Branding agency Monigle recently ranked the top 25 pediatric hospital and health system brands for human connection. Becker’s reached out to the organizations to ask: “What is your most successful marketing initiative in connecting with patients on a human level?”
Angela McPike. Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Texas Children’s (Houston): At Texas Children’s, our goal is to earn the trust of our patients and their families via omnichannel, always-on content. Our marketing efforts are brought to life through patient stories featuring the life-changing care delivered at Texas Children’s every day with highlights of our renowned clinical team.
Fernand Fernandez. Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of Children’s Health (Dallas): Our campaign “Incredible Together” has been one of our most impactful in forging genuine connections with patient families. From the very beginning, we’ve been committed to showcasing the real, unfiltered stories of our patients and the dedicated care teams who stand alongside them. Their resilience, courage and spirit truly embody the essence of what it means to be “incredible.”
Throughout 2024, the campaign has consistently increased our unaided awareness, ensuring Children’s Health remains top of mind for parents seeking pediatric care in Dallas-Fort Worth. Additionally, our campaign assets have significantly outperformed pediatric benchmarks in sentiment categories such as relevance by 50% — clearly demonstrating that when you share authentic stories, people listen, connect and remember.
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital (St. Petersburg, Fla.): We believe in the power and importance of storytelling. Healthcare is not a number or a statistic. It is about the child who received lifesaving care and is able to rejoin their friends at school and go on to live out their dreams of becoming a firefighter, a doctor or a professional soccer player. It’s about a parent who received challenging news, but had a team of professionals to help guide them every step of the way. It’s about the clinician who went through years of schooling and specialty training to live out their passion for helping kids.
We walk the halls of our hospital and outpatient clinics every day, and we hear the most incredible stories. We have the honor of sharing those stories in hopes that they will inspire hope and healing for other families.
Kary McIlwain. Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago: It’s not about one story; it’s how we use our brand voice.
We never use stock voices or actors or stock photography. Everyone is a patient or a caregiver, so it’s about being authentic. On our elevators at Lurie Children’s main hospital, there’s a care provider on half of the elevator and a patient on the other half, and they come together when the elevators open and close.
Our brand voice is the compassionate leader, and then the expression of that brand is “All, for your one.” Everything we do is for your child, and your child feels like the only child who matters to us. And then the inside expression of that is the power that all of us together can do great things.
Kevin Snyder. Vice President and Chief Marketing, Communications and Brand Officer of Nicklaus Children’s Health System (Miami): Nicklaus Children’s marketing initiatives center around our brand promise that Nicklaus Children’s is “Where Your Child Matters Most.” Our “One Child: Yours” campaign is a testament to the health system’s deep commitment to human connection, personalization and empathy. This brand positioning was developed through strategic messaging studies that looked beyond data to the emotion of care to ensure it resonates with parents, families, children and hospital staff — reflecting what they value most in pediatric healthcare.
Every campaign under this messaging framework highlights the essential bond across physicians, nurses, caregivers and patients, reinforcing trust and emotional support throughout the healing journey. By weaving together visuals and storytelling that embody Nicklaus Children’s core brand attributes of innovation, hope, joy and excellence, each initiative speaks to the transformative care provided at Nicklaus Children’s. Whether showcasing groundbreaking treatments, uplifting success stories or moments of joy shared between Nicklaus Children’s and our patients, our marketing efforts consistently put the child at the heart of the narrative.
This human-centered approach not only strengthens our reputation but also deepens the way we make impact within the community, ensuring that every family feels seen, heard and supported. Through “Where Your Child Matters Most,” Nicklaus Children’s Hospital continues to foster meaningful connections that make a lasting difference in the lives of children and their families.
Korre Johnson. Director of Marketing and Brand at Children’s Wisconsin (Milwaukee): At Children’s Wisconsin, we believe our most successful marketing initiative is, fundamentally, our patient experience itself. We understand that genuine human connection isn’t built through advertising campaigns. It’s fostered through every interaction a family has with our organization. From the compassionate care provided by our medical teams to the supportive environments we strive to create, these experiences shape our reputation and, in turn, our brand.
We prioritize building trust and delivering exceptional care at every touchpoint, because we know that positive patient experiences are the most powerful and authentic form of marketing we can create. By focusing on the human element of healthcare, we create lasting impressions and build a strong, trusted brand that resonates deeply with the patients and families we serve.
Kristin Harding. Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Children’s Hospital Colorado (Aurora): Children’s Hospital Colorado is known for our exceptional pediatric expertise, innovation and compassion. In 2023, we launched our new “Miraculous Everyday” brand campaign built on our belief that kids aren’t just different from adults, they’re also different from each other. The stories vividly and thoughtfully illustrate how we design and deliver personalized care for each child and condition, while highlighting the incredible humanity of our caregivers. Our hope is that parents and referring doctors recognize this and choose Children’s Hospital Colorado for their care.
This campaign strongly resonated with patient families, as evidenced by a 42% increase in brand awareness among parents in our region since its launch.
Mary Sibert. Vice President of National Brand and Marketing Strategy at Nemours Children’s Health (Jacksonville, Fla.): We employ a number of marketing strategies to connect the day-to-day reality of our patients’ experiences with the “human” side of our organization — a health system with a rich culture of providers committed to delivering high-quality patient care every day.
One of our most successful examples of this is a campaign called “Reflections” that we launched in 2023, which recognizes and articulates that a child’s health is shaped by many factors outside the hospital. While providing complex care for the kids who need it today remains our priority, we are also committed to addressing things that impact children’s health beyond our walls and investing in communities to shape brighter futures. This dedication to whole child health is why people trust and engage with the Nemours Children’s Health brand.
Ramon Soto. Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of Northwell Health (New Hyde Park, N.Y.): At Northwell, we believe authentic human connection is a powerful tool, especially when addressing critical public health crises like gun violence — which is unbelievably the leading cause of death for children in America. We’re not just talking about change; we’re driving it.
Through initiatives like our annual Gun Violence Prevention Forum held last month and our partnership with the Ad Council on the “Agree to Agree” campaign, we’re building a national movement to champion safe gun storage and prevent firearm injuries. We’re a leader in this space and remain committed to working alongside communities and partners across the country to create a safer future.
