Posters asking for help tracing lost loved ones will be revamped to include smiling faces and 3D images… without saying the person is ‘missing’
- Missing persons posters will be revamped and are set to include smiling faces
- A QR code shows passers-by virtual 3D images to make them more memorable
- The word ‘missing’ is also to be struck off following research by a consultancy
- It will be replaced with the active phrase ‘Help find…’ as a dynamic call to action
Missing persons posters are to be revamped to include smiling faces and a QR code that shows passers-by virtual 3D images to make them more memorable.
After a decade of the old format, the most noticeable change however will be the absence of the word ‘missing’.
This has been replaced with the active phrase ‘Help find…’ after research by consultancy Influence At Work found people were more likely to engage with a clear call to action. It is hoped the QR code will encourage people to tap into social media and share with friends.
Anita Braga, who led the research, said: ‘We really worked on improving the image clarity and to give the feeling that there is actually a person behind that picture.’
Leah Croucher – who disappeared aged 19 from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, in February 2019 – is one of those set to feature on the new posters from today
Some 70,000 children and young people are reported missing every year, according to the charity Missing People.
The new posters were based on academic research that suggested having a clear call to action helps people feel less scared and overwhelmed, and more willing to act.
Leah Croucher – who disappeared aged 19 from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, in February 2019 – is one of those set to feature on the new posters from today.
Her mother Claire said: ‘One of the many challenges as a parent of a missing person is trying to communicate who you’ve lost.
‘We feel that if the public were to understand who our daughter is, they are more likely to remember seeing or meeting her.
Some 70,000 children and young people are reported missing every year, according to the charity Missing People
‘Seeing Leah’s face move and smile on these amazing new posters is wonderful and gives us renewed hope that Leah – and other missing people like her – will be reunited with their families.’
Steve Martin, chief executive of Influence at Work, said: ‘It takes a village to find a missing person – not a single individual that’s kind of motivated to do it.
‘So, even if a couple of dozen extra people see that image, they connect with it, they feel some empathy towards it, that could make the difference and it could help a family who has had their whole life not just disrupted but destroyed because they don’t know where their loved one is.’