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Programmatic DOOH and Stephen Fry aim to help missing kids
Fri, 19th Feb 2016
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Stephen Fry has been transformed into a cartoon superhero and launched into digital signage as part of a British Child Rescue campaign to make every second count when a child goes missing.

The two week campaign, which includes ‘major outdoor advertising' is designed to encourage Brits to sign up for alerts which notify people when a child has gone missing.

A comic book version of Fry – who is Missing People charity patron – reminds Brits that you don't need to be a superhero to save the day, simply having eyes and ears on the ground after a child goes missing may help save their life.

The digital out of home campaign uses data to drive programmatic creative and deliver real-time, responsive and geo-targeted messages with the aim of increasing the number of people registered to receive text message alerts when a child goes missing in their area, says production and creative technology company, Grand Visual, which masterminded the campaign.

Neil Morris, Grand Visual founder, says programmatic creative harnesses the context effect – data and creativity coming together to communicate in a more resonant and effective way.

“For the Child Rescue Alert campaign, distribution, playback and reporting are programmatically achieved using real-time audience information and data insight to drive the decision making process,” Morris says.

“DOOH is the perfect medium for this type of activity, delivering important and timely messages at scale.

Grand Visual says the data driven creative uses live registration statistics from the campaign and additional location and travel data, to help tailor messages and encourage recruitment in those areas that need the coverage most.

The company is using DOOH campaign management dashboard OpenLoop to analyse the data and automates delivery of localised maps and messages calling for ‘local heroes' to sign up and ‘help bring a high-risk child home'.

Child Rescue Alert says outdoor ad serving platform OpenLoop is providing pro bono support for the campaign.

The campaign is running on digital billboards across roadside, commuter belts, train stations and shopping malls across Britain, with Clear Channel, JCDecaux, Outdoor Plus and Primesight donating outdoor space.

Child Rescue Alert says the digital out of home campaign alone will achieve an estimated 60 million impressions during the two week campaign.

Stephen Fry, patron of the charity Missing People, says the recruitment drive is a fun and engaging film and digital billboard campaign incorporating ‘some really clever OpenLook technology which analyses sign-up data in real-time and optimises the digital billboard messages in order to target recruitment in areas that need better coverage'.