Does effectively reaching the highly affluent LGBTQ+ consumer interest your media organizations sales leaders and, ultimately, the C-Suite?
New data released this week about consumer experiences with LGBTQ+ advertising and brand commitments could prove revelatory to your broadcast media properties.
The findings are the result of a new study timed to coincide with National Coming Out Day, which was October 11.
And, they come courtesy of DISQO and Do The WeRQ, in partnership with Omnicom.
“The report aims to advance the conversation around not only how people experience LGBTQ+ advertising, but also their expectations for authenticity in brand purpose and the extent to which they reward/punish brands for their social and political stances,” says former longtime NAB public relations team member Stacy Perrus, now Marketing Communications Director for CX intelligence platform DISQO.
DISQO and Do The WeRQ took a close look at its research through the lens of GenZers and Millennials. As they see it, these consumers have already redefined the meaning of brand purpose. “It’s no longer acceptable to just talk about purpose; this generation demands it through action and assembly,” Perrus notes. “Given the economic influence of this younger generation, brands must give strategic focus to their expectations.”
This includes a fuller understanding of how to attract and retain LGBTQ+ consumers.
Among the four key insights in the report:
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Less than 7% did not recall seeing any LGBTQ+ advertising, compared to nearly 20% in 2021, but more than one-fifth said there should be less LGBTQ+ advertising
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Only 52% agreed that LGBTQ+ ads were authentic; 64% of LGBTQ+ people agreed with authenticity, while only 49% of non-LGBTQ+ felt the same.
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85% consider a brand’s social or political activities when making purchases
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58% of GenZers and Millennials have not bought from a brand because they disagree with their stance on an issue; 50% went out of their way to buy a product because the brand supported an issue important to them
The LGBTQ+ population is a fastest-growing U.S. consumer group, generating $1.4 trillion in annual spending. This, nonprofit Do the WeRQ and DISQO note, underscores the need for brands to engage this audience with “authentic community impact.”
The most recent study is the second for the organizations.
“The LGBTQ+ community’s cultural and economic influence is underestimated, and most
marketers are failing at two things: continuing niche marketing strategies versus going
mainstream, and compartmentalizing their stated allyship from the rest of their business
practices,” said Kate Wolff, Do the WeRQ’s Co-Chair for Programming and Operations. “Our
findings show it’s increasingly important to be fully authentic, from marketing to workplace
to political engagements.”
To view the report in its entirety, you may download the 21-page PDF by clicking below:
DISQO_AM_Report_DotheWeRQ_2022_0901
