Reaching The Gay Market? Try Better Marketing and Advertising
Gay consumers find themselves increasingly targeted by advertising and marketing. But much of this marketing misses the mark. Variety magazine covers this trend and says mainstream advertising agencies need to lift their game. Leading global gay marketing agency Out Now Consulting shows where things are going wrong.
New York, NY, May 13, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Marketing and advertising agencies are finding it hard to keep up with demands of client brands that recognize the need to target the lesbian and gay consumer market.
In an article entitled 'Same-sex ads swim into mainstream - Industry embraces buying power of gay market' 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.
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.
"Advertising agencies thought for too many years that merely including a few gay media outlets in a media buy was all they needed to do to target gay customers," says Johnson.
"Many times gay marketing is seen by the gay consumer audience as junk mail with nothing to say to them as a gay consumer seeing that advertising. Effective gay marketing requires a lot more. Advertising imagery agencies are using is often neither appropriate nor segment-specific, and the gay consumer responds negatively."
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.
"When you look at most major gay websites or magazines you usually find several examples of advertising with almost nothing of targeted relevance to say to gay customers," says Johnson. "Gay people will generally ignore mainstream advertising that they already see elsewhere in the mainstream consumer media."
"The ad industry needs to smarten up and learn how gay consumers perceive their own lives as people," says Johnson. "Mainstream media buyers identify gay media options, but have no real insight into gay market attitudes, opinions and relevant lifestyle factors. Most of the advertising that actually makes it into these gay media spaces reflects that lack of awareness."
In the Variety article Johnson says: "Most members of the market share a common bond by virtue of their 'otherness' - 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 specializes in creating effective advertising, gay market research, gay marketing strategies and provides training to enable campaigns to target gay consumers most effectively.
Out Now clients include IBM, Barclays, Lufthansa and Toyota.
Out Now is nominated for a 2007 'Images in Advertising' award - for a recent gay advertising campaign for Lufthansa - at next month's 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 National Australia Bank, German National Tourist Office, Qantas Airways, VisitBritain, Volvo, South African Tourism and Citibank.
For further information please contact:
Ian Johnson, CEO
Out Now Consulting
US landline: +1-646-808 0740
UK landline: +44-(0)20-8123 5288
web: http://www.OutNowConsulting.com
news: http://www.GayMarketNews.com
###
In an article entitled 'Same-sex ads swim into mainstream - Industry embraces buying power of gay market' 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.
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.
"Advertising agencies thought for too many years that merely including a few gay media outlets in a media buy was all they needed to do to target gay customers," says Johnson.
"Many times gay marketing is seen by the gay consumer audience as junk mail with nothing to say to them as a gay consumer seeing that advertising. Effective gay marketing requires a lot more. Advertising imagery agencies are using is often neither appropriate nor segment-specific, and the gay consumer responds negatively."
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.
"When you look at most major gay websites or magazines you usually find several examples of advertising with almost nothing of targeted relevance to say to gay customers," says Johnson. "Gay people will generally ignore mainstream advertising that they already see elsewhere in the mainstream consumer media."
"The ad industry needs to smarten up and learn how gay consumers perceive their own lives as people," says Johnson. "Mainstream media buyers identify gay media options, but have no real insight into gay market attitudes, opinions and relevant lifestyle factors. Most of the advertising that actually makes it into these gay media spaces reflects that lack of awareness."
In the Variety article Johnson says: "Most members of the market share a common bond by virtue of their 'otherness' - 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 specializes in creating effective advertising, gay market research, gay marketing strategies and provides training to enable campaigns to target gay consumers most effectively.
Out Now clients include IBM, Barclays, Lufthansa and Toyota.
Out Now is nominated for a 2007 'Images in Advertising' award - for a recent gay advertising campaign for Lufthansa - at next month's 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 National Australia Bank, German National Tourist Office, Qantas Airways, VisitBritain, Volvo, South African Tourism and Citibank.
For further information please contact:
Ian Johnson, CEO
Out Now Consulting
US landline: +1-646-808 0740
UK landline: +44-(0)20-8123 5288
web: http://www.OutNowConsulting.com
news: http://www.GayMarketNews.com
###
Contact
Out Now
Ian Johnson
+1-646-808 0740
http://www.OutNowConsulting.com
Out Now UK: +44-(0)20-8123 5288
Out Now BE: +32-2-514 6443
Out Now AU: +61-(0)2-8003 5253
Ian Johnson
+1-646-808 0740
http://www.OutNowConsulting.com
Out Now UK: +44-(0)20-8123 5288
Out Now BE: +32-2-514 6443
Out Now AU: +61-(0)2-8003 5253
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