Gay Market Audience Needs Targeted Marketing Approach

As more companies try to take a share of the pink dollar gay consumer market, Variety magazine says mainstream advertising agencies are not equipped to target gay consumers effectively. Leading marketing and gay advertising specialist Out Now Consulting explains where mainstream marketers get it wrong.

[ClickPress, Wed May 09 2007] In an article entitled ÕSame-sex ads swim into mainstream - Industry embraces buying power of gay marketÕ leading US entertainment and media magazine, Variety, says the media and advertising industries are being shaken up by the emergence of a strong gay consumer market.

Advertising agencies are scrambling to keep up with demands of client brands that recognize the need to place their marketing where lucrative customers are. For an increasing number of brands that means developing new initiatives to target the lesbian and gay consumer market.

According to Ian Johnson, CEO of Out Now Consulting, a global specialist gay marketing agency quoted in the Variety magazine article, the advertising industry has a lot to learn about gay customers if they want their marketing efforts to succeed.

"For years advertising agencies thought just including a few gay media outlets in a media buy was all they needed to do to target gay customers," says Johnson.

"Frequently the advertising imagery used is neither appropriate nor segment-specific, and the gay consumer responds negatively. Much gay marketing is seen by the gay consumer audience as junk mail with nothing to say to them as a gay person seeing that advertising. Effective gay marketing requires a lot more."

Recognizing that the marketing process itself is little different in marketing to any audience, Johnson contends many advertising agencies mistake the process being the same to imply that the marketing communications content can be too.

"Go to any major gay website or magazine and it will take you less than a minute to pick out numerous examples of advertising with almost nothing of targeted relevance to say to gay customers," says Johnson. ÒGay people generally ignore advertising that they already see elsewhere in the mainstream."

"The industry needs far greater insight into how gay consumers perceive their own lives as people," says Johnson. "Mainstream media buyers identify gay media options, but have little knowledge of gay market attitudes, opinions and relevant lifestyle factors. Most of the advertising that actually makes it into these gay media spaces reflects that ignorance."

"The greatest consumer response is achieved by advertising that connects directly with lesbians and gay men as individuals through reflecting their own perceptions of their lives.Ó

In the Variety article Johnson says: "Most members of the market share a common bond by virtue of their Õotherness,Õ which creates significant marketing opportunities. The challenge is to create good gay marketing that works by recognition of both the commonality that exists between gay consumers, while at the same time acknowledging the vast diversity that also exists amongst the group."

Out Now Consulting is a gay marketing agency that specializes in creating effective advertising, gay market research and training to enable brands to target gay consumers most effectively.

Out Now is nominated for a 2007 ÔImages in AdvertisingÕ award - for a recent gay advertising campaign for Lufthansa - at next monthÕs Commercial Closet Awards on June 11 in New York City.

Notes to editors:

The original Variety article is at http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117962966.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

Gay Market News has more information on this story: http://www.gaymarketnews.com/2007/04/variety-gay-advertising-out-now.html

The gay market comprises 6% of the total consumer market. Source: UK government, Whitehall, December 2005.

The US gay market value exceeds $600 billion annually. Source: Human Rights Campaign www.hrc.org

The UK gay market value exceeds £70 billion pounds annually. Source: Out Now Diva and GT Gay Market Report, 2006.

Established in 1992, Out Now Consulting is a leading source for gay marketing research and strategy, and is a global gay market agency relied upon by organizations involved with lesbian and gay people. Services include market research, training, advertising, public relations and strategy development.

Out Now clients include Barclays Bank, IBM, Toyota, German National Tourist Office, Qantas Airways, British Tourist Authority, Lufthansa, South African Tourism and Citibank.

For further information please contact:

Ian Johnson, CEO
Out Now Consulting

US landline: +1-310-878 4878
UK landline: +44-(0)20-8123 5288

web: http://www.OutNowConsulting.com
news: http://www.GayMarketNews.com
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