Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) will ring the closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange this Friday, the first time an LGBT family group has done so. The event symbolizes “ring[ing] the closing bell on homophobia.” It also highlights the increasing buying power of LGBT Americans, estimated at $641 billion today, and projected to reach $1 trillion by 2012, even without counting families and friends (a calculation someone should make). (Thanks to PageOneQ for the tip.)
On a related note, the New York Times reported today on marketers targeting the LGBT market. It discussed the increasing number of channels for LGBT-themed media, including Viacom’s Logo and Bravo’s Outzone TV. With all their talk about “targeted marketing,” however, I feel obligated to repeat my earlier caution that the LGBT market is not always a unified one, marketing-wise. L, G, B, and T have different interests, in-jokes, and in some cases, media channels. (The percentage of gay men reading Curve, for example, must be pretty low.) An ad that works well with one group might fall flat with the others. Not to mention that we parents are often at the stage of looking for vastly different products and services than our child-free peers. I can’t wait till I see the first baby-food ad featuring an LGBT couple. But hey, if Earth’s Best wants a targeted channel for lesbian moms, they can drop me a line.
Thanks for the Props!!!!