Poppyscotland, administrator of the Scottish Poppy Appeal, has appointed a design agency to reposition the iconic symbol as a year-round fundraising tool and dispel associations with the two world wars.

Poppyscotland, which has just merged with the Royal British Legion to create the UK’s biggest armed forces charity, has commissioned Glasgow-based design agency Good Creative to help change public perceptions of the charity.

It wants to raise awareness among members of the public that much of its work now supports veterans of recent and ongoing conflicts, including those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And it wants to shift donor perceptions that fundraising for the charity’s work only takes place once a year, during the Poppy Appeal.

The charity has committed £30,000 to a TV and radio campaign.

Charity spokesman Fraser Bedwell said that market research carried out last year showed the charity still had some way to go to educate the public about where the money raised goes.

“The Poppy is synonymous with Remembrance Day and for that reason November will always remain a focal poit for our fundraising activity but we want to make the appeal relevant all year round.

“We will be using a range of different media to raise our profile including advertising, PR and social media. We have 6,000 followers on Facebook as well as a Twitter feed and Flickr and YouTube sites.”

Last year the Scottish Poppy Appeal raised a record £2.34m.