• by Erik Sass , September 10, 2007

The returning college class of 2007-2008 shows more concern about social issues than any of the previous five classes surveyed by Alloy Marketing + Media's College Explorer Survey, according to Samantha Skey, the company's executive vice president of strategic marketing. That's important news for marketers who want to grab some of their $198 billion in spending power.

In the most relevant finding for marketers, 37% of the 2007-2008 class said they preferred brands and companies that are "socially conscious." While "the trend was already conspicuous last year," Skey said this represents a slight (4%) increase over previous figures. The broad "socially conscious" category includes a number of causes, which are not mutually exclusive. Thus, the socially conscious cohort ranked "fair labor" practices as most important (74%), but were also concerned about corporate environmental policy (66%) and philanthropy (63%).

Alloy's findings, which confirm earlier trends, were obtained through an online survey of 1,592 currently enrolled college students by Harris Interactive in April.

The concern with "fair labor" practices may reflect a larger trend in the American population. In 2006 the National Consumers League and Fleishman-Hillard International Communications found that 76% of respondents ranked a company's employee welfare ahead of all other considerations--including environmental stewardship and corporate philanthropy.

Meanwhile, a separate online study from JWT discovered that more than 80% of American teenagers are concerned about the environment and the role of the United States in causing pollution, with 54% saying they are "strongly bothered." Eighty percent of teens surveyed said corporations should be held to an ethical standard of environmental conduct, and 59% said corporations should bear most of the responsibility for cleaning up the environment. Most useful: 75% said they would buy environmentally friendly products if available.

This generation's activist stance is also reflected in a high degree of political commitment, according to the Alloy study: 94% of respondents said they would vote in the 2008 presidential election, with 80% already registered at the time of the survey.

In regard to the big picture for brands, Skey noted that "there's a lot of research from Alloy, and other sources, showing that particularly among young people the notion of corporate social responsibility is a loyalty driver." Pointing to the increasing difficulty of reaching young consumers in a fragmented media universe, Skey suggested that "cause alignment" can help brands break through the clutter and establish a connection with young people.

Of course, all these figures are not just a spontaneous upwelling of social consciousness, Skey added--noting "as more cause marketing campaigns have emerged, it's clear that college students are not only seeing them, but that they're resonating with this demographic." In other words, cause marketing is not just responding to young people's concerns--it's also helping to shape and activate them.