UVA Health Launches Fully Integrated Campaign, "Driven to Bring Hope to Life"

May. 01, 2024

When UVA Health needed a new fully integrated campaign, they started by hiring Lisa Borden, a Boston-based strategist who is also a Professor of Strategy at Boston University. The single-minded proposition Borden penned was compelling: “We are driven to bring hope to life.”

The creative team, Tim Foley and Joe Berkeley leaned into that brief to create a brand essence video from footage UVA Health already owned. The piece struck a chord with the stakeholders at UVA Health and informed the creative development process.

Berkeley and Foley have had success in the past working with real people, so they set out to show what a good day at UVA Health looks like in four different spots: Hope, Solving Mysteries, Promises, and Good Health is Everything.

The team at UVA Health did a lot of work to provide access to doctors, nurses, and even newborns who all graciously appeared on camera, adding to the authenticity of the campaign. Special shout out to Kirsten Greene, MD, Chair, Dept. of Urology for lending her equally extraordinary non-surgical talents as the voice of the brand.

The four-day shoot on location in the UVA Health systems in Charlottesville and Manassas moved at a fast pace. Berkeley directed and shot stills of the 50-person cast.

Veteran line producer KLN Moran managed a creative scout, a tech scout, and planned the shoot. The homework paid off as the team was able to navigate the campus efficiently and get the coverage the campaign required.

The UVA Health campaign is made up of four brand TV spots, four Northern Virginia versions, four :15 spots, two radio spots, three outdoor billboards, two print ads, and social media posts.

Berkeley believes that there is a huge advantage in working with a lean team:

"When there are fewer people involved in the creative and production, it is more efficient to get consensus on the vision. We really have to salute the client for getting us access to the doctors, nurses, patients and locations inside UVA Health that make the place a gem. The planning was complex. But the team got the job done."