GoLocal Shared Brand

As a GoLocal business member, you're a part of a cooperative.  That means you are a co-owner and "share" the GoLocal brand along with all the other owners.  GoLocal doesn't exist independent of its member owners.  Read this article, "What it means to be a GoLocal Member".

Our shared brand consists of:

• A logo that is easily recognizable
• A message that is easily understood
• Members that use it

We create brand value when we use it in our respective marketing, therefore creating the "shared branding" experience.

The value of our shared brand is important, because it represents our marketing power in Sonoma County to create a shift in purchasing habits from non-local to local.  As a member, you both contribute to that value and receive the benefits of the aggregated contribution of all members.

How We Created an $8 Million Commercial Media Value in Our Shared Brand

Commercial media value of a brand derives from the sum of its use and consequent exposure to the population.  Every time someone sees our brand, that's an impression.  If they see it ten times a day, then that's ten impressions.  If 1,000 people see it ten times each, that's 10,000 impressions, and so on.  For example, when Savory Spice Shop on 5th and D Street displays GoLocal signs in their store (as they do), and if 100 customers a day are exposed to those signs, they generate 100 impressions each day, which is 31,200 per year (they're open six days per week).  When Oliver's Market places the GoLocal and Made Local logos in their newspaper ads, they generate impressions for the brand estimated at 7.8 million per year.

With close to 300 members (as of this date) using the brand every day, you can see how the impressions can quickly add up to millions.  This is called gross impressions.  Based on calculations from a sample of members, we estimate our current annual gross impressions to be 400 million.

Gross impressions can be converted to a commercial media value.  After all, media is bought and sold on the primary basis of gross impressions, or exposure of an ad message to 'X' size audience.  Commercial media prices can be expressed in a common denominator called "cost per thousand" impressions, or CPM.  Since prices can range from $2 CPM to $200, we use a modal average of $20 CPM.  That means our estimate of 400 million gross impressions has a value of $8 million.

The beauty of this shared brand experience is that as a group we didn't have to spend $8 million to generate 400 million impressions.  We accomplished this by each member merely adding the brand to its current marketing as a co-brand.  Our GoLocal team has idenitifed a core number (14) of marketing tools that each member can use to increase gross impressions, usually at no added costs.  When more of our members use the co-brand to its fullest extent, we generate more brand value.  Likewise, when we add new members the value grows.

How Our Shared Brand Value Generates Effectiveness

GoLocal's marketing goal is to shift purchasing of goods and services from non-local to local businesses.  Our shared brand is effective to the extent it accomplishes that.  Every business owner knows that in order to attract customers one has to promote one's business to potential new customers.  Our shared brand effectiveness has a similar requirement.

The greater our brand value, the greater our influence to shift behavior.  Our shared brand message is very positive for the community on many levels.  When people act on our message, we can greatly improve our local economy.  It doesn't ask people to buy more of anything.  It means making a conscious choice—local first.  The more times and the more often they are exposed to this positive message over time, the more likely they are to act on it.

Our diversity of business members matters.  It creates more opportunities to reach more people more often.

Our group advertising programs like Made Local, Bank Local and the Rewards Card Pocket Guide concentrate the power of our shared brand to accomplish more than any one member could do alone.

Please take a moment to review the Prezi below for a visual understanding of our shared brand at work.