Who knows how much was spent studying the consumption habits of gay Americans, but the data reveals at least this much: We’re greedy materialists just like breeders.
Mindshare, a giant media buying and creative agency, polled 1,452 homos (two-thirds men, one-third women) to find out what they’re buying, reading, eating, and just generally consuming. According to Mindshare’s business planning director Lisa Antonucci, the firm went into the project thinking “this was kind of a niche audience, reaching niche publications, but what the study really uncovers is these consumers are more in the mainstream.”
Ya don’t say!
Turns out we’re not all spending cash on slings and Slide, but rather iPhones and high-speed Internet connections — and at greater frequencies than heteros. Which actually means we’re consuming more media than most of America.
Oh, and do we care about brands that specifically target the gays? You bet your ass. AdAge: “Purchasing decisions also weigh heavily on quality of products (76%), the price of the product (72%) and the brand’s reputation as being supportive of gay/lesbian individuals and causes (30%). It’s that commitment to the gay community that respondents took most to heart in gay-inclusive marketers’ ad campaigns as well — 69% said companies did a good job targeting gay consumers because the company openly funds or sponsors gay/lesbian causes or events, while 54% liked how ads depicted gays and lesbians as part of the diversity of today’s America.”
Which means … we’re suddenly slaves to Calvin Klein because the brand plays loose with sexuality? Heh. Probably.
PLUS: Revisit one of our favorite (unintentionally?) homoerotic ads from yesteryear.
galefan2004
You see the problem here is that they took a poll of 1,452 people that are so open and honest that they have no problem taking such a poll.
However, that doesn’t represent the vast majority of the gay population across the country. It simply represents the majority in most places where being gay is considered normal (I did not just say that being gay isn’t normal I said that in the vast majority of the regions in this country being gay is very different for people than it is in LA and NYC).
BrianZ
I’m queer and I approve of this message.
Anyway, it’s nice to see some statistics support the theory that the queer community does give a damn who markets directly to us. I’m of a belief that as we appear in more commonplace situations, such as regular print ads, commercials, etc. the more acceptance we will see. That and it really makes certain conservative groups foam at the mouth when another company comes out as gay-money friendly.
And I’m slave to noone! The collar chafes me so.
BrianZ
@galefan2004: Now come on … I don’t want to be taking issue with every post today but I’m guessing your degree program did not require research methods?
You might be justified in your assumptions about the polling sample but 1) you don’t know how they identifed the respondants 2) we are not told of the geographic data for the sample 3) no statistical reliability data was provided 4)it is possible to ascertain reliable generalizations about a population where those generalizations truly exist.
And besides, if you are a closet queer, they don’t really care about you in this study anyway as you don’t match the demographic being studied.
galefan2004
@BrianZ: That isn’t what the study really said. It said that if you have two very similar products (in price and quality) and one markets to gays then that is most likely the one the gays will take (duh!).
However, it also implies that if you have a product that is decent price/quality that just so happens to be made by a homophobic company that it is still most likely the one that 70% of the gay community will take (30% believes that marketing to/accepting the gays is important) over a product that is expensive and lacks quality but is made by a gay friendly company.
If anything, you can conclude from this study that 70% of the gay population doesn’t give a damn about the gay marketing as long as they are getting the product they want for the price they want.
BrianZ
@galefan2004: Such is the danger of presenting statistics without the relevant background and additional data: There will always be someone who wants to make inferences from what the study didn’t say. You can’t assume anything other than that which is explicitly stated. You don’t know the poll answers were from the other 70%, or even what the scope of possible answers was.
If anything you can conclude that given some yarn there are people who will always be inclined to assert it is really a sock.
And then so you understand now why your assertions regarding the polling sample are quite likely incorrect?
galefan2004
@BrianZ: I never said they were correct. I simply stated them. I said implies and you can conclude. That doesn’t mean that it really said anything, I am just commenting on the spin.
Also, unfortunately, I’m willing to bet that 70% of the gay community honestly does care more about price/quality over gay advertising/friendliness.
echelon
It’s great to see a non-gay company conduct a survey on our buying habits. http://www.echelonmagazine.com
Bri
Why poll more men than women? Why not make it half and half?
TANK
@Bri:
‘acause stastically, there are more gays than lesbians.
TANK
@TANK:
Why? ‘acause hazin cock is teh good.
Swedish Fish
It wasn’t 50/50? It’s like saying that gay male buying habits are more important than female ones.
TANK
And they are.
andy_d
“There are lies, damned lies and statistics.” – Mark Twain
galefan2004
@Bri: Economics. The only reason a straight company does such a poll is to determine their profit margin with a group, and gay men still have more disposable income than lesbian women.
Topher
I have worked as a consultant in the LGBT market for fifteen years, after working at major mainstream agencies. I am not a marketing consultant who does this just becuase I am gay and purport to know all about the market becuase of it. My experience is tangible and my results have been exceptional for all my clients. I consult for gay media outlets, as well as straight, and advise corporations on which product launches make sense for the community.
I
was also involved in the 1997 Gay and Lesbian Market Study put out by Simmons Media Research Group. It was the first syndicated study of its kind that provided reputable numbers to media professionals on the self-identified gay consumer. There was a lot of screeching at the time about that study, too, becuase the numbers skewed affluent and educated.
The problem with so many of these comments I am seeing is that they are looking to these numbers as though it represents them individually. They do not. They are generalized overviews of a group of people. You will not match each characteristic perfectly.
Why did they use out people? Because those are the people we want to market to when we are determining which products will be advertised to the LGBT community. If they are in the closet, it is generally accepted they have different media habits and purchasing habits and/or power than their out counterparts. It is not beneficial to waste money on experimentation with a consumer who we cannot accurately quantify.
As for the two thirds/one third split of the sample — there are statistically more gay men in the country than lesbians. If you want a truly representative sample of the community this is the way it goes. To analyze lesbian behavior separately than gay male behavior, you would have to have two separate studies. As it is, you can extrapolate that information from the sample sizes here.
The sample size was more than adequate as well. In all likelihood, it was culled from the major metropolitan areas where the LGBT community congregates. The only major problem with a study like that is that it will tend to skew more affluent and educated, and perhaps heavier male. (Just so you know, Scarborough research, a locally driven qualitative syndicated survey of the media habits of consumers uses a sample size of about 1800 for the entire NY metropolitan area, which is about 18 million people. That methodology is accepted as the gold standard by marketers and agencies alike. In no way was this survey a study of over 18 million.)
The bonus of those statistics for those in marketing is that THOSE are the desirable consumers for high end products. In an economy that is having trouble selling luxury goods or defining new markets, a study like this will help companies identify efficient and opportune new consumers.
IT IS NOT A POLITICAL survey and should not be used in any to lay the numbers over the national gay popoulation.
If there were a way to count and/or identify the closeted consumer, I would love to kno what it is. I have been working to figure that one out for ages. Any suggestions?
TL
KyleR
I know this will get me more death threats. But I could care less about the company. If they have a product I want, I’m going to buy it. I really don’t care if it comes from a sweat shop or some robot-lined factory. I really don’t care where when or how they then spend my money. I have what I want and that’s that.
scott ny'er
@KyleR: Death threats. That’s a little overly dramatic, no?
Well, you won’t get threats from me. Each to their own but that seems really selfish to me.
Fitz
We are such a diverse group, I don’t know how they find meaningful interpretations of the data. Some of us are out, and very comfortable telling people the truth about what we buy. Some of us are young and are stocking new homes. Some are raising kids, some are living stereotypes. Some of us care very much about not buying from sweat shops, or eco- terrorist companies. It’s just all over the map. The illusion that we are all caucasian DINKs with toy dogs is clearly BS.
hyhybt
Exactly how would you expect them to include closeted gays?
Keith Kimmel
There are lies, damned lies and then there are statistics. Truer words…