Objective

The driving idea behind this World Smile Day® post was to celebrate Smile Train’s 25th anniversary in a historic, unforgettable way—by breaking the Guinness World Records title for most landmarks illuminated in 24 hours. This global spectacle would symbolize our commitment to creating brighter futures for children with clefts and ensure that smiles of all kinds were seen and celebrated everywhere.

Our key goals were:

• Raise Global Awareness – By lighting up landmarks across multiple continents, we aimed to spark conversations about cleft care on a massive scale.
• Engage & Inspire – We wanted to make our supporters feel like an active part of this milestone moment, encouraging them to comment on our post and celebrate with us.
• Maximize Reach & Impact – Through a compelling Instagram Reel featuring stunning visuals, dynamic storytelling, and a powerful message, we sought to make this our most successful World Smile Day® campaign yet.

The results spoke for themselves—hundreds of thousands of people reached, record-breaking engagement, and a tangible reminder that every child’s smile deserves to shine. This post was to be more than a celebration; it was to be a movement, uniting the world through the power of a smile.

Strategy

To bring this historic World Smile Day® celebration to life, we developed a multi-layered global campaign that combined visual spectacle, community engagement, and digital storytelling.

Plan of Action & Execution

1. Global Coordination: We partnered with city officials, landmark representatives, and Smile Train staff across six continents to ultimately illuminate 64 landmarks in Smile Train blue, setting a Guinness World Records title.
2. Compelling Visual Storytelling: We captured breathtaking footage of the illuminated landmarks and wove them into a high-energy Instagram Reel that showcased the global scale of our work.
3. Engaging Community Participation: We encouraged our followers, partners, and supporters to share their own photos and videos of local landmarks lit for the campaign using the hashtag #WorldSmileDay to amplify our reach.
4. Influencer & Media Collaborations: We enlisted brand ambassadors, medical partners, and celebrities to share the moment, driving further awareness and engagement.
5. Optimized Posting Strategy: We launched the Reel at peak engagement hours and used Instagram Stories to build anticipation and maximize visibility.

Challenges & How We Overcame Them

• Global Logistics: Coordinating across multiple time zones and securing permissions for landmark illuminations was complex. We tackled this with early planning and strategic partnerships.
• Capturing Footage in Real-Time: With events happening worldwide, collecting high-quality visuals was a challenge. We relied on local photographers, partners, and user-generated content to ensure broad coverage.
• Standing Out on Social Media: To cut through the noise, we crafted a visually stunning, emotionally powerful Reel that celebrated smiles in a way never done before.

This record-breaking activation turned World Smile Day® into a global movement, making it our most impactful and engaging celebration yet.

Results

Our World Smile Day® campaign surpassed expectations, delivering 681,134 total impressions and 215,733 engagements across all platforms. This represents a 90% increase in impressions compared to 2023, making it our most impactful World Smile Day® yet on social media.

In setting a Guinness World Records title by illuminating 64 landmarks worldwide, Smile Train created a visually compelling moment that resonated globally. The Instagram Reel played a key role in driving engagement, with strong audience interactions fueled by ambassador collaborations, user-generated content, and strategic storytelling.

Our primary objective was to raise global awareness of cleft care, and these results demonstrate the success of our approach. The significant rise in engagement levels confirmed that our community was not only watching but actively participating in the celebration.

Beyond metrics, the campaign strengthened Smile Train’s brand presence, inspired advocacy, and reinforced the message that every smile deserves to be seen. In the end, this was more than a social media post—it was indeed a movement that united people around the world through the power of a smile.

Media