Executive Summary

When SickKids Foundation first launched its VS Campaign to raise $1.3 Billion to build a new
hospital, it was the largest of its kind. As of today, $570 Million has been raised through various
philanthropic outlets. With the support of governments, partners and donors the future of
children’s healthcare will be transformative – breakthrough research, new patient support
centres and a precision child health system. Along with that, SickKids has been named the #1
Brand in Canada by Strategy Magazine for a 3rd year in a row.

In this executive summary, we will focus on SickKids Foundations’ signature fundraising event
“Scrubs in the City”, held at Evergreen Brick Works and presented by BMO. The event, which
was held on June 6th, 2019 had attendance of 1400 guests and a record $1M was raised
through various marketing strategies: sponsorship, ticket sales, silent auction and raffles.

The event is currently in its 19th year with attendance quadrupling since its infancy, Scrubs in
the City has become one of the most anticipated social events of the season. It’s a meeting of a
diverse group of subcultures; fashion trendsetters, foodies, bloggers, influencers and artists all
converging for a night of entertainment and philanthropy.

In this summary, we will look at some of the corporate marketing strategies of the SickKids
Foundation and the role that Scrubs in the City plays in its overall marketing plan. Scrubs in the
City continues to bring tremendous value to all of its key sponsors through brand recognition,
which keeps those sponsors coming back. With sponsorship and a cost per dollar focus as the
cornerstone of Scrubs, maintaining partner relationships is paramount. The goal will always be
the same for SickKids, where the sky is the limit.

An Interview With Lucinda Kogan (Co-chair of Scrubs in the City)

Lucinda Kogan has been the co-chair of Scrubs in the City since 2013 and believes that a
cohesive team is a strong one. The committee consists of 10 like-minded individuals that are
representative of a wide range of age groups. While the target audience is 30-55 years old, it is
important to evolve as a committee to attract millennials and future gen Z’ers. In terms of the
success of Scrubs, according to Lucinda, “sponsors always keep coming back, there’s a waitlist
to become a key sponsor. We don’t have to sell sponsorships anymore”. In talking about the
relationship building over the years, Lucinda responds, “SickKids has a great partnership with
Air Canada. Every year the committee decides on a city and Air Canada donates a flight and
package. Our objective is to create high end experiences that people will get excited about”.

How do they deliver that message? Marketing is all done digitally maintaining a low waste
mandate. High profile committee members, Suzanne Rogers and Sylvia Mantella are
instrumental in creating buzz about the event through their extensive networks.
On the night of the event, Brick Works is transformed into a glamorous City themed backdrop,
which is only enabled after countless meetings with inhouse marketing regarding vision,
logistics, graphics for taglines, food options and entertainment production. Toronto Life runs
spreads in the spring hyping the event and closes out with thank you ads in the fall.
Relationship management with corporate sponsors and partners is ongoing.

Overview of the Event

Every year SickKids foundation, along with their team of dedicated committee members, selects
a city in the world as the backdrop to a themed party known as Scrubs in the City, the highly
anticipated social event of the year. This past June, Evergreen Brick Works was transformed
into a Carnival like dream, paying homage to Rio De Janeiro and all of its sizzle and shimmer.
Presented by BMO, Scrubs in the City is in its 18th year with attendance and fundraising efforts
reaching new heights. And each year, the committee outdoes themselves from its previous
year with show stopping entertainment, glamour and the night’s main objective – to raise
money for SickKids.

Your breath will be taken away as you are whisked to the chosen city of the night. Rio De
Janeiro’s Carnival was recreated with an explosion of Carnival dancers in elaborate, feathered
costumes showing off their samba moves. Copacabana Beach and its signature palm trees were
a reclaimed décor feature, as the feeling of the Amazon encapsulated attendees. Acrobats with
painted faces, swinging from the overhead trusses and men grooving to the beat of the
bongo’s, entertainment and energy were at a high, leaving guests equally enamoured and
blown away.

The menu is always catered by Toben Food by Design, with food stations from some of the top
Brazilian restaurants in the city. Cocktails are flowing and lounge areas create just the right
amount of intimacy.

A Silent Auction is available to guests a couple of weeks prior to the event so you do not need
to attend the event to donate. Guests have the opportunity to score unique experiences,
including courtside Raptors tickets, a custom piece of designer jewelry made specifically for
Scrubs, dream vacations and even a $30,000 gift certificate towards a car. Scrubs in the City
has mastered the ability to transport guests to exotic destinations while throwing the party of
the year.
Overview of SickKids

SickKids Foundation was established in 1972 and serves as the governing body to raise funds on
behalf of The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and is the largest charitable funder of child
health research, learning and care in Canada. Philanthropy is the key provider for funding to
SickKids – and because of fundraising events, specifically Scrubs in the City, the contributions of
such events are invaluable. This year in particular has been a record breaking year for the
Foundation with an unprecedented $159 million generated for the fiscal year ending March 31,
2019.

The hospital was originally built in 1949 and served as the largest children’s hospital in the
world. Some 87,00 donors contributed to the capital campaign and in 1993 the hospital saw an
expansion with the opening of the Atrium Building. But since that time, an old, decrepit
building didn’t match the medical treatments and technology available to such an institution
and something had to be done. According to Ted Garrard, CEO, SickKids Foudation, “People
who have had a direct experience with the hospital have seen the great work that goes on
inside SickKids, and they have also seen the unacceptable limitations of our physical space
itself. The current hospital was built for fewer patients and simpler challenges – this 1949
building has been outpaced by 21st-century medicine, the technology we use to support
our patients, and our approach to family-centred care. A new, reimagined hospital will
provide the infrastructure we need to advance our mission of transforming child health in
Canada.”

In 2016, SickKids launched a historic $1.3 billion fundraising initiative, called the VS Campaign,
in order to revolutionize and optimize the infrastructure and facilities associated with SickKids.
To date, $570 million has been secured through a very generous philanthropic community and
as part of the first phase, a new patient support centre broke ground on October 22, 2019.

Environmental Factors
Scrubs in the City focuses its fundraising efforts on the upper middle class through selective
reach campaigns so the health of the economy does not have a significant impact on its
marketing. As this is a Canadian event, based in Canadian dollars, with Canadian sponsors, the
direction of the dollar or the interest rate environment has no effect either.

Scrubs in the City is a glamorous, high end fundraising event that has built a following of
attendees that believe supporting SickKids is a necessity and responsibility no matter the
economic environment. There is an emotional connection between the sponsors, attendees
and cause, this can be seen through the long-standing relationship between BMO and Scrubs.

By targeting an upscale, technologically savvy and philanthropically minded crowd, marketers

are assured that attendees will spend money on themselves, on luxury experiences and on a
worthwhile cause. Since the disposable income is high amongst this group, marketing that
focuses on experience rather than value is clearly evident.

Technology has played a significant impact in streamlining and optimizing the events’ silent
auction. Allowing guests to bid on items remotely has given Scrubs further reach to bid and
donate without having to attend the event. BMO has used various activations to commercialize
on their brand digitally as have all marketing aspects promoting the event.

While Canadian consumers are protected by various privacy laws limiting marketing access to
consumers, the committee has to be aware of the 2 year limitation on asking past donors for
donations. If you have not donated to Scrubs in the past 2 years, your name has to be removed
from all email communication. This can be somewhat problematic as it is not decided by the
consumer.

Competitive Forces
SickKids competes for dollars with other hospital networks primarily, UHN (University Health
Network), Unity Health and Sinai Health System. Princess Margaret Foundation, which is part
of the UHN group raises over $107 million annually through well-known campaigns such as
OneWalk to Conquer Cancer and the Princess Margaret Lotteries.

While SickKids strictly deals with pediatric health, it sets itself apart from other hospital groups
through its niche market. However, there are only so many dollars that can be spread amongst
various fundraising initiatives with the support of corporate sponsorship and philanthropy.
While BMO has been a presenting sponsor for Scrubs in the City for the last 3 years, they’ve
decided to redirect their dollars to other worthwhile causes and will no longer be a presenting
sponsor. Most recently, BMO was the presenting sponsor of the Silver Ball, held November 2,
2019 with all funds raised going to support Providence, which is part of the Unity Health group.

Marketing Plan Elements

BMO

BMO has been a presenting sponsor of Scrubs in the City for the last 3 years. While they are no
longer the presenting sponsor, BMO feels that they are in a great position with SickKids with
their multi-million dollar capital campaign investment and a strong board and committee.
Sponsorship to them in the past has been more branding oriented – logos on brochures and no
engagement. What is different now, is the client engagement experience is paramount to the
overall experience of the client and the connection they make with BMO.
BMO gave the guests of Scrubs in the City an exclusive experience and this year they did
something completely different and created an end to end experience, meaning client
engagement from beginning to end. There was a gift with theme, the premium lounge and a
chance to win a car at the end. There were representatives from different areas of the bank:
private banking, capital markets and wealth management. What was appealing to BMO was
the exclusivity and that the tickets sell out so fast. Do sponsorships give access to clients they
wouldn’t have access to before? This is one of their selling features. Because BMO had the
premium lounge in the best spot of the event, they really stood out amongst other branded
companies.

Branding is one of the key benefits to BMO when sponsoring an event. Having a partnership
with SickKids is so beneficial because SickKids alone is a phenomenal brand and being
associated with them is great for their own branding. Executives from BMO sit on the SickKids
Foundation board, as do the executives that are in involved in sponsorship, so there is an inter-
relationship between both brands.

One activation that BMO had was a photo booth sponsored with their brand. Since pictures are
cherishable memories, this is a nice take away of the event and an effective marketing strategy.
They have been known to use the blue carpet as another method of creating exclusivity and
branding.

How does BMO measure client experience? They look at ROI and track their clients to see if
their relationship has deepened with BMO. They look at different asset levels and areas of the
bank to see if more business has been earned. They also do mini nps measures (net promoter
scores) which measures client loyalty and how likely you are to refer us. The scores after the
event are around 60-70, so this is a tangible way to measure client satisfaction and gain new
business.

SickKids
The SickKids Foundation and SickKids both aim to gain supporters and donors through social
media and events. Their strong social media and brand image supports their success in meeting
their objectives and goals. By having an extensive age pool, they are able to capitalize on word
of mouth marketing, social marketing, and cause marketing. This is shown through the “SickKids
vs: Undeniable” campaign that The SickKids Foundation released to gain donors to help fund a
new medical building for SickKids. This marketing campaign demonstrated a re-branding of
SickKids to alter their approach to how society views sick children, pairing a visible strength
with the weakness of battling an illness. Their additional goal for this campaign is to raise 1.3
billion dollars to recreate their geographical location, advance their medical research to fight
more illnesses, and expand their influence across the globe to help provide accessible care for
children in need. As a market leader they establish the foundation to create an awareness for a
non-profit organization. Competing alongside other organizations in the fight for better health
care are organizations such as the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Princess Margaret
Cancer Foundation. They differentiate themselves from other non-profit organizations by
having a strong social media presence and partnering with local and global celebrities. Some
examples include Shawn Mendes, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Ryan Reynolds.

High Level Branding Strategies

SickKids created a recognizable neon blue “vs” logo to introduce their individual brand strategy.
This plan of action allows the organization to create an identifiable symbol that the general
public can distinguish as SickKids. This further builds their brand recognition, preference and
insistence as they are a recognized household name, with a diverse, positive image that cares
for all children. Due to their brand equity, many clients and donors continue to donate to the
foundation as it boosts the donor’s image as they contribute to a social cause. Their focus on
re-branding their image and logo allowed a boost in creating a strong first impression. The
attractive neon blue grabs the attention of the viewer as it is often contrasted against a black
background, which aids in distinguishing itself from other competitors. The meaning behind this
neon light logo shows that the organization will never stop working until they overcome this
obstacle. The visual change provided a contemporary professional logo for viewers to interpret
and identify as SickKids.

The most recent marketing campaign that SickKids launched was the “SickKids vs: Undeniable”
campaign. This campaign presented itself aggressively as it showed children through different
stages of life fighting against their illnesses, and doctors aiding them. They challenged the
narrative of using sympathy to create a connection with their target audience, instead; SickKids
further enforced the use of inspiration, and inner strength not commonly associated with
sickness to spin a positive beacon of hope. Tapping into the consumers attitudes and
motivation, this campaign influenced their choice to donate by providing emotional benefits by
contributing to a social cause. Thus, sustaining a win-win relationship between organization
and consumer.

Target Audience
Compared to their previous targeted audience of middle-aged women, SickKids has expanded
their target audience to encompass a diverse range of young to old adult professionals. They
have signified this change by partnering with Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment to target
younger male adult audiences.
 SickKids/ SickKids Foundation
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strength Weakness
 Strong marketing campaign “SickKids  Donation system unclear to which
vs: Undeniable” area of need for those funds to be
 Brand image collected
 Household name  Galas and fundraisers tend to be
 International brand word of mouth, thus difficult to gain
 Sponsorships supporters
 Spotlight each donor to give  Lacking social media activity through
recognition their sponsorships & celebrity
 Boosts social image connections
 Strong partnerships
 Bell Media
 BMO Financial Group
 Non-profit organization
 On-site newsletter to address public
announcements for website traffic

Opportunities Threats
 Marketability of strength in a  Other fundraising organizations for
weakness children
 Have fundraising opportunities  Make a wish
 Choice of donations towards ailments  Save the Children
and research for transparency  Smile for Kids Foundation
 Open avenues of donations towards Canada
future events for potential untapped  Children’s wish
markets  Ronald McDonald House
 Growing social media presence  Other hospital fundraisers
 St. Jude Children’s Research
Hospital
 St. Michael’s Hospital
Foundation
EVENT MARKETING PLAN ELEMENTS

Objectives

The objective of Scrubs in The City for 2019 was to reach a target of $1,000,000 raised and
produce a sold-out event, which they managed to both accomplish. The money raised was
earmarked for the building of a new, first-in-Canada Cellular Therapy Facility which will allow
SickKids to harness the power of the immune system to fight cancer and other diseases, using a
patient’s own cells. Scrubs in the City raises money through partnerships, ticket sales, VIP
lounges, raffles, a silent auction, and donations. To date, they have raised over 6.7 Million to
benefit the needs of children’s health care.

Target Audience

The events’ target market is an upscale philanthropically minded crowd with disposable income
far above the national average, typically ages 30-55. The event is a fun and exciting party with
tickets priced at $250 for entertainment, food, and drinks. Early bird tickets go for $175. With
that mind, the target audience are a group of individuals who are comfortable with spending
$175-$250 for an evening out in the city. The event is well known in the Toronto community
and is an incredible networking event, many sponsors use it as a time to entertain their clients,
this is why the event offers VIP lounges that companies or groups can book for a more premium
experience.

GUEST PROFILE

Female Male
50% 50%
Guest Profile
Male 50%
Female 50%
30-34 years old
35-55 years old
More than 80% with
household income above
$100K

Brand Strategy/Marketing Strategy

Scrubs in the City is an annual event that continues to grow in momentum, with its success
attributable to a strong following, partnership with a great cause and creating a memorable
event, year after year. The longevity and success of the event allows for most of their marketing
to be done through word of mouth. Many of the guests have been frequenting the event for
years and speak highly about it to their friends. Aside from word of mouth, the rest of the
marketing for the event is all done digitally through social media, bloggers, influencers, and
annual email reminders. Digital marketing is the trend for a threefold of reasons: cutting costs,
effective message delivery and being green – all of these factors come into play when creating a
marketing strategy plan. The event has the luxury of spending less on marketing because it is
highly anticipated by its cult following. However, the committee wants to keep the event “new”
and “fresh”, this is why the use digital marketing to market to a younger crowd is effective. The
committee also chooses social media influencers who will reach their target audience to
promote the event on their social media outlets, these influencers are then invited to attend
the event for free. Toronto Life magazine has been a big media sponsor of the event, running
ads and promotions highlighting the evening. Their partnership has been an undeniable asset
to Scrubs in the City.

Evaluation of Effectiveness

Scrubs in the City has been and continues to be a highly effective event, consistently reaching
their objectives, year over year. Having become the signature fundraising event for SickKids
Hospital in 2013, the event has sold out three years in a row. 2019 saw attendance of more
than 1400 people with over $1,000,000 raised for SickKids. Further attesting to the success of
the event, sponsors remain consistent year over year and nearly half of these sponsors would
have to relinquish their positions to clear the waitlist for sponsorship opportunity.

In discussion with Lucinda Kogan, the event’s co-chair, it was mentioned that the event’s
success can be widely attributed to the strong relationships that have been established.
Relationships with sponsors, who as mentioned above, are committed, long term participants,
relationships with vendors, who also remain consistent and have multi-year contracts to service
the event, and the relationships and dynamics between the 10 members of the tight knit
committee, who have been devoted fixtures in the planning and execution of the event. The
marketing for the event has mainly been through digital mediums and word of mouth,
executed by the marketing team for SickKids Hospital. Past years have provided tickets to
‘influencers’ however it was decided that there was little return on the investment and that
avenue would not be pursued for future promotional strategies. There are
sponsorships/partnerships with the National Post and Toronto Life, who have also promoted
the event. Many attendees are faithful patrons of the event and secure tickets well in advance,
and because the event sells out more than a month ahead of time, it can be concluded that the
existing marketing tactics are incredibly effective.

Conclusions
Scrubs in the City is one of the most well executed events. The objectives are to raise money
for SickKids, create brand recognition and deliver an extraordinary experience for its guests.
The event surpasses all of its targets – sold out event, $1 million raised and clients that keep
coming back. In terms of marketing strategies to improve the event, there aren’t any. This
event markets digitally, maintaining a green platform, has a solid committee and partnership
teams that work synergistically to create the ultimate guest experience year after year.