Addy’s Crystal Ball

Challenge In 2023, SickKids began laying the groundwork to fund Precision Child Health (PCH), the revolutionary care that will take place within the walls of its new hospital. But the thing is, PCH is a tech-first healthcare concept that’s largely unknown and poorly understood by the public. And people don’t fund what they don’t understand. Especially when more than half of Canadians felt worse off financially, and charitable giving was down 40% as a whole.

INSIGHTS We could have made this campaign about science – the staggering idea that PCH means we can stop disease before it starts. But this isn’t the story of science. This is the story of a brave 13-year-old who inspired an entire hospital (and us). To show that PCH isn’t any less human than traditional medicine, we gave it a human face and story—that of 13-year-old Addison Hill, a real SickKids patient who was diagnosed with angiosarcoma, a rare, aggressive tumor. Addy gave her doctor a crystal ball when he couldn’t confidently answer the question “will I live or die?” and her story anchored our campaign.

IDEA To convey the enormous potential of PCH, we dropped a foggy 10 ft. crystal ball on the grounds outside the hospital with no explanation. Over the next few days, as the curiosity grew and the fog inside slowly cleared out, the message it contained came into view at a press conference attended by media, senior hospital leaders, and Addy’s family. That message was “When we see the future, we can heal the future”. Our giant crystal ball was a symbol of her wish for answers. We told Addy’s story not just on the physical plaque that accompanied the crystal ball, but through every touchpoint—from media relations to influencer content.

RESULTS Our campaign started with a little girl giving her doctor a crystal ball, but no one could’ve predicted a more meaningful end. The city of Elora, Ontario, Addy’s hometown, is welcoming our 10 ft. crystal ball as a permanent fixture of the community, where it can act as a constant reminder of the influence one little girl had on the future of pediatric care.