Marketing Our Cooperative Advantage

Our Girl Scout patch program promotes cooperatives around the theme "Co-ops for Community." The activity booklet for earning the patch teaches participants what a co-op is, what the different types of co-ops are, how to govern a co-op, and how to find co-ops on the Internet. The patch was sponsored by Cabot Creamery Cooperative and the National Cooperative Business Association. The booklet can be downloaded for free at www.cabotcheese.coop/girlscouts or at go.coop. To request a hardcopy: email Deb Lowery at writer1118@bellsouth.net.

MOCA — Marketing Our Cooperative Advantage is an exciting approach to marketing and education in cooperatives. It's leading edge ideas about how your cooperative or credit union can use its cooperative nature as a unique selling point.

Key Elements of Marketing Our Cooperative Advantage

• MOCA is founded on the belief that the cooperative nature of our businesses is our key asset and a source of value in market differentiation.
• MOCA is premised on the knowledge that cooperatives are of increasing value in a global world economy in which people are concerned about enhancing their influence over their economies, protecting the ecology that sustains life on our planet, enhancing democratic values, and fairly distributing wealth in our world.
• MOCA is based on the cooperative principles, especially the principle of education, and the belief that living and effectively communicating those values builds membership, increases sales, and strengthens the financial stability of the cooperative.
• MOCA is rooted in sound market research that shows people do value cooperatives and credit unions and the principles upon which they rest.
• MOCA celebrates marketing efforts that work, seeks to understand the challenges faced, and facilitates sharing the lessons learned across cooperative industry sectors.
• MOCA encourages the synergy that comes from cross sector marketing where different types of cooperatives and credit unions reinforce each other's marketing impact.
• MOCA encourages cooperatives to link their marketing, communications, education, and strategic planning efforts to ensure they focus on effectively communicating and consistently delivering the cooperative advantage to members and the general public.

Cooperative Life and Global Co-operation have developed a program, including conferences, workshops, planning sessions and learning materials which have been adopted as an official program of the National Cooperative Business Association.

Key Marketing Idea