Every 20 minutes a teenager is reported missing In Australia.

In the search for missing persons, the first 24-hours are the most critical, but traditional alerts are failing to reach the public in time – particularly teenagers.

So, BWM Dentsu created a new social media tool to assist Queensland Police with missing person investigations. Sent through Snapchat, Disappearing Person Alerts instantly notify the public when someone goes missing near them.

Using the native functionality of Snapchat, the alert communicates an informative and emotive message, ‘Help find John Citizen before he disappears.’

Launched in conjunction with the 2017 National Missing Persons Week, Disappearing Person Alerts continue to be used today as a powerful policing tool.

‘Disappearing Person Alerts,’ helped BWM Dentsu Australia earn Agency of the Year honors at the 2018 Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards held at Shangri-la at The Fort. Dentsu Aegis Network earned the coveted Network of the Year award.

The awards for ‘Disappearing Person Alerts, included In Responsible Citizenship, Humanity & Culture cluster and Gold was earned by the same campaign in Youth Brand, Humanity & Culture cluster; a Silver in Mobile, Media & Digital cluster; another Silver in Social Media, Media & Digital cluster; and a Bronze in Best Brand Idea for Good, Creative cluster.