On the evening of October 2, hundreds of coordinated drones lit up the Toronto sky, creating famous visuals such as the pink ribbon, a symbol of the fight against breast cancer. Illumin Drone Shows, in collaboration with Hotel X Toronto, presented the drone show for the coming CIBC Run for the Cure, a breast cancer fundraiser run for the Canadian Cancer Society.
The event, held in one of Hotel X Toronto’s gardens, highlighted the importance of early detection, the strength of those affected by the disease and the role the community plays in supporting research and raising awareness. At the end of the show, people were encouraged to make a donation to the Canadian Cancer Society via online. Donation booths were also set up throughout the event area.
Erica Igreja, director of business effectiveness at CIBC, tells Media in Canada that Illumin and CIBC wanted to deliver a message through visuals that would resonate not only with those in attendance but also with the greater community.
According to Igreja, these shows are a good platform for reaching a wider audience. However, this activation was based on a philanthropic approach rather than a strategy or consumer insights, she says. “We weren’t looking at market data or trends. Our focus was entirely on giving back to the community and using Illumin’s platform to support a cause that is deeply personal to its CEO and our team. It’s about raising awareness and contributing to something bigger than ourselves, not about traditional marketing or branding efforts.”
This is the second year that CIBC and Illumin have partnered to launch a light show for Run for the Cure. “Our first show was in 2023, and after approaching the CIBC Run for the Cure organizers, everything fell into place,” says Christian Illumin, CEO of Illumin Drone Shows.
Illumin tells Media in Canada that this year’s event was not only larger in size, but also was much more impactful in terms of storytelling and visuals. The first show’s approach was more symbolic, focusing on single images like the pink ribbon, so the team decided to broaden that vision by creating a narrative that expressed not only awareness, but also hope, strength and progress through the use of additional visuals (such as a butterfly, a warrior figure and a DNA helix).
In July of this year, Illumin also partnered with TD to organize a similar show for the 10th anniversary of the “TD Thanks You” initiative. The drone display, which took place at HTO Park, showed the words Thank You and culminated with a gigantic QR code floating in the sky, directing spectators to a microsite with further information on the activation.
TD wanted to reach a wider audience and express its gratitude to them for entrusting the organization with their banking needs. The company said that its “TD Thanks You” campaign, which began in 2014 with automated thank you machines, evolved into these types of shows in order to recognize all TD customers and the brand’s positive impact on local communities.