Bangkok--24 Jul--VERO Public Relations - 90% Say They Would Pay Higher Prices to Do Good for Thailand - Chang Is Top of Mind for recent CSR efforts - Thais rate their own employers CSR efforts as “only average” Ninety percent of Bangkok consumers would pay more for a product if it were created in a socially responsible manner. And more than one-third (36%) said that the priority for corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts should be educational support for young people to create a better future. These findings are part of a study of consumer attitudes released today by Vero Public Relations, a corporate communications consultancy with offices in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City. BMRS Asia, a leading Bangkok-based marketing research firm, formulated and conducted the survey. “The results tell us that social purpose as a corporate message has strong appeal to consumers in Bangkok and can help companies build relationships with consumers and other stakeholders,” said Brian Griffin, managing director (Thailand and Vietnam), Vero Public Relations. “It’s clear that if companies align themselves with a cause that people care about, they will strike a meaningful chord in people’s hearts and minds.” While some might suggest a potential disconnect between consumer survey responses and action at the check-out counter, Andy Gower, managing director of BMRS Asia, said he believes the discrepancy is minimal due to the high level of social consciousness in Thai society. “We found that 98 percent of Bangkok consumers surveyed are actually aware of the concept of corporate social responsibility and that a similar number agree that companies should be acting responsibly,” said Gower. “We believe that the idea of positive social action and interaction is embedded in the close knit Thai society, and it appears that this has translated into a desire to see the business community become actively involved in socially responsible activities.” Artima Tantikul, a senior account director with Vero Public relations concurs: “Corporate Social Responsibility is no longer a term used only in corporate boardrooms. Consumers are highly aware of sustainability and CSR issues, and what this means for Thailand. If a product can be shown to have a positive impact for Thai society as a whole, we believe with a high degree of confidence that Thai people would do the right thing for their country, even if it means paying a slightly higher price at the check-out counter.”Youth and Education The most frequently cited action for ways in which companies can contribute to Thai society was through cooperation in the field of education. Twenty-six percent of respondents spontaneously mentioned that scholarships to young people would be an action that was appropriate for an effective CSR policy. Environmental considerations were seen as second to education, with 18% citing general environmental projects, and specifically re-forestation and mangrove preservation, as ways in which companies can also enact CSR.Own Employers “Only Average” Efforts by respondents’ own employers to make a positive impact through corporate social responsibility were rated as “only average” by more than half of the survey respondents. Given that employees are a crucial audience for any company, Tantikul sees this as an issue that companies need to overcome. “We believe that companies can rectify this situation by doing more internal communications,” said Tantikul. “Internal employee newsletters may be old fashioned, but the reality is that they are a great way to educate and inform employees about strategy, successes and yes, CSR efforts. Mail the newsletter to employee homes on a quarterly basis and you can reach the whole family with positive messages about the company.”Chang Beer Top of Mind The Chang Beer company’s distribution of blankets to disadvantaged people in Northern Thailand during the winter months had the highest spontaneous recall of CSR actions by any company. When asked to recall which company they remembered for doing CSR work, some 32% of survey respondents cited Chang’s distribution of blankets. “There’s no question that Chang beer has made an impression as a concerned corporate citizen,” said Gower. “Not only is the blanket concept resonating with the public, but Chang is also doing a good job of spreading awareness about their CSR efforts via mass media, particularly TV which has great impact.” Apart from Chang, respondents surveyed cited more than 50 other different companies whose CSR efforts they could recall. Most of these were linked to Thai educational projects, such as scholarships for young people and funding for schools in rural areas. “Only 16% of respondents could not recall a company that was linked to recent CSR activities,” said Gower. “This is very high when compared with similar surveys conducted elsewhere. A recent CSR survey in Canada, for example, found that two-thirds of consumers could not recall a company that had undertaken CSR activities.”Thai Media Vehicles While most survey respondents said that television (25%), including TV news, was the medium through which they most often received information about CSR efforts, newspapers (20%), magazines (12%) and the Internet (12%) also had strong showings.The Generational Difference Perceptions of the need for and practice of CSR also vary across generations, the survey found. While all generations agreed that companies should act in a socially responsible manner (with 4 out of 5 agreeing strongly with this), the over 30 age group were more likely to agree that companies currently do act in a responsible manner; whereas those under 30 years old were less convinced. Under 30’s also placed more responsibility on consumers believing they need to take a leading role in social responsibility, rather than leaving it solely to the government or corporations.The Survey The survey included 300 random interviews conducted in March 2008, with Bangkok residents aged 18-65. Most of the respondents were working and almost two-thirds of those were employed in white collar jobs. Final results and percentages are subject to a sampling error of +/-6%.About BMRS Asia BMRS Asia is a leading provider of business and marketing research in Thailand. Our success has been built on providing clients with trusted insights into the behaviour and attitudes of people - customers, employees, consumers and other Stakeholder groups that affect a company’s performance in the marketplace.About VERO Public Relations Vero is an independent public relations firm, with operations in Chicago, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City. Vero offers a full range of corporate communications, corporate social responsibility and marketing communications services. Survey and PR Team From left Ms. Sujittra Yingpoemmongkol, Senior Account Executive, Vero Public Relations Mr. Andy Gower, Managing Director of BMRS Asia Mr. Brian Griffin, Managing Director (Thailand and Vietnam) of Vero Public Relations Mrs. Artima Tantikul, Senior Account Director of Vero Public Relations For more information please contact: Artima Tantikul Email: Phone: 0-2684-1551 Fax: 0-2684-1553