From Pokies to Purpose: How brand strategy can reignite relevance for Australian NFPs – The RSL case study
July 8, 2025
The business world often talks about the “boiled frog” phenomenon – the slow, imperceptible decline into irrelevance. But what happens when that decline isn’t so slow, and the signals are flashing neon bright? For many Not-for-Profit (NFP) organisations, particularly legacy institutions, the challenge of staying relevant in a rapidly changing world is existential.
Nowhere has this been more evident than with Australia’s Returned and Services League (RSL). Once a bedrock of support for veterans and a central pillar of community life, many RSL Clubs and even the overarching RSL National found themselves facing a profound relevance crisis. This isn’t just a cautionary tale for one organisation; it’s a powerful lesson for every NFP striving to maintain impact and trust.
For decades, RSLs were synonymous with mateship, remembrance, and vital welfare services for returned servicemen and women. They were often the heart of country towns and suburban communities, offering a sense of belonging and a place for shared experience.
However, over time, a significant shift occurred. For many in the public, and crucially, for a growing number of veterans themselves, the perception of RSLs began to morph. Instead of being seen primarily as mission-driven bastions of veteran support, numerous RSL Clubs became increasingly identified with their pokies and bistro-style venues. This commercialisation, while often intended to generate revenue for veteran services, inadvertently overshadowed their core purpose.
This led to a critical disconnect:
- Outdated perception: The public, particularly younger generations, started to view RSLs as antiquated, more focused on gaming and cheap meals than on their foundational mission.
- Cultural misalignment: Younger veterans, often returning from contemporary conflicts, found the culture of some RSLs outdated and culturally misaligned with their experiences and needs. The traditional “old digger” image, while historically important, didn’t resonate with their diverse backgrounds and modern challenges.
- Loss of focus: The focus on hospitality and gaming, while financially expedient for many clubs, blurred the lines of their primary mission, leading to brand confusion and identity fragmentation.
- A credibility crisis: As public scrutiny grew, particularly around financial management and the balance between commercial activities and charitable work, public trust began to erode.
- Loss of public trust: Scandals and negative media attention further damaged the RSL’s reputation, making it harder to attract new members, volunteers, and funding.
- Reduced engagement from modern Veteran communities: Crucially, the very people they were founded to serve – contemporary veterans and their families – found less reason to engage. They sought support elsewhere, or felt the RSL no longer understood their unique challenges.
This situation highlighted several common themes of NFP irrelevance that apply broadly across the sector:
- Outdated mission framing: The language used to describe their mission, often rooted in historical legalistic or paternalistic terms, failed to resonate with a modern audience.
- Lack of cultural inclusivity: The traditional culture of many clubs struggled to adapt to a more diverse veteran population, including women, Indigenous veterans, and those from various cultural backgrounds.
- Poor digital transformation or innovation adoption: A reluctance to embrace digital platforms for communication, service delivery, or engagement meant they fell behind organisations that were agile and accessible online.
- Inability to shift from service delivery to systems influence: While still providing valuable individual services, many struggled to articulate or execute a broader strategy for influencing policy and systemic change for veterans on a national level, beyond direct welfare.
The RSL’s journey is far from over, but the challenges prompted significant calls for reform and rebranding at both state and national levels. This is where strategic brand work becomes not just a “nice-to-have” but an existential necessity.
For ]organisations like the RSL, a comprehensive brand refresh and strategy isn’t about cosmetic changes; it’s about a deep dive into:
- Reaffirming core purpose: Stripping back the layers to redefine and clearly articulate their foundational mission in a way that resonates with today’s veterans and the broader community. This often involves moving beyond “what we do” to “why we do it.”
- Stakeholder listening & engagement: Actively seeking out and listening to the voices of younger veterans, diverse communities, and key stakeholders to understand their evolving needs and perceptions.
- Modernising brand identity: Developing a visual and verbal identity that reflects their revitalised purpose – one that feels contemporary, inclusive, and trustworthy. This isn’t about erasing history but building on a proud legacy in a forward-looking way.
- Strategic communication: Crafting clear, consistent messages across all channels that highlight their mission-driven work, their impact, and their relevance to current societal issues, effectively countering negative perceptions.
- Program & service evolution: Identifying how existing services can be modernised or new programs developed to meet contemporary needs, ensuring that commercial activities support the mission rather than overshadow it.
- Digital transformation: Embracing digital tools to improve accessibility, engagement, fundraising, and internal operations, making them relevant in a digitally-native world.
The RSL’s story is a powerful reminder that legacy and history, while valuable, are not guarantees of future relevance. For any NFP looking to not only survive but thrive in the current climate, proactive brand strategy and an unwavering commitment to understanding and serving evolving stakeholder needs are paramount. It’s about ensuring your purpose remains clear, your impact is evident, and your brand continues to sizzle, long before the water gets too hot.
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