Pride month is over—now what? The month that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community took a while to take root, but June has become the main time when marketers pull out their rainbow branding and feature LGBTQ+ people in their ads—all in an effort to connect with these consumers. With spending power that investment research firm LGBT Capital estimates at $3.7 trillion globally, LGBTQ+ consumers know their worth and expect representation in content and advertisements throughout the year that reflect it. Attempts to cash in on Pride aren’t only easy to spot, they’re especially jarring for LGBTQ+ people, who still experience discrimination and run the risk of losing their human rights as a result of proposed legislations. Showing solidarity and support in June is great, but there’s still a lot to be done year-round to advance equality for LGBTQ+ people.
LGBTQ+コミュニティに対する価値や具体的な支援を一貫して示すことなく「虹の資本主義」に取り組んでいるブランドは、LGBTQ+の消費者やそのアライから厳しい視線を浴びている。コミュニティへの支援は、声明やパレード以上の意味を持つ。50％以上の消費者が、購入する企業に対して、自分たちが関心を寄せる活動を支援することを期待している中ニールセンについて 、消費者はより継続的な行動、アドボカシー、インクルージョンを求めている。そのような本物のサポートなくして、ブランドの認知度を高め、LGBTQ+の消費者やアライからビジネスを獲得することは、この進化する市場において困難である。
LGBTQ+コミュニティに対する価値や具体的な支援を一貫して示すことなく、「虹の資本主義」に関与しているブランドは、批判にさらされている。50％以上の消費者が、購入する企業に対して、自分たちが関心を寄せる活動を支援することを期待している中ニールセンについて 、消費者はより継続的な行動、アドボカシー、インクルージョンを求めている。
LGBTQ+ consumers are looking to brands to expand their inclusive messaging throughout the year, and these efforts are a key way that advertisers can build ongoing connections with this community. Outside of Pride Month, ニールセンAd Intel data shows that ads with representation of LGBTQ+ people are hard to find on TV. In fact, just one week of primetime advertisements in June 2021 aired a more diverse selection of ad categories featuring or targeting LGBTQ+ consumers than the entire month of February. Naturally, brands are rushing to celebrate during the month of June, but if that is the only time they’re engaging or representing LGBTQ+ people, they may be missing the mark. The lack of LGBTQ+ inclusive ads at other times throughout the year shows there’s room for improvement.
6月以外にはLGBTQ+を包括した広告が少ないことを考えると、ブランドにとっては、他のプライドに焦点を当てたキャンペーンと競合することなく、広告でLGBTQ+の人々の表現を増やす大きなチャンスがある。例えば、2021年2月のAd Intel データによると、ゴールデンタイムのリニアテレビに出稿された約1万本のユニーク広告のうち、クリエイティブにLGBTQ+の表現（人物、トピック、テーマなど）があったのはわずか1％だった。この割合はそれだけでも低いが、プライド月間のお祭りの企業スポンサーだったブランドの多くが、2月のゴールデンタイムのテレビ広告でLGBTQ+を表現していなかったことを考えると、さらに顕著になる。実際、2月に1,000本以上の広告を出した48ブランドのうち、LGBTQ+の表現があったのは2ブランドだけだった。LGBTQをテーマとした広告では、製薬会社が圧倒的に多く、全体の16％を占めた。
The progress made since the historic Stonewall Riots that inspired Pride to the mainstream parades and marches of today are changes worthy of celebration. But the fight continues, and media has a critical role to play—from more nuanced targeting to increasingly diverse storytelling on TV. As many content creators across television embrace this opportunity for representation, it’s no surprise that two of the top advertisers (based on number of unique ads) featuring LGBTQ+ representation in February were streaming services.
広告主は、LGBTQ+の消費者やアライを惹きつけるために、どのようにすればその時々のフレーバー的なアプローチを避けることができるのだろうか？
Start with a commitment to ongoing and long-term interactions with the LGBTQ+ community—not just promotions during June. Today’s savvy consumers are even more wary of superficial brand behavior after a year that upended the status quo. Brand messaging once a year won’t be enough if you really want your brand to break through. Working with media that’s focused on the community, like Revry, is one way to maintain engagement year round.
「レブリーでは、年間を通してLGBTQ+コミュニティの価値を見ているだけでなく、それを実践しています。私たちは、コンテンツにおいて正確でニュアンスのある表現を求めているクィアの視聴者や消費者に与える影響を知っています。そして、私たちのコミュニティに敬意と人間性をもって投資するブランドにとって、私たちのオーディエンスがもたらす価値を知っています。"
ダミアン・ペリッチョーネ、レブリー共同設立者兼CEO
Ensure that your brand messaging is authentic to what matters to LGBTQ+ people—like equality, community wellbeing, culture and policy. In a recent GLAAD study, senior management at ad agencies supported featuring LGBTQ+ people in campaigns, but felt that their teams lacked the expertise and knowledge to get the representation “right,” a disconnect that may be driving reluctance to expand LGBTQ+ inclusive brand messaging. Agencies and advertisers can work to close this gap by engaging with organizations like GLAAD and empowering LGBTQ+ business resource groups in their companies to educate their colleagues.
Next, build diversity into your business strategy. Brands must understand that intersectional diversity isn’t a special summer event, it’s our new normal. Not only is Generation Z the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in the U.S., one in six adults in the Gen Z age group identify as a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Nielsen data shows young people expect the media and brands they engage with to embrace a standard of representation and inclusion true to their lived experience. In Nielsen’s recent Attitudes on Representation on TV survey, half of the respondents aged 18-24 said they were more likely to watch content featuring someone from their identity group and more likely to purchase from brands that advertise in that inclusive content.
Traditional television content and ads aren’t the only place LGBTQ+ audiences are looking for authentic representation. Brands should also work to deepen digital connections—it’s where LGBTQ+ people have created lasting allies and a borderless sense of community. Streaming and sharing video content makes digital engagement a must for connecting your brand to LGBTQ+ consumers. LGBTQ+ usage of YouTube alone outpaces the general population by more than a third and these consumers are more likely to be heavy social media users—particularly for visually driven ad-supported platforms like Instagram. There are LGBTQ+ people in every community every day of the year, and your ad strategy should reflect that.
