Gay and lesbian consumers are perhaps the most-aware shoppers in United States about what brands have a positive track record on gay issues...and which ones don't. To help guide GLBT and GLBT-friendly Americans on their holiday spending sprees, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has developed a website and publication called "Buying for Equality."As the HRC website states: "The Human Rights Campaign’s Buying for Equality guide provides you with the information you need to support products from companies that support equality. Making the choice to support fair-minded businesses can help affect real change in workplaces across the country. "Here's a link to the "Buying for Equality" online guide: http://www.hrc.org/buyersguide/buyersguide.htm
Although they've been a long-time friend to the GLBT community through sponsorships and inclusive employment practices, that AA Vacations division of American Airlines has now launched a microsite aimed at attracting millions of loyal gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) customers. The new site, www.AAVacations.com/rainbow, highlights more than 50 popular destinations around the world and provides hotel information based on what they've determined to be gay-friendly criteria.
The Human Rights Campaign (www.hrc.org) has dedicated an entire section of its website to GLBT issues in the workplace, which ranging from articles on same-sex partner benefits and non-discrimination issues to the organization's annual Corporate Equality Index. HRC's Corporate Equality Index has become the gold standard for rankings of companies and their relationship with the gay, lesbian and transgender community.
There's a wealth of knowledge in HRC's "Work Life" section. If your company is looking to be ranked by the powerful GLBT political group or if you're just looking for more information on corporate benefits for same-sex partners, this should be your first stop.
http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Work_Life
GLBT Census adds 175 Brands
We received the press release below, which announces that a prominent online GLBT consumer survey has added 175 brands to its stable of companies that it's watching and rankings. Announcements like this help prove that the GLBT market is growing in importance to America's top companies.GAY/LESBIAN CONSUMER ONLINE STUDY ADDS MORE THAN 175 NEW BRANDS
Bank, Beer, Wine, Hotel, Rental Car and Auto Insurance categories include new brandsNEW YORK, NY (November 1, 2005) - The Gay/Lesbian Consumer Online Study (G/L Study), an annual survey of the demographics, lifestyles, psychographics, and media patterns of the world’s largest gay/lesbian consumer panel online, has introduced more than 175 new brands to its survey. The new brand information will provide marketers with opportunities for more effective sponsorship programs, grassroots marketing, media planning and buying, and overall increased ROI for multicultural marketing efforts. The new brands cover some bellwether companies in top consumer categories such as finance (banks), beverages (beer and wine), travel (hotel and car rental), and automotive (insurers). They join the several hundred brands already represented in the study. According to Jeff Garber, president of OpusComm Group, a G/L Study partner, companies can leverage the new brands information with the existing depth and breadth of information in the G/L Study to create high-impact advertising. “Marketing toward the gay/lesbian consumer has matured and become more sophisticated, as more companies recognize the significant benefits of targeting this consumer group,” said Mr. Garber. “Marketers need equally sophisticated tools to drive greater impact. The G/L Study provides this, with detailed information on the demographics, psychographics, and shopping behaviors, as well as both gay/lesbian and mainstream media patterns, of gay and lesbian consumers.” Companies who count GLBT as part of their multicultural marketing efforts are using the G/L Study to benchmark their impact so budgets can be modified for maximum ROI. “The ability to track so many companies and brands and the influence they’re having on GLBT consumers is a key advantage,” said Mr. Garber. “Not only is it a measurement of overall sales impact, but the companies measured in the study have a new, valuable tool for tracking their competition.” With approximately 8,000 respondents, the 2005-2006 Gay/Lesbian Consumer Online Study is the largest and most comprehensive gay/lesbian consumer and media study and the only one sponsored by a major university. The G/L Study is conducted by G/L Census Partners (OpusComm Group and S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University), and is exclusively available through Scarborough Research. In addition to the new brands measured by the G/L Study, it also includes hundreds of brands in leading categories, including: auto manufacturers, airlines, credit card companies, computer companies, cruise lines and gambling destinations, cable and network television (including the leading television shows watched), national/mainstream newspapers as well as gay/lesbian magazines, and websites, including both mainstream and gay/lesbian websites. For full details of the G/L Study, including a full list of measurements, please log on to www.glcensus.com/survey.cfm
Big News: PlanetOut is buying LPI, the publishers of two of the nation's largest gay publications OUT and The Advocate. The deal is estimated to be worth about $31 million.Another example of the growing importance of the GLBT market...SAN FRANCISCO, November 9, 2005 -- PlanetOut Inc. (Nasdaq: LGBT) today announced that it has acquired substantially all of the assets of LPI Media Inc., and affiliated direct marketing and publishing entities for $24.0 million in cash and approximately $7.1 million in seller-financed debt. PlanetOut will also reimburse certain prepaid and other expenses totaling approximately $1.0 million. LPI, a privately-held company, is the nation's leading publisher targeting the gay and lesbian market, distributing more than eight million copies of its magazines each year. LPI publishes The Advocate and OUT, which are the two largest circulation LGBT magazines in the U.S., as well as the acclaimed Web sites Advocate.com, OUT.com and related e-commerce sites. PlanetOut intends to finance the cash portion of the purchase price with cash on hand.
PlanetOut expects this acquisition to be accretive, with LPI 2005 annual revenues for its consolidated entities currently estimated to be approximately $29.0 million. More info: http://www.planetoutinc.com/press/releases/?sernum=260
