September 7, 2000 | Read Time: 1 minute
By DEBRA E. BLUM
Young people are overwhelmingly likely to buy products from companies that support a charitable cause, according to a new survey. When price and quality are the same, 9 out of 10 teenagers said they would switch brands to one associated with a cause they care about, the survey found. That’s up from 55 percent of teenagers who said they would switch in a similar survey conducted last year.
Both surveys were commissioned by Cone Inc., a Boston consulting company that helps corporations set up promotions in which proceeds from selling a product or service go to charity. The research firm Roper Starch Worldwide conducted both surveys, each year interviewing 600 America Online users who were 12 to 17 years old.
While respondents were most likely to say that a product’s quality had the most influence on their purchasing choices, about 7 out of 10 respondents said they were also influenced by whether the company selling the product contributes to charity. More than 6 out of 10 respondents reported that during this year they have bought a product from a company they knew had made charitable contributions, and 8 out of 10 said they are likely to do so next year.
For a summary of the survey’s results, see Cone’s Web site at http://www.coneinc.com. For more information, contact Anne Chan, Cone Inc., 90 Canal Street, Boston 02114; (617) 227-2111, ext. 8403; achan@coneinc.com.
