Born from the insight of adopting a unique channel strategy to help solve an endemic problem within the teenage demographic, the Disappearing Person Alerts have become the latest digital weapon in the fight to find people.

 

BACKGROUND:

In Australia, one teenager is reported missing every 20 minutes. In the search for these missing persons, police can only do so much - they rely heavily on information from the general public. The more people who know of a person’s disappearance, the greater the chance of them being found.

 

But traditional alerts were failing to reach the public within the all-important first 24 hours – particularly teenagers, the group most at risk of going missing.

 

Our task was to modernise the way missing persons information is distributed to the public, thereby recruiting more young Australians to help find missing persons.

 

THE CREATIVE IDEA:

Using Snapchat, the fastest growing social media amongst Australian teenagers, we created a new tool to assist Queensland Police with missing person investigations. Sent through Snapchat, Disappearing Person Alerts are real-time, geo-targeted messages that help find missing teenagers.

 

Using the native functionality of Snapchat, the alert (disappearing after 10 seconds) features a recent photo, name and location last seen, while communicating a highly emotive message, ‘Help find John Citizen before he disappears.’
Now every person with a mobile phone can be notified as soon as someone is reported missing in a location near them.

 

In conjunction with National Missing Persons Week, the initiative was launched with an integrated campaign (press, OOH, TVC, cinema and online) activating Australia’s biggest teenage search party.

 

Now everyone with a mobile phone can help be the eyes and ears in assisting with missing person investigations.

 

THE STRATEGY:

Our strategy was based on mass, immediacy and targeting. The more people, in the right area, who know of a person’s disappearance - the greater chance of them being found. Utilising Snapchat - the fastest growing social media platform among young Australians – gave access to the demographic most at risk of going missing - teenagers.

 

Knowing that 77% of Australian teens use Snapchat daily (42 times on average per week), Disappearing Person Alerts aimed to reach a previously disengaged demographic, activating them to become the eyes and ears in assisting the police with vital information.

 

With the first 24 hours being the most vital, we sought to find a way to make every second count.

 

THE RESULTS:

The alerts gained national recognition with a reach of over 8 million from a $0 budget, activating the platform that engages 90% of the group most at risk of going missing - teenagers.

The first alert was sent the day the campaign went live - the teenage girl was found within 24 hours.

Since the launch, 87% of Disappearing Person Alerts have assisted in the person being found, and is reported as being the ‘latest weapon in the fight to find people’.

The Queensland Police continue to use the alerts, enabling them to reach a previously disengaged demographic in the search for missing teenagers.

As an exploratory project - the police had no targets or expectations, but hoped by adopting new technology, with a powerful message, that positive change would result.

The ongoing results continue to surpass Queensland Police’s expectations, generating interest to expand the initiative interstate and overseas.

Please note, the case study contains real life cases of missing persons, therefore this video is not for public.