Lightyears from Home

Hospitals United for Sick Kids

For kids in hospital it’s a long journey home

Hospitals United For Sick Kids raises funds to get sick kids home from hospital sooner. To symbolise the arduous journey these kids go through to get home, we created an animated short film that told the story of Blip - a creature lost in outer space overcoming their own obstacles to get back to their home planet.

Background

Hospitals United for Sick Kids was born from the success of Mum’s Sause, with a unique model: instead of asking for cash donations, they partnered with brands who donated a portion of product sales. This turned everyday shopping into a way to fund vital staff, equipment, and research, all helping kids in hospital get home sooner.

Challenge

Hospitals United For Sick Kids already had a handful of products and partners, but they were struggling to grow by recruiting new brands. While the universal truth of homesickness was emotionally powerful, it was too abstract for potential brand partners to leverage simply. They needed a clearer, more tangible way to connect their products to the cause.

Strategy

We simplified the Mum’s Sause insight: from ‘homesickness’ to the distance kids feel from the things they miss. This made it easier to link a wider range of specific fundraising products, from food to toys, to our cause.

Then, we needed to create a unifying symbol that partners could adopt, ensuring every product carried a consistent, recognisable connection to the mission.

Solution

We introduced Blip, a vulnerable space creature lost in the vastness of space, desperate to return home. Blip’s journey mirrored the experience of children in hospital, setbacks, obstacles, and unexpected help along the way.

More than a film, Blip became the symbol of the cause: a co-branding asset that appeared on partner products nationwide, giving Australians a recognisable, simple, visible way to ‘do good’ when they shopped.

Results

Recruited 8 new partners including Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Kellogg’s, Arnott’s, Swisse, and Playgro
Expanded from 4 products to 173 carrying the Blip symbol in stores nationwide
Raised $3.4M in the first year to help sick kids get home from hospital sooner