Marketing to the LGBTQ Community is Becoming Candid, Sincere, and Out of the Closet

unprecedented support. @TwitterOpen's 9:10am tweet, “This is a monumental day for equal rights. Join the
celebration by using the new Twitter emoji #Pride and #LoveWins,” was followed by Tumblr's rainbow cake
video at 11:06am, and Vine's “So much love on Vine right now #LoveWins” video followed at 12:20pm. Search
engine giant, Google, even got in on the love, tweeting, “The first #pride flag flew in 1978. Today we understand
what it really means. #LoveWins,” adding a link to keyword phrase “marriage equality.”
When Facebook launched its “celebrate pride” filter to celebrate the passing of the Supreme Court’s ruling in
favor of gay marriage, more than 26 million people jumped to use the filter just in the first 72 hours, including
Leonardo DiCaprio, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mark Zuckerberg, and many other celebrities.
Some new faces in corporate marketing to LGBTQ community
Air Alaska recently rolled out its cause marketing campaign across the Internet, with the verbiage, “The LGBT
community has come so far. Let us fly you the rest of the way.”
Miller Lite proudly began advertising on Pride.com with the campaign slogan, “Share your summer. We'll show
you America. #ItsMillerTime”
Shane Co. wedding and engagement ring jeweler began its own LGBT ad campaign with the tag line, “Designed
to be worn with pride.”
HBO is advertising its sponsorship of OUTFEST Los Angeles to take place July 9–19 in partnership with
outfest.org, which is also sponsored by DirecTV, Frontiers Media, and production, payroll, and account services
provider, Ease.
M&Ms rolled out their ad depicting two female M&Ms (now dubbed Ms. Green and Ms. Brown) holding hands
on the beach.
Chobani unveiled its spicy commercial, featuring two vacationing women, one awake eating Chobani while the
other sleeps next to her, only to be awakened to see all the Chobani is gone in a playful banter between the two.
Absolut Vodka revealed its “Showing our pride with colors” campaign on its website and on social media.
Whether they’re LGBTQ or not, Millennials love inclusive brands
For companies both online and off who want to continue to enjoy the best possible profit margins, it's important
to understand that marketing to the LGBTQ community doesn’t mean that its members are the only audience
you’re trying to garner the attention of. As Millennials begin to come into their own, they’ve proven both their
earning and spending power are tremendous—and whether they are gay, lesbian, transgender, or otherwise,
Millennials are big fans of companies that support the civil rights. Heterosexual Millennials by-and-large don’t
stand for exclusion, and are big fans of corporate entities that use their power to end the marginalization of
LGBTQ friends, family, and colleagues. Marketing campaigns that show the end is nigh for separatism and
prejudice in the US are those that are likely to fare best in most industries.
Celebrating Pride Month this past June may not be something your venture wanted to outwardly do, and in
some cases, messages of inclusion can scare potential consumers in some heavily nuanced and traditional
industries. With that said, think about this: when Amazon, eBay, Sears, and Etsy stop selling Confederate flags,
and Wal-Mart will happily whip up a rainbow cake for June Pride, aren’t the wheels of civil change in motion?
Yes, they are—and headed down the freeway in a high-speed chase to capture the business and loyalty of
everyone who believes we’re all better off when love wins.