The Missing Children’s Network is looking to stamp out the problem of Quebec’s missing children, 63 cents at a time.
As part of National Missing Children’s Month, the Quebec-based organization has partnered with Toronto agency Lowe Roche on a new initiative that, for the first time ever, is putting the faces of the province’s missing children on postage stamps.
The agency developed a new website, MissingKidStamps.ca (TimbresEnfantsDisparus.ca), that provides instructions on how visitors can create the personalized stamps for missing kids using Canada Post’s custom stamp service.
The site also features pictures and information on some of the many missing children and enables visitors to download an insert they can add to their mailings to alert others about the program. It also offers an “e-signature” that people can append to e-mails and other e-correspondence.
“We really wanted to create a platform that allows anyone and everyone to help while making it as easy as possible to do so,” said Sean Ohlenkamp, executive creative director for Lowe Roche. “We wanted to literally put the power in the hands of all Canadians.”
While the program is currently focused on missing Quebec children, the objective is to expand it into a national and permanent program, said Ohlenkamp. “We’re hopefully laying a really strong foundation here.”
Lowe Roche is also overseeing public relations outreach for the program, which was in development for about two-and-a-half months before kicking off May 1.
The Missing Children’s Network was established in 1985, and has safely reunited more than 870 children with their parents since its inception.
