• by Les Luchter , May 1, 2024

Proclaiming that “Human Progress Has No Finish Line,” University of Florida Health (UF Health) is leveraging its recent inclusion in the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s Medical Network to increase awareness of the growing healthcare system and its accomplishments.

The campaign, concentrated in five Florida markets, two of which have been added to UF Health through acquisitions in the past few years, has kicked off with two commercials.

A:30 spot starts by showing Team USA athletes in competition -- followed by images of UF Health staff treating stroke victims offsite.

The spot draws a parallel between the importance of timing and drive for both athletes and healthcare providers. Like world-class athletes, UF Health chief communications officer Melanie Ross tells Marketing Daily, “We never sit still, we don’t rest on our laurels, we’re always pushing.”

“Every second counts, every fraction of a second counts,” begins a voiceover in the commercial. “World-class athletes know this. But [they’re] also words to live by when treating victims of a stroke. So we’re building a network of mobile stroke treatment units, one of the first in the country, preserving brain function and saving lives. When every second matters, the race is on.”

UF Health’s specially equipped mobile stroke ambulances have reduced the time patient care begins by an average of 38 minutes, Melanie Ross, the healthcare system’s chief communications officer, tells Marketing Daily.

A :60 anthem spot features not only the mobile stroke units but also the University of Florida’s HiPerGator supercomputer, said to be driving such UF Health AI advances as an intelligent intensive care unit.

Two additional :30 spots focusing on what Ross calls “game-changing care,”are upcoming, one for the AI advances, the other for organ transplant capabilities.

Created by DeVito/Verdi, with production done at UF Health’s onsite facilities, “Human Progress Has No Finish Line” will also include two :30 spots and long-form videos featuring the stories of specific athletes.

While the campaign also includes media like outdoor, radio and print, Ross stresses that UF Health has made a “strategic decision” -- based on increasing consumer video intake --  to “lean heavily” in that area and “limit static media.”

The commercials will run mostly on cable, broadcast, connected TV and over-the-top media, but also on some social media and digital channels, she says. Media agencies are MBB for Jacksonville, and Trickey Jennus for Gainesville and Central Florida.

The current phase of “Human Progress Has No Finish Line” will run through September.

Participating athletes include hurdler Grant Holloway, Paralympic triathlete Grace Norman. long jumper Marquis Dendy, bobsledder Elliott Markuson, and track star Talitha Diggs.