Digital and print materials

Using social media to share that your loved one is missing is a quick way to spread awareness. 

• Learn more about using social media safely and effectively here.
• Use our template to create assets here or create your own using sites like Canva. 

Most missing persons are found within 48 hours, so depending on the circumstances, you may want to keep the news off social media until Day 3. Instead, you could focus on emailing, printing, and displaying posters.

Avoid using their full name if you can – it may protect their privacy if they are found quickly.

Printing

Ink isn’t cheap, and not everyone has a printer. Officeworks has a monthly charity/community service budget, and Members of Parliament are obliged to print missing persons posters for free.

To find your local, see: Officeworks and Members of Parliament

Placement 

The distribution of posters can be a time-consuming task. Try to rally a small team of people to help, plot out which areas each person will cover, and make a list of key locations you’d like to target beforehand.

Don’t be afraid to ask local cafes and shops, as many will be willing to place a poster in the shop or window. 

Ideas of where to display the poster:

• Supermarkets, shopping centres
• Bus stops, train stations, petrol stations
• Universities, schools, TAFEs
• Centrelink offices
• Hospitals, GP clinics
• Bunnings, Kmart, McDonalds etc (high traffic shops)
• Local fishing trawlers (if the person has gone missing in or near the ocean)
• Social media (but be aware that once it’s on the internet, it’s out of your control)

Letterbox drops

• Consider a letterbox drop in the area where the person has gone missing.
• Use the printed poster so residents have the key details and contact information.
• Add a note asking locals to check any CCTV or dashcam footage.

CCTV

• Make collecting CCTV and dashcam footage a priority.
• Ask someone who is comfortable with technology to help CCTV holders download and share files.

A strategically placed billboard can act as an effective reminder to the public.

• The Missed Foundation has an annual in-kind budget with The Mobile Billboard Company (if your loved one has been missing for more than three months, ask us if we can help)
• Try writing to billboard companies and introducing your circumstances, see if they are willing to provide you a billboard in-kind 
• Get a graphic designer to create the artwork (if you don’t know one, ask us if we can help)
• Have the billboard displayed in the area where the missing person was last seen or the area in which they are believed to be
• You will need to seek approval from local council for placement of a mobile billboard
• Send out a media release for the launch or unveiling of the billboard

Well-designed bumper stickers are a very cost-effective way of spreading the message.

• You can use our bumper sticker template, create your own via Canva or get a graphic designer to create the artwork 
• Contact Officeworks or a local printer and introduce your circumstances, ask if they can help you with the printing in-kind 
• Tell your friends, family and public supporters (via social media) when the stickers are available and distribute them in relevant areas