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Category: 10. Not-For-Profit Campaign Entrant: Royal British Legion Campaign: Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal 2006
Objectives
The Royal British Legion is the nation's custodian of Remembrance, organising
ceremonies so the human cost of war is not forgotten. Remembrance Day is
preceded by Poppy Appeal, the fundraiser that enables the Legion to support
serving and ex-service people and their dependants.
In June 2006 the Legion launched Poppy Support to encourage more serving and
ex-service people to apply for its welfare services .
As such, the challenges for Poppy Appeal and Remembrance Day 2006 were to:
Create a link between income generation and welfare offering
Convey the ongoing relevance of Poppy Appeal and Remembrance to modern
generations
Take advantage of Armistice Day falling on a Saturday
Generate a target £26m
Maintain the reputation of the Legion
Together, in-house and external PR, advertising and events teams developed a
strategic approach :
Modern, visual - appeal to young audiences
Dignified, tasteful - avoid alienating traditional supporters
Re-tell story behind Poppy, highlighting real people and real lives
Give a voice to young and old
Highlight support Legion provides today and extent of need
Prove relevance of Remembrance through new research and young
spokespeople
Respond actively to topical media debate
Creativity
Events
Alongside traditional commemorations, two events were created:
Modern, eye-catching
In popular, accessible venues
Young celebrities, participants and beneficiary spokespeople
Bringing the Poppy to life
Poppy Appeal launch, 26/10/06
New Forces' sweetheart, opera singer Katherine Jenkins
A dress of 2,500 poppies
Covent Garden piazza
Joined by those who served in recent conflicts
Remembrance, 11/11/06
Created a new event 'Silence in the Square' held in Trafalgar Square
which combined traditional and non-traditional elements to take the Legion's
message to a broader audience
Advertising
Complete rethink from previous campaigns
Separate executions for Poppy Appeal and Remembrance
Poppy Appeal - welfare messages and research statistics, incorporating
Poppy Support brand for the first time
Remembrance - targeting broader audiences
Service station advertising
Short video ad showing at service stations nationwide
Story of how Legion helped a veteran who served in Bosnia
New media - Fundraising
Three striking, animated text downloads to raise funds
Follow-up texts to remind donors to observe Two Minute Silence
New media - Communications
Legion blog to join up Poppy Appeal across the country
Two Minute Silence podcast on iTunes , for dispersed audiences to join
in Remembrance
Implementation
Campaign management
The Legion:
Brought in new PR agencies (Amazon PR, The SPAway and Zebra Sponsorship)
integrating them into internal Press Office
Developed advertising messages with The Gate
Based campaign on new understanding of beneficiaries and supporters
Built on momentum of Poppy Support summer launch
Managed risks combining traditional with non-traditional approaches
Targeted PR at national print, broadcast and online media
Placed outdoor ads (5,514) at stations and roadside sites
Placed press ads (8) in Mail, Times, Express
Media liaison
Media relations played the major role underpinning the campaign:
Promoting engagement of new audiences with events and new media
Bringing advertising to life, giving young beneficiaries a voice
Profiling young celebrities and spokespeople
Highlighting new YouGov research :
85% of Britons think Two Minute Silence is relevant today
81% of 18-29 year olds agree this year's silence is relevant to them
Providing materials for local organisers, to ensure integration with
national campaign
Actively joining media debates to reinforce Legion welfare messages
Evaluation
Funds raised £24.1m so far (£1m up on this time last year)
Text downloads 11,000 raising £10,000
Podcast downloads 1,500 over Remembrance weekend Voted a Hit in PR Week
"Hit or Miss"
Blog postings Blog referenced in 13 other blogs including Hill and Knowlton
Clear spike in blog traffic references to Legion
Case study interview of young woman who "went from fighting for her
country in Iraq two years ago to being a jobless single mum with nowhere to
live".
Radio 5 Live 26/10
"85 years after the first Poppy Day the cost of war still remains the
same. And it's not just older people who benefit from Poppy support ... it's
people of all ages."
Hello! Magazine 7/11
Picture story featuring Katherine Jenkins in poppy dress, "launching this
year's Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. It will raise funds for soldiers
serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as veterans".
Remembrance
Independent 10/11
Teenager's poem chosen for Remembrance Day: "... such projects proved that
Remembrance Day was still relevant to youngsters, especially at a time when
our servicemen and women continued to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan".
Telegraph 10/11
"... the charity is offering a podcast, virtual 'poppy downloads' for
mobile telephones and an internet blog for the first time. It is trying to
reach out to younger people who feel 'less attracted' to visit war memorials
and churches."
Hill and Knowlton blog 14/11
"... I see the Royal British Legion released a podcast of the traditional
two-minute Remembrance Day silence. Very clever ..."
In November, the Legion reached number one in PR Week's NGO Watch, with the
highest single-month mentions total achieved in 2006.
Summary:
The campaign breathed life back into an 85 year old national institution and
made it modern and relevant.
