ABOUT THE MASS-SPECC CO-OP MOVEMENT MARQUe

BACKGROUND

The cooperators demonstrated the desire for a common global identity when the United Nations wholly supported the International Year of Co-operatives in 2012 with a logo and tagline adopted by all co-ops. With this, the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) carried out wide-ranging research and member engagement to develop a new symbol for our global movement “that ALL co-operatives can align with — which differentiates us from other forms of business.” It is also a key output of ICA’s work around one of the five themes of the “Blueprint for a Co-operative Decade” – our co-operative identity.

The project’s outcome was the ‘co-op’ marque, along with key messages and a set of signature images. Together, these make up a ‘visual identity’ toolkit. Its purposes are to help co-operatives identify themselves as part of a global co-op movement and gain recognition for their co-op difference. The ICA has also demonstrated its commitment to the marque by making it the central element of its own logo.

RATIONALE

In conformance with ICA, MASS-SPECC Cooperative Development Center aims to fully adopt and utilize a Co-operative Movement Marque as the recognized common visual identity among member co-ops, affiliates, and partners. Along with the co-operative marque is a tagline that serves as the banner message bespeaking the essence of the co-op movement. The use of the marque, along with the tagline, aligns with the co-op movement and differentiates co-operatives from other forms of business. The Co- operative Movement Marque and Tagline are a collective symbol of the co-op movement and our collective identity, demonstrating our unity of purpose.

In 2017, MASS-SPECC crafted a 10-year Strategic Communication Plan as an output of the co-operative leaders’ response to the qualitative research that has been conducted. The plan’s ultimate goal is to strengthen the co-operative identity, with the co-op leaders of MASS-SPECC envisioning co-ops to have a “One Identity, One Direction by 2027.” After a series of focused group discussions, the tagline “Sharing and Growing Together” was born to be the banner message for all communication strategies and campaigns to realize the co-op movement vision, “All Members Enjoy Better Quality of Life.” This is the key message for all the stakeholders of the federation.

Through the Regional Ownership Meeting resolutions adopted by the General Assembly last June 2021, all member co-ops of MASS-SPECC are enjoined along with the thousands of other co-ops and federations worldwide in using the co-op marque to gain greater visibility of our unique co-op identity and strengthening our distinct model of enterprise. The co-operatives shall pass a board resolution to MASS-SPECC adopting the co-op movement marque and tagline along with these guidelines adhering to the salient features of the common visual identity.

A. WHY 'CO-OP'?

The International Co-operative Alliance’s research engaged more than 1,000 people from 86 countries to find out how co-operatives around the world express their co- operative identity using symbols and words. The research showed that:

There is no abstract or pictorial visual language of cooperation that is recognized in every region or country.
In different parts of the world, cooperation is associated with different symbols, including twin pine trees, rainbows, joined hands, or the sunrise.
The great majority of participants in ICA’s research believed that the word ‘coop’ or ‘co-op’ is unique and specific to our distinct model of enterprise because it expresses who we are, what we do, and what we stand for. There was no significant difference of view between people from different countries, business sectors, or cultures.

Photo Source: Green, D. P. (2014). Be proud and loud: you’re a co-operative [Online Image]. Internation Cooperative Alliance Co-op. https://www.ica.coop/en/media/news/be-proud-and-loud-youre-co-operative

B. THE CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT TAGLINE

With ICA giving us the freedom to create our own message to combine with the marque, the network of MASS-SPECC shall use the tagline developed by the co-operative leaders after its Strategic Communication Planning as a result of the qualitative research conducted for its members’ perceptions on the federation.

After a series of focused group discussions, two taglines emerged as most favored by the participants. These are: “Together we care and share” and “Build. Connect. Grow.” However, the final tagline was a combination of the keywords from those two taglines: “Sharing and Growing Together.” It will serve as the banner message for all communication campaigns and strategies of the federation.

“SHARING AND GROWING TOGETHER” takes off the members from the mindset of the “I,” of being individualistic, to being “us.” It evokes sharing resources together, where care is part of the sharing. It is also consistent with MASS-SPECC’s Co-op Movement Vision, “All Members Enjoy Better Quality of Life.”

B. THE CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT TAGLINE

C. Main Design and Colors

The marque is a simple but original design, based on the letterforms ‘c-o-o-p’, with interlinking ‘o’s as the central elements. The basic color of the Co-operative Movement Marque is blue in accordance with ICA’s set color.

Co-operatives are enjoined to use the Co-operative Movement Marque and Tagline to proudly show to the public our common visual identity. Co-ops shall pass a resolution adopting the Co-operative Movement Marque and Tagline.

The tagline “Sharing and growing together” shall appear prominently on the right side of the ‘coop’ wordmark. Only use the Arial typeface in black color for the Tagline. The marque and tagline may be placed beside your existing co-op logo or adopted as your own co-op logo.