MINNEAPOLIS, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- According to the FBI, there were 424,066 reports of missing children in 2018 alone. In many cases their safety depends on the ability to act quickly and expand the search for them across state lines and even across the country.
New technology is making that search a little easier. Together, Twin Cities-based content company Screenfeed and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) have created a new, FREE way for any public digital screen to display the names and faces of missing children in the areas that law enforcement or their families indicate they are most likely to be found. Networks managing public digital displays can subscribe to a free content feed featuring profiles of missing children from NCMEC's database that will update automatically based on each screen's location.
As networks of digital screens continue to sprout up in every-day spaces like banks, schools, transit stations, waiting rooms, major shopping centers and home-grown small businesses, reaching a wide-spread audience is more attainable than ever before. In fact, it's been found that 70% of Americans have seen a public digital video display at some point in the past month.
Imagine if all those screens took advantage of this easy way to boost visibility of these at-risk children, and hopefully, help more of them return home? With National Missing Children's Day approaching on Saturday, May 25th, it's the exact challenge NCMEC and Screenfeed are eager to undertake.
"We know that a picture is one of the most important tools in the search for a missing child," said Patricia Willingham, NCMEC Director of Case Management Services. "The ability to get a child's face in front of the public greatly improves the chance that someone will provide the tip that law enforcement needs to safely recover that child."
This impact is compounded when considering people who have seen a public digital display remember the message they saw with an 83% recall rate--far higher than its printed counterpart. Perhaps even more compelling however, is the fact that viewers of digital displays have been shown to be 100X more likely to take action compared to those who encounter the same message on a static print display.
In an industry that supports public digital screens in a wide variety of everyday venues, digital signage has a unique opportunity to saturate communities with what could be life-saving visual information. Screenfeed is calling on digital signage operators to "Save :10, Save a Child." That is, for networks to set aside as little as ten seconds in their screen's playlist loop to raise awareness of children missing in their area. They're hopeful for a big response, and real-world impact. "As a company, we have a heart for children, especially children at risk of exploitation or inequality, so the opportunity to partner with NCMEC in offering this free resource to our customers is really a perfect fit," shares Screenfeed CEO Jeremy Gavin.
About Screenfeed:
Screenfeed is the leading content production and syndication company serving the digital signage industry today. With a library of text, graphic, and video content across numerous categories including news, weather, health, trivia, lifestyle, infotainment, social, and local, Screenfeed offers value for any network, anywhere. In addition to their partnership with NCMEC, Screenfeed also works with the non-profit In a Perfect World, which works to build schools in under-resourced areas abroad with the specific goal of enabling marginalized children the opportunity to receive an education.
About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children:
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation whose mission is to help find missing children, reduce child sexual exploitation, and prevent child victimization. NCMEC works with families, victims, private industry, law enforcement, and the public to assist with preventing child abductions, recovering missing children, and providing services to deter and combat child sexual exploitation.
SOURCE Screenfeed
Share this article