2025 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

For 6+ years, Canadians rallied behind one simple and inspiring goal: build a new hospital. But recently, SickKids was ready to launch its next mission.

Healthcare is on the brink of a seismic shift. With advancements in “Precision Child Health” (PCH), SickKids is leading the movement in getting ahead of disease by better predicting it and stopping it before it strikes.

But the time leading to launch was challenging. A mix of global conflict, pandemic fallout, and inflation left donors with compassion fatigue, with Deloitte forecasting a dip of 40% in charitable giving.

On top of that, SickKids had just finished raising $1.5 billion for a new hospital – a first in Canada, causing many to wonder: why would they need more money?

The goal was to help SickKids reach their annual fundraising goal of $195 million at a time when donations were at their lowest.

Soliciting feedback from potential donors to understand what part of PCH was motivating to them, they observed a common reaction: high-tech medical talk made people's eyes glaze over. PCH felt too much like a sci-fi movie – cool but cold, distant, and hard to grasp.

People don't fund what they don't understand. If they've learned anything from their successful past campaigns, it's that donors are moved by emotional stories that make them feel something.

The strategy was to ditch the tech gibberish and focus on one fact that did resonate with donors: that PCH will help predict illness so they can stop it before it even begins. With PCH, SickKids would evolve from fighting against childhood illness, to fighting for healthier futures.

The idea: with PCH, we will get ahead of illness and Heal the Future for all patients.

For the first time, they led with a narrative film on TV and OLV. Based on Nathan – a real patient story with a tragic ending, they showed donors that thanks to PCH, they can now predict illness like Nathan's and stop it before it strikes.

Instead of telling them about the technology behind the life-saving treatment, they told the emotional story that fueled its creation. The brand invited donors to help change more of these stories and help heal the future for every patient like him.

The campaign was pre-seeded with a stunt on the hospital grounds to drum up intrigue prior to launch. From there, the call to action appeared throughout the Greater Toronto Area with hyper-geotargeted OOH boards. This was supported by 15s OLV and paid social, which drove even greater comprehension and conversion.

Compared to the grit of previous SickKids VS work, this campaign featured brighter tones, optimistic language and stories of hope.

The brand exceeded their objective of $195 million, raising over $200 million. 9,557 new Monthly Donors joined the mission, and they landed 26% above their target, with a lifetime value of $7.7M.

The campaign increased awareness of PCH by 30%, with SickKids being the #1 hospital associated with advancing Precision Medicine; 29% higher than their nearest competitor.

Credits

Agency: Cossette
Chief Creative Officer: Sabaa Quao
Executive Creative Director: Anthony Atkinson
Head of Craft: Greg Kouts
VP, Managing Director: Julie Haroutunian
VP, Managing Director, Production: Andrea Ogunbadejo
Group Creative Director:Sarah Rutherford
Creative Director/Copywriter: Kay Benedek, Lorne Heller
Creative Director/Art Director: Andy Ng, Justin Luu
Copywriter: Paul Boychuk
Art Director: Clayton DuQuene
Head of Design: Jenna Anderson
Associate Creative Director, Design: Chelsea Palmer
Senior Graphic Designer: Paula Dopuda
Motion Designer: Sam Perrin
Agency Producer: Heather Blom, Dawn-Marie Mills
Group Business Director: Valerie Mascarin
Business Director: Alex Hughes
Account Executive: Magellan Jull
VP, Strategy Director: Geraldine Tixier
Senior Strategy Director: McKenzie Taylor
Strategist: Liam Black
Retoucher: Trevor Gauthier / Hailey Williams / Simon Tuckett / Ian Pool
Production Artist: Shireen Kok / Dwayne-Mark Aranha


Production Company: Spy Films
Director - Henry Scholfield
Executive Producer - Marcus Trulli
Line Producer - Amalie Bruun
Production Manager - Chris Knaap
Production Coordinator - Tyler Klementti
Talent Coordinator - Shari Funk
In House Coordinator - Leah Munro
Creative Assistant - Guilherme Braz
1st Assistant Director - Marc Guspie, Laurie Mirsky
2nd Assistant Director - Mollie Rolfe, Ian Carl
Casting House & Casting Director: Mann Casting - Stephen Mann
Casting Associate - Sarah Sheps


Production Company: Telescope Films
Director/ Photographer: Norman Wong
Photographer (neutral assets): Luis Mora
Executive Producer: Christian Tyler
Executive Producer, Stills: Kathi Ziolkowski, KZM Agency
Producer: Alex Dall’Orso
Associate Producer: Connor Brown