Big Business Targets Gay Customers - purchasing power now surpasses $450 billion/yr

nbc5i ^

[chance33_98]

Big Business Targets Gay Customers

Companies Eager For Piece Of Multi-Billion Market Gay purchasing power now surpasses $450 billion a year, by some estimates, and big companies are taking notice.

Travel Web site Orbitz.com is just one of several major companies now catering to gay and lesbian customers. In fact, the company is now airing a gay-targeted ad on two cable networks.

Volvo is also going after a newly recognized gay demographic: families. Ford is doing the same.

Wes Combs is president of the D.C. marketing firm Ford hired to target the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender market.

"Gay and lesbian people are becoming far more a part of America's fabric ... so companies that reach out to them in a smart way are going to be able to take advantage of earning their brand loyalty and earning their dollars," Combs said.

Car rental giant Avis is aiming to attract gay couples by advertising that it will automatically place same-sex partners on rental contracts.

IBM doesn't limit its advertising to gay consumers. It is going after gay-owned companies in a new multi-million marketing program, according to the company's director of GLBT sales and talent.

"We're in it for the long term. We're committed to it because we recognize we want to be where our customers are," Joseph Bertolotti said. "And we want GLBT business owners and decision makers in large enterprises that we're committed to them and their businesses solutions."

A quick look in the current issue of the national gay newsmagazine, the Advocate, shows ads from all kinds of companies.

According to Daryl Herrschaft, of the Human Rights Campaign's work net division, that means big business sees a big market with a lot of disposable income.

"I think the corporate policies that we see being put in place say one thing ... that fairness affects the bottom line," Herrschaft said.

If advertisers were skittish in the past, most have ceased to be. Looking at TV's primetime schedule featuring shows like Six Feet Under, Queer As Folk and Will and Grace, the gay market is becoming more mainstream.

[DonaldC]

How can such a discriminated group have such economic power...sheesh

[Age of Reason]

Volvo is also going after a newly recognized gay demographic: families. Ford is doing the same.

Better not buy one of those cars--people will think you're gay.

[templar]

.. so companies that reach out to them in a smart way are going to be able to take advantage of earning their brand loyalty and earning their dollars," Combs said.

And losing mine.

[Support Free Republic]

Lighten Up, Francis!

Fundraising posts only happen quarterly, and are gone as soon as we meet the goal. Help make it happen.

[Age of Reason]

How can such a discriminated group have such economic power...sheesh

They don't spend their money on dates.

[Rodney King]

We're committed to it because we recognize we want to be where our customers are,"

Bending over in a health club?

[dljordan]

I think they are lying about the amount. What percentage of the population are we talking about here? It seems excessive.

[weegee]

This website has examples of homosexuals, bisexuals, transexuals, and crossdressers in ad campaigns cross-referenced by sexual variant and product...

The Commercial Closet

[proxy_user]

I wish we could post anonymously here...

Anyway, based on my personal observations, I suspect that homosexuals are, on the average, slightly more intelligent than heterosexuals.

They seem also to combine male traits like aggressiveness with great social acuity, making them better able to succeed in a society like ours. And of course, many of them are quite talented in the arts, and have a high degree of verbal skill.

They tend to come from middle or upper middle class families, so they are able to get the education to develop their skills.

As a result, many of them are quite well off.

[chance33_98]

What percentage of the population are we talking about here?

I think it is around 120% now....100% of the population and the 20% comes from all the pregnant women with gay unborn babies. I don't know how they got pregnant, must have been artificial or some of the bi's....

[chance33_98]

Anyway, based on my personal observations,

My personal observations differ greatly. My best friend is gay, and while he is pretty darn smart his partner is a little off in la-la land. Both come from lower income brackets. The lesbians I know don't fit into either bracket really, but a similar situation - one is fairly intelligent and the other is heavily medicated.

Not to say there is much difference in hetero couples I know, except most seem more mentally stable in both partners (with two exceptions, and they both live in CA).

[aegiscg47]

In the recent Texas state supreme court case the ACLU was forced to concede that only 2.2% of the population was gay. There's no way they could account for $450 billion

[Roughneck]

In the recent Texas state supreme court case the ACLU was forced to concede that only 2.2% of the population was gay. There's no way they could account for $450 billion


Thats right. Are we all so used to socialist-democrat propoganda that we no longer recognize it?!

Well, looks like I got a lot of boycotting to do. . .

[saminfl]

I think they are lying about the amount. What percentage of the population are we talking about here? It seems excessive.

I had the same thought.

[isthisnickcool]

I think they are lying about the amount. What percentage of the population are we talking about here? It seems excessive.

Let's see. At 2:06:08 PM EDT today the estimated total population of America was 291,451,000. If approximately 3% (and that's high) are "gay" then that's 8,743,530 queer folk. This says they have the purchasing power of 450 billion. OK, that's 450,000,000,000. If you divide that by 8,743,530 you get 51,466.62 or $51,466.62 in "gay" purchasing power. But that assumes that all gays are adults. So, the individual adult purchasing power per "gay person" would be much higher. How much, I'm not sure. I could not find the percentage of citizens in the US that are adults.

It appears that 450 billion is a bit high since I doubt the median income per queer folk is a high as this indicates.

[Noachian]

As much as I love the Capitalist system the questions to be asked are: What will Capitalists NOT do to make a buck, what role does business play in the corruption of public morals, and do parents give a da-n?

[GovernmentShrinker]

By my math, it's about $94,000 purchasing power per adult. This demographic group IS very affluent (and well-educated), which is why marketers are so eager to target it. It is also heavily concentrated in major urban areas where incomes are significantly higher than the national average.

[new cruelty]

One homo I know is kind of out there, he is herion chic personified, though he seems to have a talent for cutting hair and earns over 90k per year (taking 3 months off for vacation).