London, UK; 14th October 2008: The ever-popular ‘Poppy Download’ returns for this year’s Poppy Appeal as Tanla Mobile has been chosen by The Royal British Legion to run the mobile phone element of their 2008 Poppy Appeal.

Poppy Downloads allow members of the public to make a donation using their mobile phones and in exchange receive a poppy for their mobile phone wallpaper.

The Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal is one of the best known and supported campaigns in the country. Its aim is to raise funds to support the Legion’s work in providing financial, social and emotional support to people who have served or are currently serving in the Armed Forces, and their dependants.

For the first time, The Royal British Legion is including a short-code number on their nationwide poster campaign, inviting people to show their support by texting ‘POPPY’ to 80848 to make a £1.50 donation. Alternatively, donations of up to £10 using Payforit (WAP) billing can be made by visiting the popular internet portals 3 and Vodafone, via www.poppy.org, which are supporting the campaign.

“We wanted the mobile phone to play a more prominent role in this year’s Poppy Appeal and needed to work with an experienced mobile specialist who are comfortable providing the mobile technology for a high-profile, national campaign,” said Russell Thompson OBE, Director of National Events and Fund raising at The Royal British Legion.

He added: “Tanla Mobile understood how much value mobile phones can add to a campaign, 80848 is a dedicated charity code set up by Tanla that allows The Royal British Legion to take advantage of all charitable donations by SMS.”

Louise Ford, Tanla’s UK Head of Sales, commented: “We are very excited to be working on the Poppy Appeal with The Royal British Legion; providing a fully-managed service that includes billing, content management, mobile portal creation and a customer service helpdesk. Including a mobile element as part of the overall campaign will work very well. It is a straightforward, convenient way for people to donate, and is also a great way to encourage the younger generation to make a contribution. The Poppy Appeal is one of the best known and supported campaigns in the UK and we are very proud to be associated with it.”