A Harvard B School look at marketing to gays & lesbians

[BR_Parkway]

http://hbsworkingknowledge.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=4647&t=marketing

<snip>

Billy Lagor (HBS MBA '03), a marketing director at Hasbro, said there is no LGBT marketing involved in his current position—"Our consumers are five years old," he quipped. But he did work at Procter & Gamble for five years, where they crafted their strategy by considering a product's marketing challenges and targeting the "alpha consumer," who sometimes happened to be gay. When it comes to certain health, fashion, and beauty products—such as Crest White Strips, which P&G advertised in Out magazine—the LGBT market can be a convincing target.

(psst Billy, lot of us gay folks have kids or nieces and nephews, and all that rumored disposable income)


<snip>

What about consumer backlash against gay and lesbian marketing? asked moderator Bill Bean, a general management consultant. One of his clients is somewhat hesitant to target the LGBT market given the polarized climate of society today.

"It is something that is scary, but not to be feared," said Tumminello. "You need a commitment from the top that the company is not going to back down. The worst thing you can do is start an initiative and pull it. People did that in the '90s, but I don't think it's happening anymore. The reality is that the train has left the station. When companies look at consumers, there is the gay and lesbian community on one side and on the other the guy who says, 'God hates fags'. It's a no-brainer."

Hayes of Procter & Gamble cited the American Family Association's current boycott of Crest and Tide due to the company's recent support for the repeal of a Cincinnati law that denies equal protection of homosexual rights. "The company has had one consistent response throughout," he said. "First, we are about attracting and retaining the best talent. So we can't endorse a law that would hinder that on any level. Second, we are about building new business. Wherever new markets are, that's where we are."

[kweerwolf]

1. You know a group has 'arrived' ...

... when it becomes a 'marketing niche' for major corporations.

Loved the phrase "alpha consumer" ... but it cause me to visualize a guy dressed in a leather fetish ensemble brandishing a whip and telling folks to "eat your Hamburger Helper or ELSE!" :spank: