‘2012 must be the year that the co-operative message goes viral’
Great video features a fast-action hand-drawn guide to the history of rural electric cooperatives.
Global digital campaign to tell the stories behind co-operatives
Global News Hub attracts long line of participants
More about Communication
Inspired by ICMIF CEO Shaun Tarbuck's presentation The Future is Cooperative on the occasion of La Equidad's 40th anniversary, María de Valdivia Angeles, corporate communications manager for Uruguay member Surco, reflects on the significance of the cooperative brand.
She says that over the last few years people have begun to challenge their perceptions of the way the commercial world should function. The collapse of the world economy has discredited the management model of many of the world’s largest financial company’s and caused widespread disenchantment among consumers.
In such a climate Cooperatives have an incredible opportunity to market their own business model and benefit from a desire of customers to conduct their business in a more ethical way. By having the customer as the central stakeholder in the business, it is clear that cooperatives hold a significant advantage over stock companies when marketing themselves as a customer driven business.
But cooperatives must be proactive in order to make themselves heard. Shaun Tarbuck says a powerful cooperative brand must be the visible face of the business strategy and must drive the behaviour of officials and executives.
The cooperative brand has a great deal of power but its message must be heard so that the sector can fully take advantage of the opportunities they have.
