The organisation, which has existed for over 65 years, is aiming to modernise to challenge the increasing dominance of cross-services charity Help For Heroes.
In the past the ABF has relied heavily on large donations from former servicemen, but director of fundraising and communications, Emma Harvey, wants to transform the charity into a much more consumer-facing proposition to help double its income to £14m over a five-year period.
ABF hired branding agency Dragon Rouge to create a new look and strategy, to encourage consumer donations and take advantage of the high level of attention being paid to soldiers' welfare as a result of the UK's military engagement in Afghanistan.
Research carried out by the agency suggested that consumers struggled to identify with the charity's archaic ‘benevolent fund' title. To help the transition, the charity will retain the ABF acronym in its branding, but is likely to relinquish the former branding over time.
The re-brand aims to place the emphasis upon soldiers, rather than the army. However, soldiers claimed to be uncomfortable with terms such as ‘hero', so the branding is deliberately understated.
The British Army flag, featuring the crown and two swords, will be removed from future branding, as neither the soldiers nor the public identify with the image.
As part of the identity overhaul, all communications for ABF The Soldiers' Charity will now feature a new red ribbon motif which will run off brand material to highlight the ongoing needs of service personnel.
‘We want soldiers to know that we are here for them for life and for the public to know that by supporting us, they support our soldiers past and present,' said Harvey.
ABF The Soldiers' Charity will soon begin the promotion for its annual fundraising event, ‘The Big Curry'. Consumers will be encouraged to organise their own curry parties, while a flagship event, Lord Mayor's Big Curry Lunch, will take place on 29 April.
Previous sponsors of The Big Curry have included Ladbrokes, Deutsche Bank and beer brand Cobra.
Separately, another armed forces charity, The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) recently hired Figtree to give the body a re-brand to mark its 125th anniversary. The new campaign carries the branding 'SSAFA125'.
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