Citizen Wins 5 Gold and 1 Silver at the Drum Awards 2026

Citizen Relations dominated the stage at The Drum Awards for Marketing America 2026, taking home an impressive haul of five Gold awards and one Silver across multiple categories. The Drum Awards recognize the most impactful and innovative marketing campaigns from around the world, and are judged by a panel of industry leaders.

The agency’s standout success of the night was SickKids’ “Balloonspotting” campaign – taking home four Gold wins (the most of any 2026 campaign) in Charity/Not for Profit & Government/Public Sector, OOH, PR, and Social Purpose. Built to celebrate the hospital’s milestone 150th birthday, the campaign scattered balloon sculptures across 86,500km and launched a giant hot air balloon at the biggest birthday party ever in downtown Toronto, alongside Ryan Reynolds.

“To see ‘Balloonspotting’ sweep the night with four Gold wins is an incredibly proud moment for us,” said Josie Haynes, Managing Director of Citizen Relations. “SickKids has been a pillar of hope for 150 years, and our goal was to create a moment of joy and unity that matched that legacy.”

SickKids’ “Balloonspotting” was not the only Citizen campaign to shine. The agency also struck gold with the Kidde “Prepare. Plan. Practice” AR Tool campaign, an innovative augmented reality fire drill simulator designed to help families with home fire safety planning. The project won Gold in Digital Experience and Silver in Technology Innovation.

“Our Kidde campaign represents exactly what we strive for at Citizen Relations – blending cutting-edge ideas with real-world impact,” said Aly Pecoskie, Senior Vice President at Citizen Relations. “We didn’t just capture the judges’ attention; we gave families a vital tool to stay safe.”

This honor highlights an incredible run of success for Citizen – taking home Best Pop-Up and the Founders ICON Award at the 2026 Canadian Event Awards, and being named a finalist for Campaign’s 2026 Global PR Agency of the Year (winners announced June 2026).