Comments on: Why You Should Be Marketing To Gay Consumers http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/ A place for interaction and debate on today's multichannel marketing and advertising issues Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:52:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: Electronic Retailer Blog » Blog Archive » Did Heinz Go Too Far? http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-916 Electronic Retailer Blog » Blog Archive » Did Heinz Go Too Far? Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:01:00 +0000 http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-916 [...] funny is that I don’t think the commercial has anything to do with being gay. We’ve discussed marketing to gays on this blog before, but this is an entirely different scenario. The idea behind the ad is that the deli mayo is [...] […] funny is that I don’t think the commercial has anything to do with being gay. We’ve discussed marketing to gays on this blog before, but this is an entirely different scenario. The idea behind the ad is that the deli mayo is […]

]]> By: c murphy http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-481 c murphy Fri, 11 Apr 2008 07:27:05 +0000 http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-481 Hi, I really liked your post so I submitted it to yearblook.com. Yearblook is a competition to find the best blog posts, and they print the winners in a book. Good luck! Hi, I really liked your post so I submitted it to yearblook.com. Yearblook is a competition to find the best blog posts, and they print the winners in a book. Good luck!

]]> By: yearblook.com http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-480 yearblook.com Fri, 11 Apr 2008 07:25:48 +0000 http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-480 <strong>Electronic Retailer Blog » Blog Archive » Why You Should Be Marketing To Gay Consumers</strong> Advertisements that try to reach the gay community are increasing. Is this inspiring or is it just business? It is just business, folks. Electronic Retailer Blog » Blog Archive » Why You Should Be Marketing To Gay Consumers

Advertisements that try to reach the gay community are increasing. Is this inspiring or is it just business? It is just business, folks.

]]> By: Feng Shui http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-475 Feng Shui Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:15:01 +0000 http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-475 <strong>Feng Shui</strong> Feng Shui Feng Shui

Feng Shui

]]> By: Jo Ho http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-415 Jo Ho Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:25:45 +0000 http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-415 This is a really impressive post. I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is a really impressive post. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

]]> By: Sigi Friedman http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-365 Sigi Friedman Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:49:40 +0000 http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-365 The argument that if you choose to align yourself with one cause you may gain some customers and lose others is rather old school indeed. Cause marketing is in fact, a serious and highly successful methodology and defined as the public association of a for-profit company with a nonprofit organization to promote the company's product or service and to raise money for the nonprofit. Embracing a cause makes good business sense. Nothing builds brand loyalty among today's increasingly hard-to-please consumers like a company,s proven commitment to a worthy cause. Other things being equal, many consumers would rather do business with a company that stands for something beyond profits. Cause Related Marketing has been with us since the first local store set up a collection box by the cash register. The term was coined by American Express in 1983 to describe a campaign to raise money for the Statue of Liberty: every time someone flashed his card, one cent was donated to the statue’s restoration project. The result? Card use jumped 28 percent and the number of new users grew by 17 percent. Presumably the Statue of Liberty also received a boost by the reported US$ 1.7M AmEx raised. But does it actually affect the bottom line? According to research conducted by Cone Inc., 81 percent of US consumers are more likely to switch brands to support a cause (when price and quality are equal). This figure rose 27 points from the 54 percent similarly polled before September 11. Eighty percent polled following September 11 reportedly felt that “a company’s commitment to causes is important when I decide which business I want to see in my community,” compared with only 58 percent before September 11. But there’s a lot more involved than just finding a cause on which to hang a brand. “The key is to look for root causes that make sense for the brand,” says researcher Cone. She points to the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk as an example of people – and employees – becoming “enveloped in the brand.” The company’s commitment toward beating breast cancer has created a huge customer base for Avon (whose tagline “the company for women” indicates immediately why it might have chosen this particular cause), and an improvement in employee loyalty. The real question might be will philanthropy, in the near future, be considered an integral part of any responsible brand campaign. Non-profits, on the other hand, are learning how to present themselves to corporations in such a way that they seem sexier and more supportable. This might mean that both companies and non-profit organizations will opt to dress up for each other. The argument that if you choose to align yourself with one cause you may gain some customers and lose others is rather old school indeed. Cause marketing is in fact, a serious and highly successful methodology and defined as the public association of a for-profit company with a nonprofit organization to promote the company’s product or service and to raise money for the nonprofit. Embracing a cause makes good business sense. Nothing builds brand loyalty among today’s increasingly hard-to-please consumers like a company,s proven commitment to a worthy cause. Other things being equal, many consumers would rather do business with a company that stands for something beyond profits. Cause Related Marketing has been with us since the first local store set up a collection box by the cash register. The term was coined by American Express in 1983 to describe a campaign to raise money for the Statue of Liberty: every time someone flashed his card, one cent was donated to the statue’s restoration project. The result? Card use jumped 28 percent and the number of new users grew by 17 percent. Presumably the Statue of Liberty also received a boost by the reported US$ 1.7M AmEx raised. But does it actually affect the bottom line? According to research conducted by Cone Inc., 81 percent of US consumers are more likely to switch brands to support a cause (when price and quality are equal). This figure rose 27 points from the 54 percent similarly polled before September 11. Eighty percent polled following September 11 reportedly felt that “a company’s commitment to causes is important when I decide which business I want to see in my community,” compared with only 58 percent before September 11. But there’s a lot more involved than just finding a cause on which to hang a brand. “The key is to look for root causes that make sense for the brand,” says researcher Cone. She points to the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk as an example of people – and employees – becoming “enveloped in the brand.” The company’s commitment toward beating breast cancer has created a huge customer base for Avon (whose tagline “the company for women” indicates immediately why it might have chosen this particular cause), and an improvement in employee loyalty. The real question might be will philanthropy, in the near future, be considered an integral part of any responsible brand campaign. Non-profits, on the other hand, are learning how to present themselves to corporations in such a way that they seem sexier and more supportable. This might mean that both companies and non-profit organizations will opt to dress up for each other.

]]> By: Melissa Beazer http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-364 Melissa Beazer Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:51:48 +0000 http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-364 There is that tried and true "statistic"; 80% of business comes from 20% of customers. Repeat/loyal customers are what make brands successful, and if you look at the list above of companies that actively support the gay community they are all well established brands. There is that tried and true “statistic”; 80% of business comes from 20% of customers. Repeat/loyal customers are what make brands successful, and if you look at the list above of companies that actively support the gay community they are all well established brands.

]]> By: Joel http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-358 Joel Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:00:49 +0000 http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-358 Great thoughts Christi! I think the subject also poses the bigger question of how and why companies align themselves with causes. This can range from Support the Troops, to Gay Friendly, to Environmentally friendly and some causes can be more polarizing than others (I don't think anyone is going to have a problem with you being senior-friendly). Bottom line is that we live in a free market. If you choose to align yourself with one cause you may gain some customers and lose others. At the end of the day though I think marketers should be intentional about what they support and spare us some of the BS. One example is the "Going Green" phenomenon. I'm much more likely to buy from the company where I can see a genuine commitment to be environmentally friendly than to buy from one who is clearly using it as a marketing ploy. Personally I think too many companies are just trying to cast one big wide net and make sure they have all the little approval stamps and that they don't offend anyone. Depending on your product and market there's certainly a strategic argument for that (the AT&Ts, GMs, and other fortune 500s of the world). On the flip side I think there's also a great place for the small marketers who ARE willing to offend someone and "go deep" with the causes they believe in. Maybe it's better to have 100 super loyal customers than to have 1000 non-offended customers? Great thoughts Christi! I think the subject also poses the bigger question of how and why companies align themselves with causes. This can range from Support the Troops, to Gay Friendly, to Environmentally friendly and some causes can be more polarizing than others (I don’t think anyone is going to have a problem with you being senior-friendly).

Bottom line is that we live in a free market. If you choose to align yourself with one cause you may gain some customers and lose others. At the end of the day though I think marketers should be intentional about what they support and spare us some of the BS. One example is the “Going Green” phenomenon. I’m much more likely to buy from the company where I can see a genuine commitment to be environmentally friendly than to buy from one who is clearly using it as a marketing ploy. Personally I think too many companies are just trying to cast one big wide net and make sure they have all the little approval stamps and that they don’t offend anyone. Depending on your product and market there’s certainly a strategic argument for that (the AT&Ts, GMs, and other fortune 500s of the world). On the flip side I think there’s also a great place for the small marketers who ARE willing to offend someone and “go deep” with the causes they believe in. Maybe it’s better to have 100 super loyal customers than to have 1000 non-offended customers?

]]> By: Christi http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-357 Christi Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:07:21 +0000 http://www.electronicretailerblog.com/just-for-fun/why-you-should-be-marketing-to-gay-consumers/#comment-357 I remember when I first saw the Levi's "Gay" add (which does have a cooresponding "straight" version as well) I had to blink a few times to make sure I was seeing it right. Not since my time in London a few years ago have I seen an openly Gay add on the American airwaves and I must say it made me want to go out and buy a pair of Levi's simply for them making a very bold marketing move forward! While I agree that we should all let the numbers make our business decisions, unfortunately it's not always that simple. The Gay community is a huge minority in American Society and as we all know...not unanimously accepted. In fact, as some GLBT citizens will move towards a company that supports them, so is the same for customers who DON'T support the GLBT community. If they feel passionately about it, they'll move their business elsewhere to a company that supports their belief systems and thus, you've allienated your current customer base...most likely the ones who've made you successful in the first place. Granted, I don't have numbers to support this and maybe those numbers aren't substantial enough to NOT tap into this market. In which case, why the hell not!! We've all found that the Latin American market is a gold mine...why not the GLBT community as well?! When it comes down to it, a consumer is a consumer is a consumer...regardless of their gender, skin color, or sexual orientation. We all have money, and we all want to spend it =) It's up to us as marketers to know where new opportunities are...and move forward with them. I remember when I first saw the Levi’s “Gay” add (which does have a cooresponding “straight” version as well) I had to blink a few times to make sure I was seeing it right. Not since my time in London a few years ago have I seen an openly Gay add on the American airwaves and I must say it made me want to go out and buy a pair of Levi’s simply for them making a very bold marketing move forward!

While I agree that we should all let the numbers make our business decisions, unfortunately it’s not always that simple. The Gay community is a huge minority in American Society and as we all know…not unanimously accepted. In fact, as some GLBT citizens will move towards a company that supports them, so is the same for customers who DON’T support the GLBT community. If they feel passionately about it, they’ll move their business elsewhere to a company that supports their belief systems and thus, you’ve allienated your current customer base…most likely the ones who’ve made you successful in the first place.

Granted, I don’t have numbers to support this and maybe those numbers aren’t substantial enough to NOT tap into this market. In which case, why the hell not!! We’ve all found that the Latin American market is a gold mine…why not the GLBT community as well?! When it comes down to it, a consumer is a consumer is a consumer…regardless of their gender, skin color, or sexual orientation. We all have money, and we all want to spend it =) It’s up to us as marketers to know where new opportunities are…and move forward with them.

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