Co-op Reminds the British Public of Its Origins and Values

Co-op Group, the UK’s largest consumer co-operative, today launches a bold new brand platform and integrated campaign to remind the British public of its origins and values. 

Co-op is 180 years old and was the world’s first successful consumer co-operative, and the new campaign and brand platform, ‘Owned By You. Right By You.’ was made in partnership with its creative agency VCCP London.

The ‘Owned by You. Right By You.’ campaign is launched as a new survey reveals that over 50% of consumers admit they don’t understand what it means when a business is a co-operative or a mutual and two fifths (42%) admit they don't understand what constitutes a co-operative, or how being part of one could benefit themselves and their communities.

The new brand proposition highlights Co-op’s membership model as its unique value. By reminding people that as the Co-op is owned by its members, the public, it can do right by people - this is central to the ‘Owned By You. Right By You.’ brand platform which will extend across all channels. The resulting brand world is designed to be deployed in a channel agnostic manner choosing from a huge range of messages which emphasise how Co-op’s constitution and structure enables it to do good in all communities and for all its members and customers.

A hero 60” film, also titled ‘Owned By You. Right By You.’, has been created using stop motion with printed till receipts, and poses the question of how to create the perfect business. The voiceover by Michael Socha begins by stating “If you were inventing a business today, you’d do right by people… all people”, before highlighting Co-op’s economic value - lowering prices on the things people actually buy - and its social value, investing in communities, schools and neighbourhoods.

Unlike most other businesses, Co-op is owned by its members who each own a share and have a say in how it is run. Co-op was founded in the 19th century by the Rochdale Pioneers Society, based on the notion of ethical trading and belief that the profits of the business should be shared amongst members according to their purchases. Today, Co-op operates almost 2,400 food stores, over 800 funeral homes and provides products to over 6,000 other stores, including those run by independent co-operative societies and through its wholesale business, Nisa Retail Limited.

The new Government has acknowledged the huge contribution cooperatives can make to the economy and has pledged to double the size of the UK’s co-operative and mutuals sector in its manifesto as part of its support for diverse business models which bring innovation and new products to the business sector. Research from Co-op indicates a growing public demand for more diverse models as over half of consumers (55%) are keen to see more co-operatives in business and would give them more backing.

Co-op is owned by over 5 million members and has seen the highest influx of member-owners in seven years. It is committed to delivering value for its members and earlier this year announced its ambition to substantially grow the number of member-owners to 8 million by 2030.

Kenyatte Nelson, chief membership and customer officer at Co-op Group said, “At Co-op, we have been proudly delivering a different way of doing business for 180 years. Now is the time to champion the co-operative model and demonstrate how it provides a solution to many of the challenges we face today. That is why we are on a mission to re-introduce Co-op’s core values and principles to the UK.

“Through our ‘Owned By You. Right By You.’ campaign we will remind the nation that by simply shopping at Co-op as a member-owner, you get a say in how the business is run, lower prices on the products and services you need, and the opportunity to create better societal outcomes in the communities where you live.”

VCCP’s global content creation studio Girl&Bear worked with multi award-winning director Sam Gainsborough and Blinkink to bring to life the new campaign film, Gainsborough’s recent work includes a new promo for the Paris Paralympics and BBC’s Square Eyed Boy.

The new campaign will run from today until the end of the Summer, launching tonight in Coronation Street on ITV1 and STV with a bespoke introduction as part of ITV's Proud to Present. In an ITV first, we will tease the ad with the ITV logo turning black and white to look like a receipt, mirroring the campaign creative.

The integrated campaign, with media planning and buying by Carat UK (a Dentsu company) will also run across other platforms including D/OOH, press, radio, social and digital and is delivered in partnership with MullenLowe for owned social, web and app, ITG for retail and POS and Halpern for PR. The new brand identity featured across the campaign was developed over the past six months by SomeOne as part of their wider four year relationship with Co-op.

Chris Birch and Jonny Parker, executive creative directors at VCCP, added, “We are both lifelong superfans of Co-op so it’s a dream of ours and an honour to have worked on this. Co-op is a brand that has so much to say and does so much good that we wanted to share its incredible story and to turn everyone else into superfans too. Co-op is a great business, run in a unique way - it stands alone in its own category in that respect - and it’s never been more needed. If you were going to invent a business today, you’d have to invent Co-op.”

Flora Kong and Simon Mayfield, client leads at Carat UK, said, “We’ve worked with Co-op for nearly six years and it feels like all moments have led to this one. We’re thrilled to have been able to collaborate with Co-op, VCCP and all of our agency partners to reintroduce Co-op to the UK and to demonstrate the value that they provide to communities right across the UK, bringing new and innovative media solutions to the forefront and making the ‘Owned By You. Right By You.’ creative work sing! It's been the ultimate act of co-operation.”

Alongside the ITV partnership, the campaign will air within a range of high-profile programming across the full TV slate, including ITV, C4 and Sky. The campaign will be supported across BVOD, YouTube and premium cinema spots in key Summer releases to maximise attention and reach light TV viewers. A hand painted mural in Manchester's Northern Quarter has been specially created, alongside a rich out of home plan that will also feature on the London Underground. To align with Co-op’s business values, WeAre8 will serve poll questions after the ad providing an interactive experience and engaging like-minded audiences. Across press, we are launching with impact via a Metro cover wrap. And to support linear audio, the use of smart speakers through Say It Now will seamlessly integrate a call to action to drive audiences to sign up via the Co-op membership page.