Vivienne Francis: Everyone has a role to play in dementia battle

Despite this, dementia still doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

But our bold new advertising campaign aims to make dementia everyone’s issue so we can change that. The four-week campaign will span TV, press, online and social media, and calls on everyone to put aside their differences and unite against dementia.

Every experience of dementia is different. It affects people, their carers and families in a multitude of ways. One thing that does seem uniform is that people do not always get the support they need, and that care can become the job of families – with many facing staggering financial burdens.

There are many reasons why we are doing this campaign – to break down stigma, to let people know we are here as the rallying point of the growing movement for change and to urge people
to stand shoulder to shoulder with us ensuring that we raise funds and campaign for the rights of people affected by dementia.

Our research has also found that public understanding is worryingly low and that people don’t understand the sheer scale and urgency of dementia – only 22 per cent of the population realise that dementia leads to death and worryingly, a third of people wrongly believe there is a cure. We also know that many people feel nothing can be done about dementia and there is a prevailing sense of apathy and hopelessness.

We need to shift this mindset to one of hope and action. We want the public to know that, given the scale and urgency of the issue, it’s time to forget our differences and come together to urgently find a cure, improve care and offer help and understanding.

This is captured in the TV ad, which sees people from different walks of life coming together to unite against dementia.

The campaign concept was developed in the lead-up to Brexit and has been designed to tap into cultural truths, some of which are uncomfortable. In some ways, we can feel to be a divided nation but regardless of age, background, philosophical views, allegiances, tastes or political persuasion the odds are dementia will affect us all in some way.

This campaign supports the launch of our new, bold brand. Throughout the development of the brand, as well as the advertising campaign concept, we consulted with people affected by dementia – including Alzheimer’s Society service users – to ensure we developed something with a visual identity that was accessible for all the people we support.

I listened to one of our most ardent supporters, a woman called Shelagh Robinson, speak, and what she was expressing was a revolution in perception, as well as a call to arms. She said: “I wish most of all for a society, with a big S, which does not still see dementia as a condition to be hidden away and stigmatised, but can accept the openness of someone who says: ‘Yes, I have dementia and I’m ok.’”

People with dementia that we’ve consulted with have been really supportive of us rebranding and launching this campaign. They recognise –
and many have even encouraged us – to be bolder and more distinctive to meet the scale of the challenge.

So what you can do to support our campaign? There are over 67,000 people living with dementia in Yorkshire and each and everyone deserves quality care and support.

Our new strategy sets out our ambition to fund more research to find a cure, lead the dementia movement for change and shift attitudes and provide services and support to reach every single person affected dementia – so that no-one has to face dementia alone.

This campaign is just the beginning, but will enable us to fund more research, provide more support services locally, such as dementia advisers, improve public understanding and end stigma – and turn up the volume so that the state
can’t ignore that people with dementia are often enduring inadequate care and crippling costs.

Everyone has a role to play in the dementia movement; we need people to donate, fundraise, volunteer, campaign, become Dementia Friends and work to create dementia-friendly communities. Big or small, there is something you can do to defeat dementia.

For me, this is the rallying cry and the voice of people living with the condition shines through in our new campaign. Today, more than ever, organisations need to stay true to those they represent and at Alzheimer’s Society, we give voice to some of the most vulnerable and neglected. This is our clarion call – please unite with us against dementia today.

Vivienne Francis is Director of Marketing and External Affairs with the Alzheimer’s Society.