Has the charity wristband had its day?
Ninety years ago Field Marshall Earl Haig came upon a group of French war widows selling paper poppies on the streets of London. He quickly recognised that poppies could become a symbol to unite the nation in grief and support of those who had fallen, and importantly, provide a mechanism for raising funds to help Servicemen who had been left destitute after World War 1.
Since then the poppy has become an instantly recognisable icon, not just of our charity, but of the wider remembrance period. Other charities have since introduced their own emblems so supporters can champion their cause in a very visible way. Marie Curie’s spring daffodil will soon be appearing on the streets, while pink and red ribbons are synonymous with breast cancer and AIDS awareness campaigns respectively.
In 2004 cyclist Lance Armstrong and sportswear giants Nike famously launched the yellow “Livestrong” wristband to promote and raise funds for Armstrong’s cancer foundation. To date over 70 million have been sold worldwide. The wristband craze soon took hold with hundreds of UK charities developing their own design of wristbands.
Marie Curie daffodil (top left); AIDS awareness ribbon (top right); breast cancer awareness ribbon (bottom left); Livestrong wristband (bottom right)
On the subject of wristbands, we have to be candid with you and with ourselves. We were slow off the mark. Up until 2010 Poppyscotland did not offer wristbands, let alone any other poppy-branded items for sale. The occasional pin badge was available to those who knew how to seek them out, but to be absolutely honest, Poppyscotland was missing a huge opportunity. Last October we finally launched a range of retail products as a means of generating further income for our work to support veterans. We have been very mindful to strike an appropriate balance between providing new and attractive ways for the public to show their support for the poppy, whilst using the poppy in a tasteful and dignified way.
A selection of the new items from the Poppyscotland store
The first quarter trading results are just in and we’ve been delighted with the initial uptake and feedback. Pin badges remain popular and our Christmas cards, mugs, teddy bears and t-shirts have all sold well. However, to our great surprise our wristbands have not been as popular as expected. I’m keen to find out why.
Poppyscotland wristband
Were they too expensive at £3? Was the unusual interlocking design not attractive? Or could it be that we have simply missed the boat; have wristbands had their day?
Fraser Bedwell, Head of Marketing, Poppyscotland.
all these items were great but not widely available i tried to get a poppy pin badge but was unsuccesful people like the poppy cause you can pit what you want in the tin ie change from a small purchase but i and other are prepared to pay a fixed amount for something morre robust
Thanks for that John. The main area we’re looking to improve on is how widely the merchandise is available in the future. Although we did have a number of outlets selling merchandise, I really want to ramp this up in 2011. Watch this space!
I don’t know why they are not selling well – they are very attractive. I will send in an order in the next day or so and order some to keep with the poppies I had left over. £3 is not expensive for a quality item. I visited a Help for Heroes stall in my local supermarket recently and they were selling travel wallets and credit card wallets at £3 and £5 each, and they were very popular. The wristbands just need promoting a bit and I’ll do what I can to help sell them in the autumn.
I also notice there are some Christmas Truce cards left. Those that received them from me at Christmas really liked them, so if there are any left I will add those to the order as well.
Thanks for the feedback Heather, that’s really useful. We did some benchmarking before the launch to make sure our pricing was in line with what other charities do, and I think we just about got that right. I agree that wider promotion, together with broader distribution, will see an increased uptake this year.
Yes, we do still have Christmas cards left and you can order them online – you win the prize for the most organised Christmas shopper I’ve met this year!!!