The Òpink dollarÓ is now recognised as a powerful force by marketers in large companies. AustraliaÕs oldest gay magazine, Campaign, started out with ads for gay businesses only, but over the past few years its pages have filled with ads for mainstream brands. This is part of an international trend Ñ in the UK, the drinks and lodging giant Bass has just opened 28 gay pubs to cash in on this lucrative market. As an index to the size of the gay market, the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras has a total economic impact of $99m on inner city Sydney, according to a 1998 economic impact statement by the Australian Graduate School of Management. For advertisers, gays and lesbians offer a potential bonanza. Surveys have consistently shown that gays and lesbians have higher than average incomes, are more likely to be professionals or managers, and are more likely to have tertiary educations. Danny Vadasz, CEO of gay marketing consultancy Bluestone Media, says the real bonus is that gays and lesbians usually do not have children. ÒIt costs $650,000 to raise a child over 20 years, so gay and lesbian couples have an extra $1.3m to spend over two decades,Ó he says. However, gays and lesbians are also cynical about being targeted by marketers, because it was not so long ago that they were an ostracised minority. Nevertheless, a well thought out marketing campaign can have a measurable impact on overall sales. ÒThe gay market is a high ÔaffinityÕ group Ñ they want to trade with those who are interested in building a relationship. You can build brand loyalty, because so little brand loyalty exists,Ó says Vadasz. Marketing consultants and publishers in the gay and lesbian market agree that ads tailored to the community will be more successful than generic ads that are dumped in the gay media. Occasionally, however, media buyers make the error of placing a turnoff in the gay and lesbian press in the form of an ad that shows a heterosexual couple. Research has found that those who consume gay and lesbian media are also exposed to mainstream media. When targeting the gay and lesbian market, itÕs better to devise an ad addressing that community. Ian Johnson, who runs the gay marketing consultancy Significant Others, says: ÒConsistently, focus groups say that generic ads donÕt speak to them. TheyÕre seen as junk mail.Ó Although gays and lesbians are cynical about being targeted by marketers, they feel a bond with companies that show they are on their side. While generic ads may be irrelevant, gross stereotypes can be offensive, such as an overuse of drag imagery. For a company that is known to be an ÒoutsiderÓ to the community, it is best to show you are a supportive outsider, Johnson says. While homo-erotic visual imagery often works, sex sells best if it is connected to a product that is relevant to body image, such as fashion, fitness and beauty. As a sophisticated market, the gay community likes ads that have clever copy, stylish layout, and are provocative. Vadasz says: ÒItÕs not a conservative community Ñ itÕs used to shocking, and enjoys it. The community responds to cheekiness in ads.Ó In Australia, the seminal ad for the gay community was made for Toyota in 1990. The ad pictured a Toyota Corolla with two men and a dog in front of a terrace house. The caption read ÒThe family carÓ, which was seen as a strong statement of support for the legal rights of marriage for the gay and lesbian community. The ad was made by the Australian gay magazine Outrage because nobody at Toyota or its ad agency felt they understood gay tastes well enough. The ad had a strong effect on sales. It was also hailed as a world first and re-published by gay newspapers in the US. However, this sparked 40,000 protest letters from US Christian groups to Toyota in the US, which leant on Toyota in Australia to withdraw the ads. Since ToyotaÕs foray into the gay market, it has become standard practice for banks, telcos, record companies and alcoholic beverage manufacturers to run ads in the gay and lesbian press. One of the most successful marketing campaigns was run by Telstra last year. The gay market offered Telstra a potential bonanza, as research had shown gays and lesbians spend a higher than average portion of their income on telecommunications. As the fabled Òearly adoptersÓ of new technology, gays and lesbians were also one of the first groups to take up mobile phones and use the Internet. Currently, 40% of gays and lesbians are spending over 10 hours a week online, according to research by Significant Others. However, gays and lesbians were also more likely to switch away from Telstra to another phone carrier. They are trend leaders and more educated, making them discerning consumers who shop around for their telco. To solve the problem, Telstra tailored a marketing campaign to the gay and lesbian community. The campaign won the 1998 Public Relations Institute of Australia award for best marketing in a community sector. More importantly, the campaign boosted TelstraÕs share of the pink dollar. Research conducted after the campaign found Telstra was the preferred carrier in the postcode areas that are the hub of AustraliaÕs gay and lesbian community. Telstra adopted a three pronged campaign, by Bluestone Media. First, ads were run in the gay media and on metrolites. Vadasz says: ÒThe outdoor ads to the gay market showed Telstra was happy for other people to know that it was targeting the gay market. It rankles when companies say ÔWe want to be your best friend, but donÕt tell anyone about itÕ.Ó Telstra also sponsored a gay and lesbian phone counselling service, and embarked on a three year sponsorship of the Mardi Gras. The sponsorship demonstrated to cynical gays and lesbians that Telstra was not simply chasing the pink dollar, but was keen to put something back into the community. Finally, Telstra invited gay and lesbian community leaders to a cocktail party to meet their executives, to show that the company wants to build a lasting relationship with the community. While there may be little risk of a backlash from advertising to the gay and lesbian community in Sydney and Melbourne, regional groups petitioned Telstra and Optus after they advertised in Perth gay newspaper, the Westside Observer. The action was enough to scare off most mainstream brands from advertising in the gay and lesbian press in Western Australia. Although many companies can benefit from marketing to gays and lesbians, it is important to check whether there is a predisposition in the market to buy your product. ÒThe rainbow flag is a symbol of the gay and lesbian community, so someone thought letÕs bring out a range of rainbow coloured clothing. Gays may identify with rainbow flags, but we still have taste,Ó says Vadasz. Orlando Wyndham recently launched a white rum to target the gay market, called Havanna Club. However, the product was never taken up. The company also makes Wild Turkey bourbon, which is popular among gays and lesbians, yet it has never been promoted in the market. Johnson says it is important for a company to check that it is gay and lesbian friendly before it tries to capture the pink dollar. While a good marketing campaign could be destroyed by the publicity of an employee who alleges harassment on the grounds of sexuality, a company that has non-discriminatory employment practices will gain good will from the politically aware gay community Ñ such as Qantas, which offers the same discounts to partners of its gay and lesbian workers as it does to the spouses of its married workers. Likewise, it is important for companies to ensure their sales staff are sensitive to gay and lesbian customers before embarking on a campaign to capture the pink dollar. Inner city Toyota dealerships hired gay and lesbian car sales staff after its seminal ad ran in Outrage magazine, and there are some gay marketing consultants who offer training courses for heterosexuals to be sensitive to gay and lesbian customers. As gays and lesbians have greater impact on mainstream culture, many people advertising to the mainstream community are employing gay and lesbian imagery, recognising the blurred lines between gay and straight. The TVC for Finlandia Vodka Pulp premix drink showed a variety of types of people that can be seen in inner city nightclubs, including two women who kissed. However, Craig Young, category manager for premix at JBB Asia Pacific, said the intention was to make it seem ambiguous Ñ the women may have been straight girls who were ÒexperimentingÓ. While the ad had wide appeal, it was also a hit in the lesbian community, according to the publisher of Lesbians on the Loose, Silke Bader. As queer sexuality gains broader acceptance in society, more mainstream marketers will target gays and lesbians. Marketers who cannot quickly learn how to appeal to this market may find in a few years time that their competitors have already captured the loyalties of gay and lesbian consumers.
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