By Tanya Ee with additional reporting by Sng Ler Jun

The Singapore National Co-operative Federation has launched a new social media campaign to spotlight the Singapore Co-operative Movement’s history. Debuted on 14 August, the campaign, which resides on a brand-new Instagram and Facebook handle (@sgcoopmovement), will spotlight stories within the movement, spanning from revisiting its rich history to covering the latest local happenings.

At the heart of it all, these youthful content showcases how co-operatives, as do-good and do-well enterprises, empower different communities on the sunny island. At the same time, the campaign also aims to raise awareness of the Singapore Co-operative Movement in the public mindshare.

 
Image Credit: Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF)

For the uninitiated, the first co-operative was set up in Singapore close to 100 years ago in 1925, at a time when illegal money loaning was rampant. Throughout the campaign, you will notice how the stories tip hats to the historical significance behind the Singapore Co-operative Movement; the aesthetic panders towards retroism and modernism to highlight the movement’s growth.

The campaign’s key visuals comprises three bubbly mascots – Shane, Charlie and Mia. Each of the mascots represents a unique characteristic behind co-operatives.

The fiery and feisty Shane (Red) is the leader amongst the trio. He represents the passion and fire behind the movement’s goals of empowering communities. Despite his hot-headedness, he is quick to read the room and find solutions to problems, just like how co-operatives are able to step up to tackle emerging needs in society. Charlie (Orange) is the embodiment of quiet confidence; he is wise, tactful and compassionate. He represents how co-operatives are silent do-gooders. Finally, there is Mia (Green), who is friendly and the most outgoing of the three. She is creative, expressive and playful, a nod to how co-operatives are innovative enterprises.

Together the three mascots will support one another to explain how co-operatives tackle societal issues in a light-hearted manner.  

Image Credit: Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF)

The campaign will span across six months and local co-operatives who are interested to be featured can reach out to their respective relationship mangers for more information.

What are co-operatives? How many Singaporeans are involved in co-operatives? How did the co-operative concept come about? In the next few weeks, we have scheduled a line of posts that will answer these questions in cute comic-style illustrations. Do not miss out on the upcoming content and follow @sgcoopmovement on Instagram and Facebook now!