Barts Health NHS Trust, a large London-based NHS Trust operating five hospitals, turned to us to recruit critical care nurses ahead of increased demand. Each hospital had its own culture and specialties, so while the campaign needed to feel unified, it also had to respect each location’s unique identity. The result? #ShapeYourStory, a multi-film, multi-channel campaign designed to connect with nurses across the region. 

With varied specialties and unique critical care units spread across five hospitals, the Trust faced two major hurdles: 

• Unified look and feel: the campaign needed a single voice and brand, yet each site had to stand out on its own. 
• Urgent recruitment context: anticipated COVID19 waves meant the Trust needed to urgently scale up staffing while maintaining quality and fit. 

Working closely with HR partners and site recruitment leads, we identified the shared motivations that drive critical care nurses: impact, teamwork, resilience, professional growth. 

We crafted a two-tiered approach: 

1. Hero film: a one-minute flagship video introducing Barts Health as a whole, showcasing all five sites, and establishing the overarching theme: ‘This is your story waiting to be shaped here.’ 

1. Hospital hub films: four site-specific films offering deeper insight into local cultures, specialties, and values. 

• Flagship hero film wove together visual snapshots of each hospital, real nurses, real patients, real moments. 
• Hub films dug deeper, giving voice to local teams and specialties through personal stories and interviews. 
• We also produced 360° virtual tours of critical care units, allowing prospective candidates to explore environments from their screens. 
• Campaign visuals were supplemented by commissioned photography, portraying both clinical urgency and compassionate teamwork. 

We activated the campaign across multiple channels to reach both passive and active nurses across the UK: 

• Digital promotion on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 
• Outreach via the Royal College of Nursing to engage niche talent pools. 
• Thousands of views and clicks, with sustained interest across social platforms.