· There is still huge need within the ex-Service Community.

· There is still widespread ignorance of the welfare support – including the Legion’s - that is available.

· The ex-service constituency totals some 10.5 million now, down from about 15 million some eight or nine years ago - this includes ex-Service people themselves, wives, widows and dependants.

· Some four million veterans and their dependants report living on a net income of less than £10,000 a year, far below the national average.

· Nearly half a million of the adult ex-Service community have a long-term illness, disability or infirmity, and 1.73 million have multiple conditions.

· Some half a million veterans and their families say they are simply not receiving the help, advice and support that they need.

· Depression.

· Exhaustion or pain.

· Not finding enough money for day-to-day living.

· Difficulty findings out about service or benefits to which they are entitled.

A huge challenge The Legion has been active for 85 years. So why is the need not being met? We believe there are many factors that contribute:

· Pride. This is particularly strong in the World War II generation.

· Low expectations. That older generations do not expect to receive or be given help is also a problem, or also a barrier for us.

· Misunderstanding of the offer, of eligibility or which organisation to approach for help.

· Increasing aversion, particularly amongst younger people, to labels and being labelled.

· Perceptions of what we are and who we can help, including staff and volunteer attitudes to who is eligible.

· Our ability to respond to people when they come forward.

· The perceptions of other ex-Service organisations about what we offer and what we do well.

· Unattractive or nonexistent welfare marketing and promotional materials.

The National media launch event will seek to create a sense of connection with the Poppy.  We are working with a well known artist to create a “People’s Poppy,” a massive photomontage image made up of hundreds of smaller images - photographs or drawings of people and places, past and present, abstract and real – all linked to the ex-Service community.  People of all ages - children, beneficiaries, Legion members and volunteers, and celebrities - are being encouraged to  contribute their images. The “People’s Poppy” will be installed in a major venue in London on June 1st.  In the days and weeks that follow the national launch - working closely with Field Managers and Counties - we will organise a mixture of similar regional and local media events only in selected areas. We calling the campaign “Six Degrees of Separation” it will use people’s stories to demonstrate the way the Legion helps meet the need in the ex-Service Community. We will target all the major communication channels including both generic and specialist media.  An important sector to be targeted will be the intermediaries as Citizens’ Advice Bureaux, Health professionals (who will themselves have huge networks and enable us to extend our reach).

· Attract the attention of potential beneficiaries and persuade them to contact us.

· Raise awareness of our other welfare services among existing beneficiaries.

· Persuade friends, neighbours or other professionals to tell beneficiaries about us or to contact us themselves.

· Enable other key welfare providers or networking organisations to spread the word to their members and clients.

· Engage and inform Legion members, volunteers and supporters.

· Raise awareness of the welfare issues of ex-Servicemen and women and their families, how the Legion can help and why the Poppy Appeal is so important.

· Potential beneficiaries.

· Those who may know can reach/influence potential beneficiaries.

· Those that want to help us help potential beneficiaries.

Legion members, volunteers and staff Both the PR and the advertising campaigns must work in tandem with all other Legion activity and they will be carefully positioned to allow a smooth transition to the Poppy People campaign in August and the Poppy Appeal itself.  Central to all this will be the involvement of Legion members, volunteers and staff.  This weekly newsletter will sent to counties and branches informing you of the latest developments in the awareness-raising programme and what to expect. To ensure that as many people as possible are fully included in the process, we will also place the newsletter and other materials on the Legion intranet and the web. We will issue printed briefings and utilise LegionLetter and Legion Magazine.  We plan to send all branches and counties a communication and pack of branded materials well in advance of the national media launch. And, more materials will be available from Aylesford. We would like all members and volunteers to make this campaign a central part of this year’s Legion in the Community activity. We would like you to take the branded posters and place them in as many outlets as possible – from surgeries to libraries and not forgetting our own branches and clubs - to spread the message as widely as possible. We will have formal feedback mechanisms in place to draw out any issues or opportunities that arise.

Coming soon: in the next week there will be an area launched on the Intranet dedicated to the welfare awareness campaign, offering FAQs, examples of promotional material and more.