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Consume with conviction
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July 16, 1999: 1:00 p.m. ET
It's hard to filter fact from fiction, but shopping can make a statement
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Does your brand of beer say something about your politics? Or maybe the way you shop for services says something about where you stand on social issues.
A large number of consumers say they think about those sorts of issues. But since when does picking up a pizza count as a political decision?
Since products started to become more similar and as pricing gets more competitive, according to consulting company Cone Inc. That means people start buying based on the "personality" of a brand or company.
Think of it as "conviction consumption." Two-thirds of Americans say they'd switch brands or retailers based on a good perception, according to Cone, but only if price and quality are equal.
Those are big ifs, skeptics say. There aren't hard numbers on how people actually act. But pitching a product to people with a certain affinity does work, which shows people do consume according to their beliefs, said Bill Dunkelberg, a consumer-issues expert at Temple University. Credit cards, for instance, have been very successful cutting down on card hopping by linking to a cause.
That's why some companies find "cause branding" and "cause-related marketing" produces results. So does its darker, unintentional opposite -- Cone cites a study that 78 percent of consumers won't buy from companies with images they dislike.
"Are consumers really switching? It's a second-tier influence factor, but ultimately, yes, they are switching," said Mark Feldman, Cone's senior vice president of cause branding.
You're where you are. Where are they?
Most companies have given quietly to charity for years, but Feldman has noticed some getting very vocal about specific causes.
"You're seeing more and more companies doing this, and companies are seeing it work," he said.
That might remove one of consumers' big obstacles -- lack of information. Finding out where a company stands "is a lot easier than checking out the Kennedy assassination, but it is damn difficult," said Peter Kinder, president of Kinder Lydenberg Domini & Co. said.
KLD keeps tabs on public companies' records on issues like the environment, for "socially responsible" investment funds. Its sister company, Domini Social Investments, lists 400 companies on its Web site that make its cut.
But KLD only sells its Socrates software for $10,000 to $25,000, to institutional investors. There's a wealth of information for socially conscious investors because Wall Street's resources are concentrated, and it's geared toward making million dollar decisions. Neither is true for consumers, who have scant resources.
"You can't be worrying about everything all at once," Kinder said.
Decide what's important to you, he suggests, then mine the Internet. Because sources may have agendas, link with groups affiliated with a cause.
"Figure out who the interest groups are that represent your positions and keep in good contact with them," Kinder said.
Watch for news stories that back up what you've heard. And call the company, he suggested.
Companies help in a limited way
Most companies downplay anything controversial. When people started asking about whether it gave money to pro-life causes, a rumor that cropped up in the movie Reality Bites, Domino's sent a form letter to anyone asking about the pizza maker's pro-life ties, outlining there were none at a corporate level.
But the founder, Tom Monaghan, is Catholic, vocal and had donated money to the right-to-life movement. After he sold out in 1998, Domino's distanced itself.
"The focus was getting off of the pizza," said spokeswoman Cozette Phifer.
Monaghan's beliefs did filter through. Women weren't allowed to wear pants while he was in charge, for instance.
"You can't really separate yourself from your president and CEO's beliefs," Phifer said.
But these beliefs can get misconstrued. Wendy's International Inc. refutes the idea it has a conservative bent. Yes, Wendy's founder Dave Thomas appeared on The 700 Club with Pat Robertson, spokesman Denny Lynch said, but it was to promote a book. Wendy's supports adoption because Thomas is adopted. Viewing those as signs Wendy's is pro-life or anti-gay is off the mark, Lynch said.
Target store operator Dayton Hudson, like American Express, donates to a Planned Parenthood educational program. That and its emphasis on arts funding make some think Dayton Hudson has liberal leanings. It just supports causes its customers, 80 percent of whom are women, find important, spokeswoman Susan Eich said.
Like most companies Dayton Hudson sticks to "asymmetrical" issues such as education, which people care about or just ignore.
Feldman thinks companies are accepting greater risk, to differentiate themselves.
"The trend is toward strategy and personality and persona, and away from just promotion."
Outside sources are harder to come by
The Council on Economic Properties has sold about a million copies of its book, Shopping for a Better World. It's a good guide for shopping along the lines of socially responsible investment funds.
It also rates 250 companies for investors.
"We're trying to be the Consumer Reports of corporate social responsibility," said Chief Operating Officer Tom Knowlton. Still, CEP devotes its attention to environmental, child labor and diversity issues.
For specific products, Co-Op America, which runs activist educational efforts, is developing a program to help consumers make informed decisions. Russ Gaskin, business-program director, said it might be a Good Housekeeping-type seal of approval. Co-Op America also plans to profile companies on its Web site, starting with 50 but expanding to 2,000.
For now, it lists boycotts on its Boycott Action News Web site. Consumers can decide if they share the same interests. It's not clear they act on the information, even if they say they will, he said. But companies that hear from as few as half a percent of customers often change their practices.
With information more freely available on the Internet, consumers will make more buying decisions based on their affinity to a company. Gaskin said the majority of rumors about companies have a grain of truth to them. "But it's tricky. There's not a lot of responsible consumption information out there," he said.
He hopes to develop reliable sources and get companies to be more open. It's more and more important, he thinks. "A lot of people want to know what they're voting for when they make a purchase." 
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