HARPS FREE PHOTO ID FOR KIDS GETS HIGH GRADE

JOEL ELSON

SPRINGDALE, Ark. -- A free children's photo identification program promoted at Harps Food Stores drew strong customer support, according to chain executives. The retailer ran the all-day event chainwide at 21 stores last month. Parents could get a passport-like booklet, called KidCare ID, with a color photo of their child, and vital information used for identification purposes. "It was a real feel-good promotion. Many moms came to the stores with their kids. It stimulated sales storewide. We had a big section set up for the photo IDs at the front of stores so we could catch all of the kids as they entered," said Karen Ramsey, Harps assistant advertising manager. "This booklet is for parents to hold onto in case their child becomes missing for some reason. They also have an updated photo of their child since they are usually unprepared when such a situation develops," said Ramsey. At one Harps unit 270 children had their photos taken for the ID booklets. Ads ran in local newspapers that encouraged parents to come to stores for a standardized personal safety document and photo of their child. Specific information in the The KidCare document included: race, social security number, hair and eye color, blood type, local police telephone number, the child's identifying features and parents' names. Harps purchased 37 sets of photo ID program materials at $217 each from Polaroid Corp., Cambridge, Mass., which jointly developed Project KidCare with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, in 1993. Each set of materials contained a Polaroid camera, film for 120 prints, a blue photo backdrop, blank ID booklets and a height chart. Harps store managers arranged with local community service organizations to provide volunteers to weigh and measure the height of each child at their store locations.