In this article, we take on a holistic understanding of LGBTQ marketing and understand the art of responsibly marketing to the LGBTQ community.
“Everyone is free to be who they are, everyone is free to love who they want, inclusion and compassion are beautiful. The seeds of free will and love, we plant.” – Soniya Agrawal
LGBTQ – One of the most beautiful, generous, kind-hearted, and liberal groups of people.
But also one of the most misunderstood.
This is why many brands’ marketing and advertising strategy directed towards them have backfired.
It’s a sensitive matter and you need to understand them and handle the marketing and advertising strategy very gently when it comes to this precious community.
To put it simply, marketing to the LGBTQ section of society is an art.
So let’s understand the art of responsibly marketing to the LGBTQ community.
We will see all that here, but first, let me tell you a story close to my heart.
The Big Announcement
The night before June 26th,2015. Two of my friends were restless. It was a normal day for me. Just like any other.
It was a routine Thursday, I went to work and I came back from work.
And while I was preparing for the upcoming weekend, I got a call from one of these friends of mine.
They told me they didn’t have much hope with the ruling due the next day. Yes, you guessed it right, the legalization of same-sex marriages.
But as the universe would have it, the remarkable supreme court ruling brought upon a revolution.
And even the marketing and advertising world was a witness to it.
Suddenly, there was a new perspective to look at things, and there was a much newer, fresher, and unique set of customers to target.
So what is LGBTQ marketing anyway? And why is it so important? Let’s see all the answers here.
What is LGBTQ Marketing?
As self-explanatory as it is, LGBTQ marketing is where you market your products and services to the LGBTQ segment.
It doesn’t just involve making and designing LGBTQ target ads, but also involves taking other extra measures to make them feel inclusive, heard, and considered.
Moreover, creating an overall unique, thrilling, and uplifting experience for the LGBTQ community via your marketing and advertising strategy is the need of the hour if you want to stand out to your LGBTQ customers.
Importance of Marketing to LGBTQ Consumers
Over the last few years, Targeting the LGBTQ community for marketing and advertising has been one of the prime focuses of every brand.
With the legalization of same-sex marriage, a whole new segment of the market opened up for brands to explore.
The LGBTQ community is one of the most affluent communities in the US.
Let’s look at the statistics.
What Does the Statistics Say About LGBTQ Marketing?
According to studies by Whiteck Communications, the purchasing power of an adult LGBTQ population is about $917 Billion in the US alone. (Source)
Moreover, according to a study by Google in 2017, it was estimated that nearly two-thirds of the LGBTQ population preferred brands that took a stand for LGBTQ issues.
This isn’t just restricted to the LGBTQ population, people of all sexual orientations are preferring LGBTQ-friendly advertisements.
Another study showed that people are more likely to remember an ad or a brand that is LGBTQ friendly and sent out a positive inclusive LGBTQ message across.
Moreover, women of all sexual orientations are also likely to engage in advertisements that are more LGBTQ-friendly.
These are some amazing statistics to ponder over aren’t they?
As a brand you’ve to make a decision and include everyone in your marketing and advertising strategy. Only then will you be able to have a competitive edge over your competitors. Click To Tweet
5 Expert Tips to Marketing to LGBTQ Consumers
More and more brands are now focusing on Pride drive marketing and advertising.
But this is a sensitive arena and one wrong move can cause you negative publicity and hurt the sentiments of people.
So it is important to not only be creative, knowledgeable but also accommodating and empathetic while designing LGBTQ-driven marketing and advertising strategy.
Here are some of the points that may help you while designing your LGBTQ marketing and advertising strategy.
1. Create Content That Doesn’t Overpower Brand Story
Sure LGBTQ content excites the prospective customer base but doesn’t make it in a way that the brand message is lost.
At the end of the day, we want these audiences to become our permanent customers.
And if they don’t get the brand message overall that advertising, then it will be a failed attempt overall.
So a good balance of creativity, inclusion, LGBTQ content, and brand message is required to create a stir, touch people’s emotions, and send the needed message across.
2. Offer an Exclusive Appeal to LGBTQ Community
According to a study, 69% of the LGBTQ people stated that they enjoy advertisements that are directed towards them and are inspirational.
Moreover, 79% of people in other research stated that they enjoy funny LGBT-themed advertisements.
Furthermore, they stated that they’re more likely to share these ads around their social circles.
So having an LGBTQ-themed advertisement that exclusively appeals to their psyche will also appeal to the psyche of everyone in general as other stats show that 66% of people who viewed LGBTQ exclusive ads found those to be more progressive than general ads.
Getting me now?
3. Increase Credibility by Associating With LGBTQ Organizations
When you collaborate with an organization supporting LGBTQ and human rights, you come out as more genuine, as a brand that actually cares.
And that’s what makes room in our prospective customers’ minds.
A strong collaboration with known organizations that support LGBTQ rights will tilt the scales in your favor.
They will understand you actually stand for them. And they will in turn consider you.
Because it creates a sense of a strong emotional connection between the brand, the people, and the Organization.
They feel respected and loved and that’s what we all want right?
4. Improve Online Engagement
Many of the affluent LGBTQ people are active and engaged online as compared to others.
They make their buying decisions online so as a brand it’s very important to have a strong online presence.
A study has shown that when compared to the general audience, the LGBTQ community is 1.8 times more inclined towards online advertisements and 1.5 times more likely to give a review or talk about a product online.
So creating an interactive, engaging, and strong online presence which is also pro LGBTQ is going to do well for your brand.
Moreover, prompt responses to reviews and even the negative ones will make you come across as an accountable and trustworthy brand.
5. Avoid Stereotypes in Your Ads
Yes, marketing to the LGBTQ community is very important.
However, you need to know the difference between good marketing that targets the LGBTQ community, and one that is based on complete stereotypes.
There have been so many instances where I have seen a brand having a good product, and a good scope to advertise to the LGBTQ community.
However, due to a lack of understanding of this market, they give in to the stereotypes that have been carved for this community over the years.
This not only puts the target audience off but also sets a bad tone for others as well.
Therefore, merely putting a rainbow on your brand presence isn’t enough.
You need to understand where the LGBTQ community comes from, what are their beliefs and preferences, what are their choices and considerations, and then go ahead and design an ad campaign that relates to them.
3 Good LGBTQ Marketing Examples
While there are many brands that create LGBTQ-driven marketing and advertising strategy, there were a few that really stood out to me. Let’s look at a few of these together.
Spotify: Loud and Proud
Spotify has always been inclusive and amazing when it comes to LGBTQ marketing and advertising.
In 2017, Spotify had created a series of short videos ranging from 1.5 to 2 minutes animations which were called “pride stories” and showcased some of the remarkable moments in pride history.
Moreover, more recently, Spotify added a rainbow-colored pride volume bar on their desktop app promoting messages like “loud and proud”.
Full points.
Smirnoff: Labels Are For Bottles
Smirnoff has long been an advocate of LGBTQ rights and causes.
And in 2017, it again won my heart with a thoughtful campaign that it launched.
What was the campaign? Simple. It had many rainbow-colored bottles featuring all kinds of couples on it and stated: “Labels are for bottles”.
They also collaborated with an LGBTQ supporting NGO along with the LAD bible to encourage inclusiveness and wider acceptance in various nightclubs.
And this campaign was called “we are open”.
How does it not win your heart right?
Calvin Klein: Wear Yours With Pride
Calvin Klein is again one of my favorite brands when it comes to pride support.
They’ve long been LGBTQ-friendly and they’ve never shied away from expressing it.
In 2018, they launched a series of apparel collections with a rainbow-colored CK logo on their apparel and accessories in collaboration with a charity.
Always winning hearts and how.
5 Examples of LGBTQ Marketing Gone Wrong
A lot of brands have completely owned the marketing to LGBTQ community element of their overall marketing and advertising plan.
However, there are a few who have taught us how exactly we should not market to the LGBTQ community.
These marketing campaigns either didn’t understand the LGBTQ community, weren’t willing to go the extra mile to stand out, or simply gave in to the stereotypes about the community.
As a result, they definitely were criticized and it impacted their overall standing in the market as well. Let’s take a look at these and understand how we should not market to the LGBTQ community.
The Snickers Ad
This fairly recent marketing campaign was in the news for all the wrong reasons.
The mars product rolled out the now taken down in Spain which sparked a backlash for its stereotypical portrayal.
The ad showed a Spanish influencer Aless Gibaja who ordered an orange juice and winked at the waiter while a friend exchanged confused looks with him.
The waiter was then seen handing him a snicker ice cream bar. After taking a bite of it, Gijaba turned into a bearded man.
One of its critics stated that he wasn’t sure if snickers were “advertising ice cream or conversion therapy.”
The LGBTQ+ rights group said the ad was “shameful.” They also said that it was “unfortunate that there are companies that continue to perpetuate stereotypes and promote homophobia.”
Later, Snickers apologized for the misunderstanding caused by the ad. However, the damage was already done.
Marks and Spencer Ad
In 2019, Marks and Spencer faced a major backlash when it launched LGBT sandwich.
Now, you must be wondering what’s so wrong with the LGBT sandwich. More so, you must be wondering what exactly is an LGBT sandwich.
Well, to seemingly honor the pride community, Marks and Spencer created this LGBT (Lettuce+ Guacamole+ Bacon + Tomato) sandwich and sold it in stores with rainbow packaging.
Marks and Spencer probably thought that this would garner them brownie points. However, they were far from being right.
Soon after this sandwich came to light, a lot of people took to Twitter to show how it left them enraged.
Firstly because they were seemingly undermining pride by reducing it to a mere acronym. Secondly, they were also completely ignoring to take those who are vegetarian or vegan into consideration.
Many people criticized the brand for merely using the notion of pride to fake the concerns. As a result, the sandwich was taken down.
Now imagine, if a vegan + pride audience came to this ad. Total train wreck right?
Snickers Ad (Again!)
I don’t know who is running the ad campaign department of snickers because they have been sending out disappointing and homophobic ads since ever.
In 2007, snickers broadcasted another advertisement that was high key offensive, stereotypical and homophobic to say the least.
It featured a man going for a jog but not having “enough speed” (Don’t even know what’s the insinuation here).
Then another “manly” man shoots up and starts screaming at the man to run faster calling him a disgrace to men.
Needless to say, such a tasteless, and homophobic ad was taken down after serious backlash from every sane person really. However, has snickers learned the lesson yet?
H&M Rainbow Collection
I cannot express enough how important it is to not be caught up in the stereotypes and engage in LGBTQ marketing just for the sake of it.
This is exactly what H&M did in its 2018 LGBTQ marketing campaign.
All H&M published was a line of clothing collection with a rainbow printed on those with a slogan, “love whoever you want”.
Guess what was the name of this collection? Correct. “Rainbow collection.”
It was quite evident that this marketing campaign was done only for the sake of doing it. There was no effort, no compelling message, no compelling grounds to show their support and care for the community.
Just a sub-par effort to make some extra sales. Come on H&M, you could do better than getting caught in the stereotyping.
Budweiser Pride Bottles
If you want a good beer, you might consider Budweiser, but if you want good LGBTQ advertising, please don’t consider this ad marketing campaign by Budweiser as your role model.
What’s wrong with this one? Well, almost everything. At least they got the flag color right (thankfully.)
This marketing campaign was highly stereotypical and was completely generalizing every community within the LGBTQ community by labeling colors on them according to their “Sexual orientation” apparently.
Moreover, even if they say they cared, it seemed as if they were just trying too hard to showcase themselves as woke and liberal.
However, to people this seemed like another attempt of corporate pandering and the pride community didn’t shy away to voice it.
So, what did we learn here? Don’t try too little, but don’t try too hard that it looks completely forced and fake.
Take Pride in Marketing Pride
Pride shines, pride is beautiful, it is progressive and it’s accepting the sheer raw authenticity of who you are. Click To Tweet
Pride owns it and we bear witness to it.
They’re an important segment of our society. And as marketers, it’s our responsibility to create marketing and advertising strategies that are directed towards them.
But at the same time, we must make sure we are acting responsibly, empathetic, and in a sensible way.
Need Expert Help?
LGBTQ Marketing FAQs
Who Are LGBTQ?
LGBTQ refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer + communities.
Why Is LGBTQ Marketing Important?
LGBTQ population belongs to one of the most affluent sections of society. They’re also the ones with one of the strongest buying power.
I Want To Target LGBTQ Segment But Don’t Know Where To Begin?
Researching and getting to know them is where you begin. If you don’t want to invest time in that, you can always hire a marketing agency like Bizadmark to create a marketing and advertising strategy for you.
What If I Target The Customer Base The Wrong Way?
You can always hire experts to do the job for you. Many marketing and advertising agencies are equipped to deal with standout LGBTQ marketing. Take their help.
What are the Things I Should Consider Before Marketing To LGBTQ?
Make sure you give them a soothing, fulfilling, and uplifting brand experience. At the same time keep your brand position and story intact. Balance it out.
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