Shining a Light on Hospice Care
St Gemma’s patient Ann, housekeeper Jane and volunteer Malcolm are amongst the cast who appear in a new TV commercial, which will be aired across ITV this spring.
The TV advert is the first of its kind for hospices in our region. It’s been produced collaboratively by independent hospices in the Yorkshire and Humber region, including children’s and adult hospices, to raise awareness of hospice care.
Head of Marketing and Communications at St Gemma’s, Nicola Woodgate explains more:
“Eleven Chief Executives from hospices across our region got together a few years ago and talked about their vision to spread the word about hospice care. We wanted to reach a huge audience and knew the best way to do this would be via a TV advert.
Advertising on TV is usually more expensive than other channels, and most charities cannot justify or afford the financial investment. Therefore, joining forces with other hospices so we could work together, pool resources and share the cost was the only sensible way to turn this vision into a reality.
I have been privileged to be part of the small team developing the advert and it has been amazing to see our initial ideas progress into the thought-provoking advert on TV today. We hope to have captured the sentiment of the people we talked to during the process. We also aim to highlight that hospices provide expert care, comfort and support to growing numbers of people in our region – and that none of it would be possible without the support of our local communities.
When the producers suggested ‘extras’ to appear in the advert, we were all in agreement –the extras had to be a whole range of ‘real’ people who make hospices what they are – so you will see hospice nurses, physiotherapists, patients, fundraisers, volunteers, housekeepers, bereaved family members, and if you look carefully you will even see two huge ‘Pets as Therapy’ dogs who provide comfort and pleasure to patients in one of the hospices involved.
The filming day was so much fun and talking to the dozens of ‘extras’ was inspiring – everyone with their own connection to their local hospice, each with their own story, reason for taking part and many with personal experience.
Hospices are a vital part of everyone’s community, and I hope that together we have helped to put them in the spotlight.”
“I was excited to be part of the TV advert and it was fun to be filmed on the day. It was like a big family get-together.” – Jane, housekeeper at St Gemma’s
The advert will air on ITV (Yorkshire and Humber) throughout March 2019. Visit www.st-gemma.co.uk/thank-you to view it online.