Beyond Pride: Marketing to LGBTQ2+ Consumers 365 Days a Year

The pink dollar, aka the purchasing power of the LGBTQ2+ community, holds a lot of cachet in marketing circles today.

As attitudes towards LGBTQ2+ folks have shifted significantly over the years – thankfully, for the better – small business owners and household brands in Canada now recognize the strategic importance of creating marketing campaigns targeting the LGBTQ2+ community. This increased focus on courting the pink dollar is welcomed.

Whereas brands would once balk at the idea of marketing directly to LGBTQ2+ consumers or showing public support for the LGBTQ2+ community, today it’s become almost commonplace. When Pride Month rolls around in June, we can expect a barrage of LGBTQ2+ friendly ads, Pride-themed merchandise, corporate-sponsored Pride parades and rainbow flags proudly displayed in storefront windows.

But if companies aren’t careful, and more importantly intentional, about how they market to LGBTQ2+ consumers, it can come off as rainbow washing. That’s when businesses do a splashy campaign once a year – almost always timed to coincide with Pride – but fail to do the meaningful work required to engage and support the LGBTQ2+ community throughout the rest of the year and that would make them good corporate citizens and allies.

LGBTQ2+ folks can spot this sort of virtue signalling a mile away.

The LGBTQ2+ community deserves to be fully seen, heard and understood, and to know that they matter, just like everyone else. No community wants to be viewed as a commodity, something to be bought and sold for profit, or simply a box to be checked on a brand manager’s to-do list. The needs, wants, desires and interests of the LGBTQ2+ community are diverse and varied, and brands and businesses need to take that into consideration.

Before planning your next LGBTQ2+ campaign, here are five best practices to help ensure you’re authentically marketing to the community.

When in doubt, do your research

As marketers, we know a thing or two about defining target audiences and creating buyer personas. That includes good, old-fashioned community engagement techniques. Before creating and launching an LGBTQ2+ focused campaign, do your research and learn where your brand stands with the community. Surveys, focus groups, and town halls are just some of the ways to gather invaluable input and insights from the LGBTQ2+ community. Make sure their perspectives aren’t just considered; you need to find ways to incorporate them into your campaign, too. (Bonus tip: If you don’t have LGBTQ2+ team members on your marketing team, you should get on top of that, pronto.)

Think outside the Pride box

Ask a brand representative how they show their support for the LGBTQ2+ community and you’re more than likely to hear, “We show our support during Pride Month.” While that standard response may have been acceptable 20 or even 10 years ago, it barely meets the minimum requirement today. LGBTQ2+ folks are savvy consumers who know when a brand is being authentic…and when it’s not. Celebrating and supporting Pride is fun and sexy, but it’s showing up and showing support for the community 365 days a year that really resonates. Think outside the Pride box and create campaigns that have touchpoints with the community throughout the year. Fostering ongoing relationships with LGBTQ2+ non-profit organizations is a good place to start.

Make the connection

So, you’ve done your research and you have a good grasp on what LGBTQ2+ consumers think of your brand and where their interests lie. The next step is to marry those interests with how you can best serve them through the products and services you provide. NielsenIQ’s 2021 consumer data on LGBTQ2+ households showed that “57 percent of LGBTQ2+ households are more likely to choose a store that offers high quality prepared foods and hot meal solutions,” according to the Grocery Business website. If you’re in charge of marketing for a grocer, that little nugget of information could help inform a social media campaign featuring LGBTQ2+ influencers unboxing and eating your prepared meals at home, and then giving reviews to their followers. It’s all about connecting the dots.

Representation matters

There’s no denying that the way the world sees us has a direct impact on how we see ourselves. If we’re not represented in marketing campaigns and the media, it can make us feel invisible. The LGBTQ2+ community isn’t homogenous; they’re a colourful bunch with unique intersectional lived experiences. When creating an LGBTQ2+ marketing campaign, always try to feature diverse LGBTQ2+ people of different races, genders, ages, body types and physical abilities. There are many kinds of LGBTQ2+ couples and families, too. Strive for diversity in front of the camera, and behind it, too.

Diversify your media planning

Most marketers have a group of mainstream media properties that feature regularly in their marketing mix. And that’s okay. LGBTQ2+ folks consume mainstream media as much as the next person. However, LGBTQ2+ audiences are also loyal to niche publications and platforms that appeal to their interests (hint: this is another good way to discover those connections mentioned in tip #3). Consider diversifying your media buys and running campaigns with LGBTQ2+ media like IN Magazine, Canada’s leading LGBTQ2+ digital publication, website and community platform with a reach of over 1.5 million. Meet the community where they are, and you’ll be rewarded.

Written by Patricia Salib. Patricia Salib is the president of Elevate Media Group, a full-service creative agency that helps brands and the communities they serve through authentic marketing grounded in purpose, with a focus on the LGBTQ2+ community.