions.
Another stand out moment for Shave or Dye is represented by the peak in mentions in October 2013 – the only peak outside of each February. During an interview on the Ray D’Arcy show, Senator Norris made a promise to shave his beard if the public voted against the referendum to abolish the Seanad. Senator Norris stood true to his promise and on October 22nd revisited Today FM studios and shaved his beard live on-air with funds raised from the shave being shared with the Shave or Dye campaign.
Senator David Norris
David Norris after his Beard and Hair Shave Today for Shave or Dye ( a pic I took) pic.twitter.com/dEgmu63CXF
— Cathal Burke (@cathalbur) October 22, 2013
Shave or Dye 2014 – the story so far
For its fifth year celebration the Shave or Dye campaign aims to break fundraising and Guinness World records.
Already they have broken the record for ‘The most heads shaved simultaneously’. Twitter mentions too are breaking records. For the year to date there has been 6,132 mentions – including an all time daily high for Friday’s record breaking attempt of 1,913 tweets.
http://twitter.com/garethoconnor/status/436815089459822593/
179 heads and 179 shavers in the Mansion House. Current record is 77 #shaveordye #shaveordye2014 pic.twitter.com/uHlhjup0rK
— Fergal O'Brien (@Fergal_O_Brien) February 21, 2014
Well done to all of the amazing #shaveordye participants. You're an inspiration. @shaveordye pic.twitter.com/7TOV8pqx7D
— Ciara Reilly (@PrimEdTeacher) February 21, 2014
Congratulations Margaret & all who shaved their heads @todayfmofficial #shaveordye Thanks @oscarsandco pic.twitter.com/BTZasziIFc
— Lord Mayor of Dublin (@LordMayorDublin) February 21, 2014
With events being held in pubs, clubs, towns and villages throughout Ireland, 2014 is set to be another great year for Shave or Dye and the Irish Cancer Society.
We would like to wish everyone dyeing and shaving the very best of luck and remember you too can play a part in raising funds for the Irish Cancer Society by texting SHAVE to 50300.