Few promotions get shoppers more excited than a BOGO promotion. We’re not talking about the commonly known ‘buy one-​get one’ deals. We’re talking about ‘buy one-​give one.’ Are these promotions wrapped up with cause marketing profitable? Should your client be advertising them?

AudienceSCAN data, from AdMall by SalesFuel, shows that just over 21% of consumers will switch brands to support a cause they believe in, if all other factors are equal. Researchers at Zion & Zion surveyed consumers to learn exactly how a BOGO offer would impact their purchase intent. Study results indicate purchase intent varies significantly depending on the age and gender of the buyer and on the deal being offered.

New Product Purchase Intent

On average, about 37% of U.S. adults will try a new product they become aware of. Women (38%) are slightly more likely than men (35%) to give a new product a try. Millennials (44%) are far more likely than baby boomers (31%) to buy a new product, and this willingness suggests that marketers who snag consumers earlier in life may be able to count on many years of brand loyalty.

The Impact of a BOGO Promotion

How do these purchase intent numbers change when a BOGO is introduced? Here’s what Zion & Zion analysts found:

• Will buy new product if the company donates another to people in need 60%
• Will buy new product if the company donates another to people in need in another country 57%
• Will buy new product if the company donates another to people in need in another country (after reading an aid paragraph about causing dependency) 52%

Product Type Makes a Difference

However, researchers also learned that consumers have different opinions about the type of product being sold in a BOGO. In the product lines Zion & Zion studied, purchase intent increased from 43% to 70% of consumers who would buy bottled water if they knew another consumer in need would receive the same product. For mobile phones, the percentage increase was much smaller, going from 35% to 37% in support of the donation to a person in another country. Researchers “encourage product marketers to explore this aspect both from a corporate social responsibility perspective as well as from a brand positioning.” 

Your clients may benefit from this strategy, but they should be thinking about the type of product involved and whether they can benefit from higher sales and an improved corporate social responsibility image.