On 13 March 2010, the charity Missing People held a 10k run – “Miles for Missing People” - in Hyde Park, London, which enlisted approximately 350 runners, raised over £30,000 from individual sponsorship, and garnered press in more than 15 national publications and 20 online. Critical to the event’s success was the support and sponsorship from the original social network Friends Reunited. This is the story of how two organisations with similar objectives but different tones partnered up to host an event that would appeal to both their audiences, and kick off a mutually beneficial partnership.
The idea
Friends Reunited was launched in 2000 to put old school friends back in touch with each other. It now has 20.6 million members and is considered a British social networking phenomenon. Sister site Genes Reunited is currently the UK’s largest family history website with over 9 million members worldwide and 650 million names listed.
The charity Missing People, which provides support for missing children, vulnerable adults and families left in limbo, felt that leveraging Friends Reunited’s technology infrastructure and incredible member network would help publicise and resolve the 250,000 incidents of people missing reported each year. And in return, many Friends Reunited members looking to reconnect with lost friends and loved ones could benefit from Missing People’s offering of specialist advice and practical support.
Missing People approached Friends Reunited in Autumn 2009 with a partnership proposal, that would see the two organisations develop dual branded events and utilise the shared connection to ‘reuniting’ and ‘finding’ people. Friends Reunited CEO Andy Baker was keen from the start, explaining, “Connecting friends and family is central to what we do both on Friends Reunited and our family history site Genes Reunited, so we will be working closely with the charity to make the most of this natural link to help find more people.”
The partnership
Missing People and Friends Reunited commenced their partnership with a high-profile 10K run in Hyde Park, London. “Miles for Missing People,” raised money and awareness for the charity, and was made possible by sole sponsor Friends Reunited. The 10k (6.2 mile) run was chosen as the kick-off event because it presented an upbeat way to help those affected by “missing” and thereby bridged the different tones of the organisations. Additionally, the growing public interest in high-endurance running events meant “Miles for Missing People” had the potential to become a key annual activity for both Friends Reunited and Missing People.
In advance of the run, Missing People offered Friends Reunited a variety of brand opportunities, including media partner adverts (worth minimum of £35k); banners; t-shirts; packs; medals; goodie bags; media area signage; and a dedicated website page. And in return, Friends Reunited was able to publicise the event to the mutual target audience of 35-50 year olds using RSS feed and applications. Out-of-home-advertiser Admedia was selected as the event’s media partner, and they generously donated the space for and production of 4,500 advertisements to help the run publicity effort.
The event offered an opportunity for those affected by the issue of missing to come together and remember missing loved ones, and Reunited users to reconnect with old friends and show their support for this wide-reaching issue.
The success
“Miles for Missing People” was a great success for all involved. The event raised over £30,000 for Missing People – money which will enable the charity’s services team to improve the support and services it offers to the more than 120,000 calls for help it receives every year. The event, and thereby Missing People and Friends Reunited, received press coverage from ITN, Sky News, The Independent, BBC, Press Association, The Sun, News of the World, Daily Mail, Sunday Sun, Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Mercury, the Mirror, and many more.
Just as importantly, the run was a huge hit with service users. Missing People distributed a participant survey the week following the event, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with one runner saying, “Well organised, great atmosphere, uplifting experience” and another runner saying, “Everyone was so happy, helpful and cheery. Funnest run I have ever done.”
With the success of the run behind them, Missing People and Friends Reunited look forward to a long, fruitful relationship in which they can leverage the each other’s resources to serve a shared purpose.
Missing People CEO Martin Houghton-Brown says, “Inviting Friends Reunited’s 20.6 million members to join the charity’s search for missing people has opened up the opportunities for us to grow a unique, and highly visible, corporate partnership.”
In the end, Missing People is incredibly grateful for Friends’ Reunited friendship and financial support. As Missing People’s Director of Services Jo Youle said, “Missing People simply could not continue to deliver its essential services for families and missing people of all ages without the generosity of companies like Friends Reunited.”
For more information visit www.friendsreunited.co.uk or www.missingpeople.org.uk