Raising the flag for diversity

The UK’s 3 million lesbian and gay people will earn almost £100bn collectively before tax this year, according to a report by Out Now Consulting, shown exclusively to Marketing Week. This makes the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) market a potentially very lucrative one.

But according to Out Now chief executive Ian Johnson, brands are missing out on this. “In the UK in 2012, we see a market that is big on awareness yet low on effective strategic implementations. Success in any market is about two things – understanding people’s needs and then understanding how to implement strategies to meet those needs,” he says.

The most effective way to reach the LGBT community is to advertise in mainstream media using lesbian or gay themes or images. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of the 8,400 LGBT respondents say they are much more or somewhat more likely to consider buying a brand if it advertises in this way.

Using specific executions in gay and lesbian media appeals to 61% of respondents, while 31% say the same of a mainstream creative in lesbian or gay media. Least effective is using generalised ads in mainstream media. Just 15% of respondents say this would increase their consideration of a product.

“Many mainstream brands are choosing not to use lesbian or gay people or themes in their creative, but the research shows this is by far the least effective way to pursue an LGBT strategy,” says Johnson.

The survey results show a dramatic shift in attitude to advertising from 20 years ago: “In 1992, it was very effective for a brand to simply run its mainstream advertising in what we then called ‘gay’ media. Just ‘turning up’ was sufficient to motivate the consumer to prefer the advertiser’s brand. That is no longer the case.”

Johnson claims that many brands make assumptions about this market instead of researching the facts. For example, he says, some brands think it is effective to target this market through certain media or programmes, such as The X Factor or The Guardian, which tend to have a higher than average gay audience. Similarly, brands may resort to stereotypes for their advertising.

But Johnson warns that brands must choose carefully when picking people to feature in their marketing. Rather than using stereotypes – such as effeminate men or masculine women – they should take steps to understand their market just as they would for any other consumer group.

“Assumptions can be based on media reporting rather than primary research data to guide a marketing approach. Some of these include assumptions that gays and lesbians do not become parents,” he says.

In fact, seven out of ten respondents are either in a civil partnership or would like to be in future, and 41% plan to have children, shows the report.
The way that lesbian and gay people should feature in advertising is one of ‘natural inclusion’, according to Johnson. This is about tailoring communications and media channels – and he points to a savings campaign for Lloyds TSB featuring two men (rather than one) with some home renovation materials.

Out Now, which helped develop the Lloyds TSB campaign, used research to identify the relationships status and home ownership correlations evident in the UK retail market for the LGBT group.

“From this, we recommended a subtle but effective shift in emphasis. The headline was changed to reflect the fact that what was being sold was not merely a savings product but rather a path to building the customer’s ‘dream home’,” explains Johnson. Adding the second male figure meant that Lloyds could extend the mainstream campaign to demonstrate and include the gay market into a visible and clearly stated part of the brand’s vision.
These consumers want to see themselves portrayed visibly and naturally in the context of a brand’s vision of who their target customer is. Getting it right can have a big pay-off, says Johnson.

“Whether that ad appears in LGBT media is less important to the consumer than that it appears somewhere, and that it accurately – and visibly – portrays their lives as people who the brand clearly respects,” says Johnson.

Added to this, lesbian and gay people account for 6% of the total UK retail market, so it is worth targeting these people specifically, for maximum return on investment. According to Out Now, putting together creative work that includes a lesbian or gay character in a scenario that ‘fits’ the brand’s general creative stance and putting it into targeted media is twice as likely to generate a brand preference shift.

Marketers don’t necessarily need to find more budget to ensure their campaigns are inclusive, but brands do need to make sure they spend time getting to know the LGBT market, according to Johnson.

“There is no ‘easy’ way to target any market. What is needed is almost always the same: invest in research first and foremost,” says Johnson. “It is not a case of spending more but better deployment of marketing spend to make sure it hits the spot instead of just ticking the box.”

And 2012 could be the year that the majority of brands come to realise the potential spending power of this group of people, predicts Johnson. If businesses fail to recognise this, they will miss out to rivals who do, he warns.

“The LGBT customer has the money to spend with the right brands and it is time more UK marketers woke up to the scale of the opportunity. If they don’t, they might just find their competitor does.”