CBC’s ‘Murdoch Mysteries’ brand partnership incorporates The Hospital for Sick Children

TORONTO – CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries has kicked off its first brand partnership campaign with The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in order to mark the renowned paediatric hospital’s 140^th anniversary.

The cross-platform campaign explores the past and present history of SickKids and includes representation in Murdoch Mysteries upcoming two-hour holiday special and a series of public service announcements (PSAs) encouraging viewers to donate during the holidays.

The campaign kicked off this week with a PSA featuring series star Hélène Joy, known to audiences for her role as Dr. Julia Odgen (pictured), inviting viewers to visit the SickKids interactive digital timeline to investigate the hospital’s history through its shareable archival footage and information.

Leading into the holidays, a second PSA will promote the SickKids integration into the series’ two-hour holiday special A Merry Murdoch Christmas, premiering December 21 at 8:00 PM (8:30 NT). After visiting a sick child at The Hospital for Sick Children, Dr. Ogden (Joy) is inspired to work with Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) to invent a new piece of medical equipment that they donate to the hospital. The special also incorporates current patients and staff as extras. To help SickKids meet their fundraising goals, targeted lower thirds encouraging donations will appear across CBC, as well as during the special to coincide with the plot connection.

The PSAs will air in broadcast for eight weeks across various programs on CBC and appear throughout the campaign on CBC.ca. The partnership also includes brand integration on CBC.ca as well as social amplification through the series’ Facebook and Twitter pages.

“We are excited to partner with SickKids to celebrate this significant milestone,” said Robin Neufeld, director of content marketing for CBC/Radio Canada, in the news release. “This brand partnership showcases CBC’s ability to create customized multi-platform integrations through intimate collaboration between all stakeholders. The Murdoch Mysteries holiday special provides the perfect vehicle to convey the SickKids holiday-giving message.”