Strengthening the Connection to Virginia’s Veteran Community
35.8 million impressions
433,995 clicks
Increased web visits and calls for appointments
Overview
Virginia is home to more than 700,000 veterans—each with their own journey, shaped by unique needs and goals for what comes next. The Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS) plays a critical role in supporting those who served, offering programs across housing, health care, employment, education, and behavioral health. Hatcher partnered with DVS to strengthen its communications infrastructure and better connect with veterans, transitioning service members, and their families across the Commonwealth. We provided strategic counsel, branding and design support, and outreach support, including paid media, for several key initiatives, including promoting the launch of the Virginia Veterans Network—a centralized online platform designed to provide veterans with streamlined access to DVS-vetted services and trusted providers.
Challenge
Despite the breadth of services available in the Commonwealth, many veterans remain unaware of where to go or how to begin. In addition to its ongoing outreach efforts around its programs and services, DVS designed the Virginia Veterans Network (VVN) to create a single point of access for the wide array of services provided by the state and nonprofit organizations. But, this created a new challenge – raising awareness about this new tool.
Solution
We began our work with DVS with a comprehensive survey of veterans in the state, to understand their current level of awareness of the supports available to them. Our early efforts focused on specific initiatives, like the Women Veterans Program and a partnership with Virginia’s Community Colleges. This included designing the logo for the Virginia Women Veterans Program, running digital ads to promote ongoing education options, producing targeted mailers, creating data dashboard for legislative districts, and developing presentations, one-pagers, and community-focused collateral to raise awareness about available support.
This foundational work set the stage for the launch of the VVN. Our team led the rollout campaign, creating the brand identity and tagline, developing collateral and explainer videos, and executing and managing a multichannel marketing effort to build awareness, drive sign-ups, and establish VVN as the gold standard of veteran support in Virginia. To guide consistent, audience-specific outreach, we developed a detailed messaging matrix tailored to each of the VVN campaign’s core audiences: veterans, transitioning service members, partners, and their families.
Impact
Throughout our engagement, we have served as a creative and strategic partner to the DVS communications team, helping expand their capacity and elevate outreach efforts across multiple initiatives. Our work helped drive engagement with the VVN platform through a targeted mix of paid media, video, collateral, and digital strategy—encouraging more veterans to create accounts and access services. And, we’ve increased overall awareness of DVS and its programs statewide, positioning the department as a trusted and accessible resource for veterans, transitioning service members, and their families. With each phase of work, we helped DVS expand its reach, sharpen its communications, and deepen its connection with those it serves—connecting more veterans and families to the benefits they’ve earned.
Capabilities
Branding
Digital Engagement
Creative
Messaging
Data visualizations
Marketing
Paid Media
Multimedia Production