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Where’s William? Campaign 

The Where’s William? Campaign was developed and is managed on behalf of William’s family by Insight in a pro-bono capacity. Working in association with NSW Police and Crime Stoppers NSW; our aim was to drive reports to Crime Stoppers NSW to support the Police investigation into William’s abduction. With zero budget and 20 days lead-time, the challenges were formidable.

Through research, Insight developed the brand, key campaign messages, strategies and collateral rolling out the Where’s William? Campaign to increase national awareness of William’s abduction and emphasise the need for anyone with information  that may assist police in their investigation, to ‘make the call’.  While the search for William continues, Insight’s campaign and commitment to William and his family is ongoing.

Background

Objectives

  • Generate widespread awareness about William Tyrrell and the circumstances surrounding his abduction.
  • Increase quantity and quality of information reported to Police and Crime Stoppers.
  • Develop charity partnership.
  • Educate Australian’s that police believe William could still be alive and to not assume the worst case scenario enabling reporting of information.

Challenges

  • No budget – entire campaign created and managed by Insight pro-bono.
  • 20 days to develop National Where’s William? Campaign to mark William’s 4th Birthday including branding, messaging, collateral and website.
  • No official spokesperson.
  • Sensitive subject matter.
  • Restrictions with social media.
  • Harassment of William’s family by trolls.
Results

Campaign Outcome Highlights

  • Crime Stoppers NSW – 2,800 reports to Crime Stoppers. A record number within the time frame.
  • NSW Police – 196 reports to Police, 1,078 reports of possible sightings of William, identified 690 persons of interest achieving an unprecedented, ‘phenomenal response’ increasing investigative resources and doubling the investigation team.
  • 210 Events: Media and grassroots community events measured in registrations, participation, media coverage and reach. 
  • Widespread Support From: 
    • State and Federal MP’s: Wore Where’s William? ribbon in Parliament.
    • Celebrity and Media: Wore WW Ribbon on camera and utilised social media.
    • Community: Conducted multiple events, purchased merchandise and distributed collateral.

Media Coverage Highlights

  • 843 Traditional Pieces: Metropolitan, regional, suburban, national, MNC across print, radio and TV, including: 
    • 60 Minutes
    • A Current Affair
    • TV: Breakfast, News, Morning, Current Affairs and on nationwide networks
    • Sunday Telegraph
    • 2GB
    • Mid North Coast: 91 Pieces
  • 7,514 Online Pieces: Reach: 72,571,854,616
  • Key Messages Per Clip: 2 or more in 75.7% of media coverage
  • 60 Minutes Story: Presented detailed, accurate facts to build wide-spread awareness
    • 1.164 Million viewers
    • Online-Views: 145,837

Where’s William? Website – First 52 Weeks

  • Pageviews: 165,329
  • Sessions: 90,461 (180% target)
  • Users: 78,484
  • 84% Referral traffic via online news
  • Downloads: 2307 (Previews: 10,110)

Facebook

  • William’s Facebook Page became the dominant FB authority with accurate facts advancing truthful, positive perceptions achieving: 61,026 Page Likes in 52 weeks exceeding target by 17.5%.
  • Facebook Post Reach: 10,348,103
  • Facebook Post Impressions: 18,453,217
  • Engaged Users: 685,251
  • Average Daily Page Likes: 167
  • Exceeded unendorsed aggressor (troll) pages by 46%
  • Post Engagement: Reach: 10,348,103, Post Likes: 265,607, Post Shares: 140,149
  • Page Likes
    • 9,262: Day 1
    • Birthday video: 3,300 shares; 81,600 views
    • 11,639: Week 1
    • 30,027: 12 weeks
  • 61,026: 52 weeks (Leading Page) Messages of love and support for William and his family continue to grow with Page Likes currently exceeding 100,000

Insight is committed to supporting the search for William Tyrrell.

Community Service Announcement

Television

2015 Televsion 30-Second Community Service Announcement

2016 Television 30-Second Reward Community Service Announcement

 

Radio

2015 Radio 30-Second Community Service Announcement

 

2016 Radio 30-Second Reward Community Service Announcement

Media Links

Media Links

MAJOR ITEMS

CELEBRITY SOCIAL MEDIA

LAUNCH

NATIONAL MISSING PERSONS WEEK

 12 MONTH ANNIVERSARY & WHERE’S WILLIAM? WEEK

CHRISTMAS

MNC (Mid-North-Coast)

Port Macquarie News Items

Testimonials

Testimonials

NSW POLICE – Where’s William? Campaign
The investigation into William’s disappearance has relied heavily upon information from the public. The ‘Where’s William? Campaign’ has greatly assisted the investigation through their efforts in generating interest throughout the community regarding William’s plight. The persons behind the campaign have worked with investigators, ensuring the right message has gone out to the public which resulted in persons providing information to police. The campaign has ensured that William’s disappearance is firmly implanted in the consciousness of the community. This has assisted police when appealing for information from the public.

The response to Crime Stoppers in regards to this investigation has been phenomenal. The investigation has received 2,800 reports to Crime Stoppers, a further 196 reports of information direct to the taskforce and had 1,078 possible sightings reported. The taskforce has identified 690 persons of interest.

Police are not prepared to release the exact details, but readily acknowledge that the ‘Where’s William Campaign‘ has played a big part in generating this response from the public, that has assisted the investigation.
Detective Inspector Gary Jubelin, Chief Investigator, Strike Force Rosann, NSW Police

CRIME STOPPERS – Where’s William? Campaign
The case of missing young boy, William Tyrrell has captured the hearts and minds of communities right across Australia, the globe and very much so in NSW.
Crime Stoppers has been an integral part of the strategic policing tools in this yet to be resolved case. However, we cannot exist without the support of the media and PR machine. The Where’s William? Campaign has been and continues to be, relentless in their quest to resolve this case.
Peter Price AM, CEO, Crime Stoppers

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH – LIA HARRIS
As Senior Crime Reporter for the Sunday Telegraph, the difference between the months preceding and following the launch of the Where’s William? Campaign in available information, cooperation between interested parties, public interest and coordination of events, has been enormous. It was extremely difficult for the media to gain an understanding of the latest information, to verify facts and to communicate with those involved in the case, including NSW Police and William’s family. This was made vastly more complicated by William’s legal situation and led to convoluted coverage of the investigation, making it very difficult for the general public to understand what was happening in the case, which in turn hampered efforts by police urging anyone with information to come forward.

The campaign has made a major difference to the media coverage of the case in multiple ways, including the way the investigation was portrayed. Having a singular point of contact for information relating to William’s family and planned events has made the job of media coverage much simpler and led to a more consistent approach to news stories surrounding the case. While questions about the ongoing investigation are still directed to police, any other information, most importantly, fact-checking, is dealt with by Insight. In a major case like this one, where there is extensive public and media interest, I have never experienced a more organised and consolidated approach to ensuring only correct and valuable information is reported in the media. Their approach to working with journalists and using the media as another tool to help assist the Police investigation has hugely benefited all parties. I have also witnessed the public’s perception of the case change significantly as a result of the campaign which is now focused on helping to find William, rather than laying blame for his disappearance. Insight has done, and continues to do, a phenomenal job running this ground-breaking campaign. I have every belief their work will help to solve this case.
Lia Harris, Senior Crime Reporter, The Sunday Telegraph

WHERE’S WILLIAM? CAMPAIGN
Clare and Alice have campaigned tirelessly (in a pro-bono capacity), on our behalf. They have fought the battles and at all times never lost sight of our ultimate goal – to bring our William home. Their emotional connection has enabled them to successfully appeal to the public’s psyche to build moral outrage that a crime of this nature took place and at the same time, galvanizing communities all over Australia with the common goal of finding William and bringing him home.
William’s Mummy and Daddy

Podcast

Podcast

Over the years, Insight has had the incredible honour of working on many life-saving and life-changing awareness campaigns for a wide range of organisations and causes, and we pride ourselves on the award-winning results we achieve. But nothing could have prepared us for the heart wrenching challenges we were faced with in developing and managing the Where’s William? Campaign in the search for little William Tyrrell. Initiated by William’s Mum and Dad, the purpose, strategies and passion behind Insight’s campaign were profiled by Caroline Overington in Episode 5: Risks and Rewards of the Australian’s podcast; Nowhere Child