| Title | THE MISSING PERSON PRE-ROLL |
| Brand | THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE |
| Product / Service | NATIONAL MISSING PERSONS UNIT |
| Category | A05. Best Use of Digital Media in a Direct Campaign |
| Entrant | VML Sydney, AUSTRALIA |
| Entrant Company | VML Sydney, AUSTRALIA |
| Advertising Agency | VML Sydney, AUSTRALIA |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Coles | Vml Australia | Group Account Director |
| Julian Watt | Gpyr | Executive Creative Director |
| Aden Hepburn | Vml Australia | Managing Director |
| David Jackson | Vml Australia | Senior Art Director |
With over 1,600 missing person cold cases in Australia, this Missing Persons’ Week the Australian Federal Police wanted to showcase the long term missing to search for new leads. With Australian federal regulations stating all media showcasing missing persons information has to be removable in 24 hours, a poster in local police stations is the main media to showcase the missing. To capitalise on the added exposure of National Missing Persons Week, a more dynamic, targeted solution was required.
The Missing Persons Pre-roll was a YouTube world first. Through presenting YouTube users with engaging, targeted information on missing persons cold cases at a time when they are expecting a normal advertisement afforded a cut-through that allowed the AFP to broaden their reach and accuracy in the search for Australia’s missing. By running the campaign during National Missing Persons Week, the AFP could also take advantage of the added media exposure around the issue, ensuring the search for Australia’s missing persons was at the top of peoples’ minds and thereby increasing new leads.
The Missing Persons Pre-roll turned the unavoidable five seconds of a YouTube pre-roll into an engaging, geo-targeted call-out for sightings of missing people. YouTube users were delivered details of a missing person last seen in their local area and asked simply, “Have you seen this person?” To further grab users’ attention, the ‘skip’ button was customised to illicit a response of “No, I haven’t” or “Yes, I have”; the latter linking to an AFP page to submit details. The new YouTube pre-roll companion MREC banner even allowed users to be shown other missing person after they clicked skip.
The Missing Persons Pre-Roll was seen by over 1.2 million Australians during the week it ran, with 238 users clicking through to provide more information and new leads. The use of YouTube’s ‘Trueview’ placements, which only require media payment if the pre-roll runs in its entirety, or when the user clicks through, made the media spend very cost-effective, while the unique use of the format, combined with the customization of the Trueview ‘skip’ button, generated added media coverage on TV and in national papers.