The Manchester based Co-op’s new membership scheme has been so successful that the mutual has significantly accelerated its plans to recruit a further one million members.
The Group has now announced ambitious plans to recruit one million new members by the end of 2017 following the successful launch of the customer offer in September last year. The Co-op aims to sign up 500,000 new customers and encourage a further 500,000 existing shoppers to become members.
The Co-op said in September that it hoped to sign up one million further members by the end of 2018 but the scheme’s success has already led 400,000 new members to join the mutual in the four months since launch.
The mutual, which now has 4.1 million active members, has seen a hugely positive response to the new scheme.
To promote its Join Us campaign the Co-op has teamed up with the acclaimed British film director Shane Meadows who has created a series of powerful short films to illustrate its support for local causes.
Meadows, best known for the Bafta award winning feature film and TV series ‘This is England’, does not normally work with brands, but has chosen to partner with the Co-op because of its business ethos and purpose.
A four minute version of his work created to illustrate the Co-op’s support for thousands of local good causes will be shown in cinemas across the UK from 20th January.
Rufus Olins, Chief Membership Officer at the Co-op, which has an outlet in every postal area in the UK, said:
“The Co-op is back and our members and our communities are once again at the heart of all we do. In looking to grow our membership significantly in 2017, we are in affect looking to grow the Co-op economy, and the very positive impact it can have in communities throughout the UK. We are delighted that such an authentic and critically-acclaimed director as Shane Meadows has chosen to work with us as we aim to introduce a new generation to the Co-op. Like us Shane believes in the power of people working together to change things and the difference the Co-op can make in strengthening communities.”
