2. ABF The Soldiers’ Charity
Raising Awareness & Gaining Support
@soldierschaity
3. Raising Awareness & Gaining Support
I am …
Stephen Steele
Digital Communications Manager
4. ABF The Soldiers’ Charity is the Army’s national charity and we give lifetime
support to serving and retired soldiers and their families in need.
Welcome …
Raising Awareness & Gaining Support
5. We want people to interact with, talk about and share the work we do!
Our passion is…
Raising Awareness & Gaining Support
6. Thank’s Soldier
‘Best Digital Campaign’
CorpCommsDigiAwards
@steeleworld | Digital Communications Manager, The Soldiers’ Charity
Raising Awareness & Gaining Support
7. On a cold, crisp festive
evening, in a stunning show
of support for our troops
serving abroad, we projected
thousands of people's faces
onto the White Cliffs of
Dover.
Raising Awareness & Gaining Support
16. Result!
•During December 2011 over 6,000 people added
their Facebook profile to the online flag.
• In four weeks, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity’s
Facebook fans jumped from 9,000 to over 25,000
people who are committed to helping British
soldiers.
Raising Awareness & Gaining Support
On a cold, crisp festive evening, in a stunning show of support for our troops serving abroad, we projected thousands of people's faces onto the White Cliffs of Dover.
The Soldiers' Charity wanted to raise their profile over the festive period, with the specific goal of growing their Facebook presence. Our focus was simple and yet powerful - at Christmas, many people spare a thought for soldiers serving abroad, away from their families and friends.
These new supporters could then play with the interactive flag, filtering to display only their friends, solely celebrity supporters or, if they really wanted to, a flag dedicated solely to themselves. A powerful Call to Action prompted them to invite their friends to join the campaign, before the big day.
We knew 'Thanks, Soldier!” would spark a conversation and were primed to engage people with stories of the charity’s brilliant work with injured soldiers. What we could never have prepared for was an overwhelming outpouring of support - hundreds of people spontaneously used the charity's Facebook page to post comments wishing British soldiers abroad a Merry Xmas and letting them know that those back home were thinking of them.
The campaign was promoted using social media, on and offline PR and celebrity outreach. It was an instant hit, proving as popular with celebrities as the general public, with the likes of Gary Lineker and Joanna Lumley getting behind the campaign. And, what’s more, The Times, The Sunday Mirror and BBC Online all covered the “Thanks, Soldier!” projection, whilst CorpComms made it their digital campaign of the year!
And so the time came to bring the campaign to a triumphant close. A huge version of the “Thanks, Soldier!” flag was projected onto the White Cliffs of Dover, showing all our soldiers serving abroad how much Britain appreciates their efforts. We think that’s worth a few photos.
