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.
성소수자 커뮤니티에 대한 가치나 실질적인 지원을 일관되게 보여주지 않고 '무지개 자본주의'에 참여하는 브랜드는 성소수자 소비자와 그 동맹자들의 감시를 받고 있습니다. 커뮤니티에 대한 지지는 성명서나 퍼레이드 이상의 의미를 갖습니다. 소비자의 50% 이상이 자신이 구매하는 기업이 자신이 관심을 갖는 대의를 지원하기를 기대하며, 보다 지속적인 행동과 옹호, 포용을 원하고 있습니다. 이러한 진정성 있는 지원 없이는 진화하는 시장에서 브랜드 인지도를 높이고 성소수자 소비자 및 동맹으로부터 비즈니스를 수주하는 것이 어려울 것입니다.
성소수자 커뮤니티에 대한 가치나 실질적인 지원을 일관되게 보여주지 않고 '무지개 자본주의'에 참여하는 브랜드는 면밀한 조사를 받고 있습니다. 소비자의 50% 이상이 자신이 구매하는 기업이 자신이 관심을 갖는 대의를 지원하기를 기대하며, 보다 지속적인 행동, 옹호, 포용을 원하고 있습니다.
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, 닐슨 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.
6월 외에는 LGBTQ+를 포용하는 광고가 부족하다는 점을 감안하면, 브랜드가 다른 모든 프라이드 중심 캠페인과 경쟁하지 않고도 광고에서 LGBTQ+의 대표성을 높일 수 있는 상당한 기회가 있습니다. 예를 들어, 2021년 2월의 닐슨 Ad Intel 데이터에 따르면 황금 시간대 리니어 TV에 게재된 약 10,000개의 고유 광고 중 1%만이 크리에이티브에 LGBTQ+를 표현(인물, 주제, 테마 등)하고 있었습니다. 이 비율 자체도 낮지만, 프라이드의 달 축제의 기업 스폰서로 참여한 브랜드 중 상당수가 2월 황금 시간대 TV 광고에 LGBTQ+를 표현하지 않았다는 점을 고려하면 더욱 눈에 띄는 수치입니다. 실제로 2월에 1,000개 이상의 광고를 집행한 48개 브랜드 중 단 2개 브랜드만이 LGBTQ+를 표현했습니다. 광고에 성소수자 테마가 포함된 경우, 해당 브랜드는 제약 카테고리에 압도적으로 많았으며, 전체 광고의 16%를 차지했습니다.
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.
광고주가 LGBTQ+ 소비자 및 동맹의 참여를 유도하기 위해 이달의 취향 접근법을 피하려면 어떻게 해야 할까요?
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.
"Revry는 일 년 내내 LGBTQ+ 커뮤니티의 가치를 인식하는 데 그치지 않고, 그 가치를 실천하고 있습니다. 우리는 콘텐츠에서 정확하고 미묘한 표현을 찾는 퀴어 시청자와 소비자에게 미치는 영향을 잘 알고 있습니다. 그리고 우리 커뮤니티를 존중하고 인간애를 가지고 타겟팅하는 데 투자하는 브랜드에 대해 시청자들이 어떤 가치를 부여하는지 잘 알고 있습니다."
데미안 펠리치오네, Revry 공동 창립자 겸 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.
