SickKids has launched a new brand platform it says is the “biggest and boldest” in the hospital’s history.
Titled “SickKids VS,” the platform aims to show the ambitious work that’s being done at the hospital by some of the world’s best medical minds.
While SickKids has high awareness, many people aren’t aware of the scope of the hospital’s work, from research to complex care. Some of its groundbreaking work includes the discovery of the gene responsible for cystic fibrosis, the first successful cardiac surgery on a baby in utero, and a new approach to detecting cancer early in patients at high risk for the disease that is now being used globally.
The shift in the platform “comes from something we know from our research, which is that we do a really good job of reinforcing what people already think and know about SickKids, but we haven’t been communicating new information to people or information that has jolted new audiences,” said Lori Davison, vice-president of brand strategy and communications at SickKids Foundation, the fundraising arm for Toronto’s Hospital For Sick Children (SickKids).
“We know we are not going to get to the level of donation that we need by reminding people of what they already know… It’s an approach that dials up a different aspect of the brand—one that’s always been there—which is the performance side of this hospital as a world leader in solving the greatest challenges in child health. It’s true to the brand, but it’s a dimension that we haven’t focused on in the past.”
Campaign creative, developed by Cossette, illustrates how SickKids’ doctors, researchers, parents and kids are engaged in a fierce battle, giving it their best fight, and winning.
A powerful anthem spot shows young patients wearing boxing gloves and wrestling costumes, smashing medical equipment with baseball bats, putting on “war paint,” and being operated on, while doctors are positioned as warriors on the frontlines of the battlefield. Meanwhile, words flash on the screen like “Sick Kids vs. kidney failure,” Sick Kids vs. cystic fibrosis.” “Sick kids vs. defeat.”
The spot is set to the song “Undeniable” by Toronto hip hop artist Donnie Daydream. It ends with a throw to the website FundTheFight.ca.
“We’re hoping to achieve the feeling of ‘wow,’” said Davison. “We want people to sit up and take notice, we want to be top of mind, and we want them to look at us in a new way.” While it is a highly emotive spot, “I believe it has injected a new element of empowerment that we hope will get people up off their seats and wanting to help,” she added.
The spot debuted during the Toronto Maple Leafs home opener on Oct. 15. Three additional commercials will follow: “Grace,” “Broken Hearts” and “Missing Home.”
Each commercial will air in a phased approach until the end of December.
More than 100 SickKids staff members helped out during filming for the campaign, either in front of the camera or behind the scenes, and around 50 SickKids patient families agreed to be filmed. Filming took place in dozens of different locations, in the hospital and around Toronto.
The campaign also includes print, digital, out-of-home – including TTC branded streetcars – and cinema advertising. It will also have a prominent presence on the SickKids Foundation website and social media channels including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Mark Zibert of Skin and Bones directed the TV spots. Media planning and buying was managed by OMD.
Davison said SickKids Foundation’s fundraising goal for the fiscal year is $140 million, and most of the giving takes place during this time of year through to Christmas. “That is why we amp up our efforts in market, to make sure we hit those numbers.”
