Cooperative businesses are in good place to market themselves. I checked into a few sources (with some search help from AI) and found a theme: the purpose and values of your business are, and will be, an important marketing distinction for your customers.

This idea isn’t new. A marketing webinar put out by the United States Federation of Worker-Owned Cooperatives (USFWC), in November 2024, emphasizes the unique opportunity co-ops have to win trust by marketing their values. Webinar presenters Tom Ivey from DotCooperation and Rob McClinton from Small world Communications, Inc. stress the importance of clarifying your cooperative’s purpose on your website with Home Page content, About Page content, and ideally in a slogan for customers to quickly size-up your cooperative mission.

So what has changed since the webinar ⲻ besides AI affecting everything including marketing? Other current marketing trends are affirming the lessons of Ivey and McClinton. According to the American Marketing Association, their 2026 Future Trends in Marketing Report predicts two of five key forces will be significant for the next 5 to 10 years that relate to purpose and are particularly applicable to cooperative marketing. One force being Innovation Imperative in Sustainability: “forward-thinking marketers are maintaining sustainability investments and innovating through circular design, smart packaging, and green storytelling.” Another force being Building Brand Trust in a Fragmented World: “brands must earn trust through transparency, cultural fluency, and authentic participation in the rituals and values of digital communities.” AI is of course mentioned as a major factor in marketing with “autonomous agents,” but sustainability and brand trust will be even more necessary because of the in-authenticity that customers suspect in AI-generated content to come.

Another report, Five Trends Shaping Marketing in 2026 put out by Deloitte for Europe, states the importance of concrete purpose messaging. The reason, like the AMA reports, is the volume of AI content that will arise. The report states: “In a world saturated with AI-generated content, trust and authenticity are becoming scarce and valuable. Brands that can concretely deliver (rather than just promise) on their purpose will command loyalty and premium pricing, and will build resilience.”

A third indication of purpose-driven marketing comes from Omid G who has a blog at marketermilk.com. He wrote a post in February called “8 top marketing trends I’m seeing in 2026.” One trend is human-first marketing. This perspective is not overtly about purpose and values, but this humanizing approach ties in well with virtually all of the seven cooperative principles ⲻ anyone of which could be promoted when marketing the purpose of a cooperative.

As Rob McClinton from SmallWorld.coop says, co-ops can and should take from capitalism what works and use it responsibly. Using marketing methods to promote honest values is doing that. Customers too, want to see a how a company is responsible and authentic.