2. NewYork-Presbyterian: Amazing Things Are Happening Here (2009). NewYork-Presbyterian introduced Amazing Things Are Happening Here in 2009 with Munn Rabôt. As Throughline Group noted, the unscripted ads featured patients sharing unvarnished medical experiences.
NewYork-Presbyterian aired a commercial featuring Danion Jones, a young patient who passed away during production, with his mother's consent and support, SHOOT reported.
3. Children's Healthcare of Atlanta: Strong4Life (2012) serves as a cautionary case study. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the $50 million, five-year initiative featured stark black-and-white photos of overweight children.
In January 2012, NPR highlighted criticism from public health researchers who argued the messaging stigmatized children. While it raised awareness, the outcome shows how well-intentioned but provocative creative campaigns can erode public trust.
4. Cleveland Clinic: Empathy (2013). Former CEO Toby Cosgrove premiered Empathy: The Human Connection to Patient Care in February 2013, The Hospitalist reported. The film overlaid captions detailing personal struggles onto footage of its patients and staff.
Designed for internal training rather than paid placement, the video spread well beyond Cleveland Clinic. NHS England's Learning Hub still lists the film as a training resource for health care staff.
5. Dignity Health: Hello Humankindness (2013). Dignity Health launched Hello Humankindness on July 15, 2013, per its press release, to address impersonal healthcare delivery. Catholic Health World reported an $11 million first-year push featuring prominent print placements in the New York Times.
When Dignity Health merged with Catholic Health Initiatives in 2019 to form CommonSpirit Health, the new organization retained Hello Humankindness as its brand identity.
6. Memorial Sloan Kettering: More Science. Less Fear. (2014) MSK introduced More Science. Less Fear. in September 2014 via Pereira & O'Dell, marking its first platform update in nearly 20 years, according to its release.
MSK spent more than $5.5 million on media in 2013 and planned to spend more in the launch year, Adweek reported in an article republished by Pereira O'Dell. The campaign used stylized typography instead of clinical imagery throughout the Science Saves documentary series.
7. Mount Sinai Health System: If our beds are filled, it means we've failed (2015). Mount Sinai ran full-page New York Times ads in July 2015 via DeVito/Verdi stating, "If our beds are filled, it means we've failed," signaling a change toward population health following its 2013 merger, Becker's reported.
8. Massachusetts General Hospital: Your kids won't always be young (2015). Mass General launched print and transit ads in August 2015 emphasizing the transition to pediatric care, STAT reported.
The messaging targeted crosstown competitor Boston Children's Hospital, presenting a rare instance of competitive positioning in healthcare marketing.
Comparative campaigns are uncommon in healthcare because of shared referral networks, making Mass General's approach notable.
How do children's hospital marketing campaigns differ from adult hospital campaigns?
Pediatric marketing strategies differ from adult campaigns by prioritizing philanthropic fundraising over clinical service lines, requiring clear financial goals and structured donation models.
Seven campaigns demonstrate successful fundraising formats, ranging from branded calendar windows to open-access mental health resource centers.
9. Children's Hospital Los Angeles: Make March Matter (2016) CHLA launched Make March Matter in 2016 as an annual fundraising month. The Beverly Press reported that, in year one, 67 business partners raised $1.3 million.
By 2025, cumulative fundraising passed $14 million, according to Los Angeles magazine, establishing a blueprint replicated nationwide.
10. SickKids Foundation: SickKids VS (2016) Toronto's SickKids Foundation launched SickKids VS in October 2016 via Cossette, framing patients as resilient fighters. Campaign Canada noted the $1.3 billion target was the largest in Canadian healthcare history.
The initial wave raised $57.9 million in first-quarter donations, according to Cannes Lions documentation.
11. Nationwide Children's Hospital: On Our Sleeves (2018) Nationwide Children's introduced On Our Sleeves on World Mental Health Day 2018, expanding nationally in 2019, per Newswise. The initiative offers free educational content by pediatric psychologists.
By late 2023, the hospital reported that over 11 million users accessed these resources, prompting partner health systems to co-brand the program regionally.
12. Nemours Children's Health: Well Beyond Medicine (2021) Nemours introduced Well Beyond Medicine in September 2021 alongside a rebrand, per its release. Developed with TILT, the platform highlights social determinants driving 80% of pediatric wellness outcomes.
Nemours reported that the campaign won top honors at Modern Healthcare's 2022 Marketing Impact Awards and later expanded into a podcast series.
13. Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity: Build it. Beat it. (2023) GOSH Charity launched Build it. Beat it. in March 2023 to fund a £300 million Children's Cancer Center in London, its largest appeal to date, Civil Society reported.
Construction began within two years of launch, according to GOSH Charity, with actor Sophie Okonedo narrating the messaging.
14. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: Thanks and Giving (2004 to present). St. Jude's Thanks and Giving campaign uses holiday retail POS donations and celebrity placements. ALSAC reported that the effort raised $1 billion in 2018.
Its success relies on pairing annual holiday traffic with St. Jude's promise that families never receive a bill for treatment, housing, or care.
15. MD Anderson Cancer Center: Only Possible Here (2025) MD Anderson launched Only Possible Here on November 12, 2025, according to its newsroom, targeting a $2.5 billion goal, building on its "Making Cancer History" tagline active since 1996.
Maintaining one brand statement for three decades makes "Making Cancer History" the longest-running campaign platform listed.
How do health systems market a public health goal?
Health systems market public health initiatives by anchoring campaigns to metrics, timeframes, and actions. The following five campaigns used public milestones across donor recruitment, diabetes care, health rankings, and cancer screenings.
16. NHS Blood and Transplant: Missing Type (2015) In June 2015, Missing Type, in partnership with Engine, removed the letters A, O, and B from high-profile signage. NHSBT reported 30,620 new donor registrations in 10 days, triple normal volume.
Blood services across 21 nations adopted the concept in 2016, leading PRWeek to name Missing Type Campaign of the Decade in 2019, per NHSBT.
17. Geisinger: Fresh Food Farmacy (2016) Geisinger launched Fresh Food Farmacy in July 2016 in Shamokin, PA, providing free healthy food prescriptions to Type 2 diabetes patients. Managed Care reported that average HbA1c dropped from 9.6% to 7.5% after one year.
Geisinger marketed the program, using the 2.1-point clinical improvement to drive national coverage.
18. Ochsner Health: Healthy State by 2030 (2020). Ochsner launched Healthy State by 2030 in November 2020, pledging $100 million over five years to raise Louisiana's health ranking from 49th to 40th, per its release.
Tying the brand to a measurable public target built accountability. In 2022, AJMC reported that 35 regional organizations joined the coalition.
19. NHS England: Help Us Help You (2021) NHS England's campaign encouraged early GP visits for potential cancer symptoms. Actor Stephen Fry fronted the 2021 film following his 2018 prostate cancer diagnosis, NHS England announced.
Following Be Clear on Cancer, the effort used established NHS referral-tracking systems to evaluate its impact.
20. Northwell Health: Raise Health (2023) Northwell Health introduced Raise Health in August 2023 via StrawberryFrog, MM+M reported. A December 2023 ad titled Resolutions featured centenarian New Yorkers sharing personal goals.
A Drum Awards case study noted double-digit lifts in brand consideration, outperforming conventional ad formats in test markets.
Which hospital marketing campaigns came out of the COVID-19 pandemic rebrand wave?
Between late 2020 and mid-2022, health systems launched new platforms to replace legacy messaging following pandemic-driven changes in how they deliver care.
21. Mayo Clinic: The Power of Answers (2020) Mayo Clinic debuted The Power of Answers in September 2020 via TBWA/Chiat/Day, shots reported. Narrated by Viola Davis, the spot featured 3D brain animations built from diffusion MRI scans, per Muse by Clio.
Focusing on diagnostic accuracy over generic facility messaging defined Mayo Clinic's clinical value proposition.
22. Mount Sinai Health System: We Find a Way (2021) Mount Sinai introduced We Find a Way in 2021 as its largest campaign to date, according to its newsroom, highlighting COVID-19 treatment innovations and surgical achievements.
We Find a Way followed earlier Mount Sinai platforms, including the DeVito/Verdi Breakthrough campaign (2003-2010), and a later campaign built on the line "Which hospital you choose can make all the difference in the world," Becker's reported.
23. NewYork-Presbyterian: Stay Amazing (2021) NewYork-Presbyterian launched Stay Amazing in November 2021 via Havas, updating its platform for the first time in over a decade, per MM+M.
The creative retained "Amazing" while introducing regional variants across local New York sub-markets.
24. Henry Ford Health: I Am Henry (2022) Henry Ford Health dropped "System" from its name on March 22, 2022, per its announcement, and launched I Am Henry, a storytelling platform featuring patients, staff, and community partners.
The launch marked a comprehensive rebrand, updating the organization's legal name, visual identity, and advertising platform at the same time.
25. Hackensack Meridian Health: We're Ready (2022) Hackensack Meridian Health launched We're Ready in June 2022 via Doner, Becker's reported, using documentary footage of local caregivers and patients.
In February 2023, the system bought a local 30-second Super Bowl spot, ROI-NJ reported, an aggressive buy for a regional provider.
What patterns do the 25 hospital marketing campaigns share?
Analysis highlights four main patterns: taglines, patient narratives, public progress metrics, and calendar-linked events, alongside risks from provocative messaging.
| Pattern | Campaigns | Why the pattern works |
|---|
| A memorable tagline | Thrive, Making Cancer History, Hello Humankindness, More Science. Less Fear. | Ads and press coverage reuse the same verbal anchor, so public recognition compounds over time. |
| Patient and Physician Storytelling | Amazing Things Are Happening Here, Stay Amazing, I Am Henry, We're Ready | When patients and physicians share stories, they give journalists and AI models concrete entities to reference. |
| Public metrics and milestones | Missing Type, Fresh Food Farmacy, Healthy State by 2030, Build it. Beat it. | Numerical targets invite follow-up coverage as hospitals report progress. |
| Calendar events | Thanks and Giving, Make March Matter, Resolutions | An annual holiday or monthly window earns recurring coverage without requiring new creative concepts. |
| Shock as a hook | Strong4Life | Public reach rises while trust falls; researchers and parents immediately pushed back against Strong4Life billboards. |
How do AI models impact hospital marketing in 2026?
KFF's March 2026 poll found 32% of U.S. adults used AI for health information. Among adults who used AI for physical health advice, 42% did not follow up with a clinician, Medical Economics reported.
While legacy campaigns targeted print and broadcast, modern AI tools index verifiable claims. Precise metrics (e.g., Geisinger's 7.5% HbA1c result) earn AI citations, whereas generic slogans are filtered out.
The everything-pr.com GEO guide details page formatting for AI extraction, while the healthcare PR guide offers broad analysis.
Related: Best marketing campaigns by industry, Best PR campaigns by sector, Beauty marketing campaigns, How earned media drives search and AI visibility
