• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, August 16, 2006

Alloy Media and Marketing is partnering with an online social network for activists, YouthNoise, to bring that site's capabilities to Alloy's own Sconex network of high school teens around the world. The new Sconex feature, MyCause, will help teens put their social awareness to work through six YouthNoise content areas--"Animal Rights," "Government," "Poverty," "Violence," "War, Peace and Terrorism," and "Life."

At launch, the site has no ads, but the company expects to solicit corporate support, said Samantha Skey, Alloy's senior vice president for strategic marketing. "If we see a tremendous take-off for one of the groups coordinating local or national efforts, we'll certainly look for ways to get advertisers and sponsors involved," she said.

Skey added that the socially engaged youth demo is drawn to brands that appear to be socially responsible. "We've done a significant amount of research that shows kids are very concerned about what companies and brands have done in the 'pro-social' arena."

For example, a recent study by Alloy and Harris Interactive showed that college students rank social responsibility higher than celebrity endorsement as factors in their choice of consumer brands--with 33 percent of about 1,800 respondents saying they prefer brands known for involvement with not-for-profit causes, community activism, or environment-friendly practices. Among specific brands mentioned by college students, Ben & Jerry's was admired for its "Lick Global Warming" campaign, while Newman's Own earned praise for donating all profits to charity. Burt's Bees, Yoplait, and the Body Shop also fared well.

At the same time, Skey said, teens find it difficult to act on their altruistic impulses--which is where MyCause comes in. A primary obstacle to social activism is the simple inability to connect with like-minded people, and here the value of the combined breadth of Sconex and YouthNoise is obvious. But the wealth and capabilities of corporate America could provide a number of obvious benefits to young activists: "There are certainly resources that corporations can provide," Skey said. "We'd only accept sponsorships if they help provide the kids with more tools to accomplish their goals."