On Sunday, September 30^th, High Road Communications teamed up with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (CBCF) for the 21^st annual CIBC Run for the Cure.

The event was hosted by CBCF and featured CityNews reporter Cynthia Mulligan and her Rogers team, as well as survivors, CBCF Ontario staff, volunteers, CIBC representatives and more.

High Road worked with CBCF throughout the year to drive media attention to the Run for the Cure event. We began with the 100-day countdown and continued our momentum leading up to the run with ongoing awareness around survivors and top fundraisers. HRC also helped secure media interest for the event day and was on site to support with interview requests.

CBCF Toronto’s goal was to raise $4 million for breast cancer research, education and awareness, and with more than 18,000 participants they surpassed their goal and raised over $4.2 million.

About 30 HRC team members also laced up our running shoes and filled Toronto streets with a sea of pink in support of this worthy cause. We trained, fundraised, raised awareness – and of course, had a bit of fun doing it.

In total we were proud to donate more than $6,500.

Congratulations to CBCF on a great event!

This blog is brought to you by High Road’s Tania DiVito and Rayanne Langdon:

You get 60 of Toronto’s top chefs together under one roof to celebrate their love of food in support of the city’s largest food rescue program.

Last month, High Road Communications teamed up with Second Harvest to promote the 22^nd Toronto Taste event at the Royal Ontario Museum.  The annual soiree, which is one of the city’s largest and most coveted culinary affairs, drew in more than 1,400 guests and saw the likes of celebrity Food Network stars such as Bob Blumer, Roger Mooking, Lynn Crawford and Mark McEwan.

The event theme was to recognize the importance of food rescue and was designed to empower Torontonians to give back to the community.  For each ticket sold, 250 meals are provided to those in need; this year enough money was raised to deliver more than 670,000 meals!

High Road was honoured to partner with Second Harvest to help increase awareness of the event and drive ticket sales through a strategic PR and social media approach.

The result? A unique experience for food lovers around the city; tons of event buzz both online and offline(with attention from top tier outlets like Global Morning, CityNews, Huffington Post, Toronto Life and more), a foray into a new social media channel (Instagram), and growth of existing owned properties for Second Harvest.

But as with any food event, the dishes took centre stage. Rubbing elbows with some of Canada’s top chefs was just a delicious bonus.

If you couldn’t make it out to the annual Toronto Taste this year, you can still support Second Harvest by donating online.

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High Road Montréal’s log – 01.03.2012

Mission: BioWare Montréal is launching 2012’s most eagerly awaited game, Mass Effect 3, in less than five days and wants to give Montréal fans the opportunity to meet with the crew who made one of most anticipated action-RPG games this year.

Risk factor: High. In less than three business days, Montréal’s special forces squad needs to secure a location, confirm the developers expected to attend and generate buzz.

Hearts are pumping at a dangerously high rate. Mass Effect 3′s Commander Shepard has a mission to save the universe (small feat!) and with no fear of danger, the Montréal squad jumps in the middle of the action, led by the sole objective of giving Commander Shepard the epic launch event he deserves.

Challenge completion status – In progress [20%]

High Road Montréal’s log – 02.03.2012

MEDICAL NOTE: Bio analysis confirms a high level of adrenaline rushing through the crew.

As the sun rises, the squad completes a number of sub-missions, one after the other:

– Location secured // Future Shop Centre-Ville, Montréal

– Support from devs confirmed // More than 20 additional support troops expected

– Vital gear retrieved // Team secured exclusive swag, promotional items and posters

– Communications network operational // Key comms networks alerted of the upcoming event – generating a pre-event buzz of an impressive magnitude within the targeted community

 Challenge completion status – In progress [85%]

 

High Road Montréal’s log – 06.03.2012

The big day is upon us. Working closely together, High Road’s special forces and Future Shop’s elite troops prepared the necessary equipment to welcome the arrival of BioWare Montréal’s talented troops.

10.00 – An impressive line-up of fans assaulted the location. Troops readied their weapons (aka pens) and started to sign game copies, limited editions and posters for fans.

10.30 – Relentless waves of fans keep rushing through the doors and BioWare’s crew stands their position to face them.

12.00 – Estimated time of completion of the operation, but fans can’t seem to get enough. Extension requested until 13.00 to respond to the demand.

13.00 – BioWare troops leave the area satisfied of a job well done.

 

The operation is evaluated as a tremendous success. Fans had the chance to leave with SteelBooks, pictures and copies of the game signed by BioWare’s team. Gamers also took the time to share their love of the game with the developers, who discussed their involvement in the process.

The day brought a range of different people: long-time fans, newcomers to the series, girlfriends (who will be henceforth known as the BEST GIRLFRIENDS EVER) and even mothers who weren’t aware of the game, but bought a copy anyway as they learned that it was a true story-driven piece of art.

Mass Effect 3 is officially launched. Booting Xbox 360 system in progress. Time to take Earth back, baby!

Challenge completion status – Over-completed [150%]

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