Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust (GOSH) is a world-class paediatric hospital providing highly-specialized treatment not otherwise available in the GCC. GOSH treats 1,500 children with rare, complex conditions from the GCC every year.

Although GOSH is well-known in the UK, GOSH brand awareness in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is low. Market challenges include decreasing outbound medical tourism and no GOSH satellite clinic in the region. There was an evident gap in the conversations around patient experience and communicating with the public successfully. We wanted to initiate conversations with key stakeholders from the wider hospital about offering this experience to more patients in the future.

Our challenge was to differentiate GOSH in the region to drive patient referrals and strengthen relationships with key stakeholders. We wanted to find a way to celebrate the bravery of children, as well as showcase GOSH’s commitment to patient experience.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It’s GOSHxSuperhope! Children struggling with cancer deserve recognition, attention and celebration. The creative idea centred on making children feel great about themselves and creating content that could be shared, not only with their families but with the world at large to indicate GOSH’s emphasis on patient care.

We asked the children “If you were a superhero, how would you describe yourself?” By creating and releasing their own unique “inner superhero,” like AJ-Force with her laughter force power, the children could enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience that included a high-production value documentary film, accompanying trailer and media presence. The idea was to make a memorable and cherished experience that would help boost positive mental attitudes while battling cancer. GOSH wanted to show the families, the media and society how much it champions its patients and cares for their holistic recovery. GOSHxSuperhope kids – assemble!

We wanted to create something memorable which would make a positive difference to the patients’ experience at GOSH and differentiate GOSH as a leader in patient care. We approached Superhope, a Dubai-based not-for-profit initiative that aims to boost positive mental attitudes in children battling cancer, to partner with GOSH and offer six of their paediatric oncology patients from the GCC a once-in-a-lifetime experience: unleash their inner superhero. They transformed into heroes like SaMagic, wielding wizardy to vanquish negative energies.

We created a hero content piece to showcase the journey from patient to superhero, complementing our carefully curated press content calendar that portrayed the superheroes’ stories with commentary from GOSH consultants.

We coordinated all talent, including best-selling illustrator Amrit Birdi; photographer, Phillip Haynes; and compositor, Roy Peker, who worked on an Avengers film. We leveraged GOSH’s high UK profile to convince all involved talent to offer services at or near pro-bono.

After 12 months of planning, preparation and content production, GOSHxSuperhope officially launched on October 1st, 2018.

Part 1) GOSHxSuperhope debut

Children, families and staff gathered in the London hospital to watch the official premiere. We proactively engaged London-based reporters for top-tier GCC newspapers to attend the premiere and interview the true stars; giving the event that extra wow-factor for the child heroes.

Part 2) Powering GOSHxSuperhope across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

The campaign moved quickly on social media and into media, with content published in the days following by journalists and influencers, as well as earned media coverage appearing within the next month in print, broadcast and online across UAE and Kuwait.

Part 3) Bringing the superheroes to the big screen

After discussions with VOX Cinemas, the GOSHxSuperhope theatrical trailer was aired in multiple cinemas across UAE and Kuwait for a 10-day period. This was a pro-bono screening partnership.