More marketing aimed
at gay consumers
By Edward Iwata, USA
TODAY, from the Web, November 2, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO During what
some gays jokingly call "the dark ages" a decade or two ago, companies shunned
the gay market out of ignorance or fear of a backlash. Many cities and
convention-and-visitors bureaus overlooked gay travelers. Marketing people
lacked hard data to target gay consumers nationwide.
Today, the market for gay and lesbian consumers is highly coveted and hitting
the mainstream in a huge way, say consultants, marketing professionals and
executives.
The 16 million gay consumers age 18 and older in the USA boast $641 billion in
buying power, or cash to spend after taxes, reports Witeck-Combs Communications
and Harris Interactive.
And corporations and local governments know it.
Last year, 175 Fortune 500 companies airlines, automakers, financial firms,
retailers and others actively courted the gay dollar through advertising,
compared with 19 in 1994, reports the 2005 Gay Press Report by the Prime Access
advertising firm and Rivendell Media Co.
What's more, dozens of cities that didn't cater to gay travelers decades ago
including Miami, Dallas, Philadelphia, Phoenix, even Bloomington, Ind. are
wooing gays to their hotels, restaurants and nightclubs.
Why now?
"We're at a tipping point, with gays coming out in society and business," says
Andrew Freeman of Andrew Freeman & Co., a hospitality and restaurant consultancy
in San Francisco. "All of a sudden, we've become a great market for all
industries to go after."
Recent research, based on U.S. Census data, shows that gays and lesbians live in
virtually every county in the USA and aren't segregated in big cities and "gay
ghettos" such as San Francisco, New York, West Hollywood, Calif., or
Provincetown, Mass. And millions are smart, technology-savvy consumers and
partners with dual household incomes and no kids.
"We have more discretionary income, and we love to spend our money on travel and
shopping," says Thomas Roth, president of Community Marketing, a gay market
research firm that recently hosted a gay tourism conference here. "That's
really opening the eyes of Corporate America."
The gay market is drawing attention from:
Companies. Travel industry-related firms from United
Airlines to Travelocity have stepped up their marketing to gays. ABC
Carpet & Home in New York has a gay wedding registry for same-sex partners.
Wal-Mart (WMT) offers seminars to employees, called "Why Market to Gay America."
At American Airlines (AMR), managers George Carrancho and Betty Young head a
team that markets to gay travelers and small businesses. The airline
sponsors community events and offers a gay-oriented website (www.aa.com/rainbow)
with travel deals, an e-newsletter, podcasts and a gay events calendar.
American has focused on gay consumers since 1994, when a gay manager persuaded
former CEO Robert Crandall that gay travelers were an untapped market. Crandall
agreed. Since then, the company has enjoyed annual, double-digit revenue
growth for gay customers.
"We're committed to this market," Carrancho says.
Cities and tourism bureaus. In years past, local
governments and tourism offices aside from San Francisco and a handful of
other cities "politely ignored" gay travelers and businesses, Roth says.
Now, dozens of cities and convention bureaus are going all out to lure gay
visitors. They're spending millions of dollars on print, TV and online
advertising. They're showcasing cultural and film festivals, gay parades and
gay-friendly hotels and restaurants.
In Miami, tourism officials downplaying Florida's old image as a retirement
site use splashy travel literature and commercials to showcase the region's
nightlife, museums, the performing arts and ethnic neighborhoods. They
work closely with the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, whose travel
guide reads: "Miami: Diversity Celebrated Daily ... Come feel the vibe."
"Gays are good for business and good for our community," says George Neary,
director of cultural tourism for the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau.
"The partnership works."
Mainstream marketing. Many more businesses engage in crossover
marketing, advertising not only in gay media outlets, but also mainstream ones.
Frances Stevens, founder and publisher of lesbian magazine Curve, jokes that the
new ads are much classier than the old ones, which featured brawny, hairy men
toting beers.
Advertisers are much more sophisticated about the buying habits of gays and
lesbians. They know, for instance, that many lesbian couples live in the
suburbs, raise children and are very loyal to particular brands, whether cars,
cellphones or clothing.
"The old image of lesbians wearing flannel and eating granola bars is not an
accurate picture of the market," says Stevens, whose current issue of Curve
features advertisers Showtime, Pepsi and Washington Mutual.
At Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, a San Francisco-based chain of boutique hotels,
consumer research has found that straight and lesbian businesswomen and
vacationers share similar values, lifestyles and hobbies, Chief Operating
Officer Niki Leondakis says. They like spas and fitness offerings, classy
interior dιcor and personal service from friendly staffers. They prefer to
spend on companies that support women and give to non-profits. Also
important: personal safety and good security at hotels.
Kimpton offers getaway packages and many other popular promotions to lesbians
and straight women a large and growing segment of their regular guests.
"The market has enormous potential that just now is coming to light," Leondakis
says.
Companies that cater to gays and lesbians still risk a backlash from
fundamentalist religious groups, which have called for boycotts of companies
that market to gays, donate to gay non-profits or portray gays as "normal"
families in ads.
In recent years, Ford Motor, Walt Disney, Kraft Foods, Procter & Gamble and
other companies have felt the ire of the American Family Association and other
fundamentalist groups.
Despite the potential for controversy, a recent survey by Opinion Research and
Fleishman-Hilliard found that 68% of Americans would still buy from companies
that marketed to gays.
Demographers have found that, contrary to old stereotypes, gays cut across all
lifestyles, ethnic groups and generations, says Bob Witeck, head of Witeck-Combs
and author of Business Inside Out: Capturing Millions of Brand-Loyal Gay
Consumers.
Many are "early adopters," or consumers who love new technologies, from the
latest laptop computers to the flashiest personal digital assistants.
Gary Humbarger, 44, a gay copywriter, travel adviser (http://travelcoach.blogspot.com/)
and avid online shopper, loves the special touch from companies.
On a recent trip with his partner to Santa Fe, he rented a car from Budget and
was pleased to learn that he didn't have to pay the typical charge for an extra
driver. Why not? Because Budget treats gay partners like married
spouses.
"If a company has a good record with gays, I'm certainly going to remember
that," Humbarger says. "I speak with my dollars."
|
