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Public Relations Strategies for Reaching the LGBTQ Community
+Leveraging “Earned Media” to Reach Consumers
n Watch trends in media coverage – mainstream and LGBT;
n Look at diversity of the LGBTQ community at every level, including age, race, geography, socio-economic status, ethnicity;
n What new audiences are there to reach?; and
n Remember not simply LGBTQ people but allies as well – friends, family, community – are increasingly sophisticated and mobilized as a demographic and as consumers.
+Earned media as a model and guide for marketing and advertising
n LGBTQ community wants to see itself portrayed in advertising and marketed to in a fair, accurate, diverse and authentic manner;
n Authentic images are increasingly common; and
n Diversity still a challenge and not as prevalent as it could be.
+The Icon: Edie Windsor
n Visibility of Windsor v. U.S. was about a lot more than marriage equality;
n Marketing to LGBT seniors – we are breaking new ground – data coming later this year; and
n More than just nursing homes and retirement homes.
+Mainstreaming: LGBT Parents
n Increasing visibility of LGBTQ families in the past decade
n 2006 – White House Easter Egg Roll event drew unprecedented coverage of diverse families
n Statistics show high numbers of same-sex couples with children, most of whom are people of color
n Recent examples: Barilla controversy when CEO said he would never have a gay family in an ad, created a show of international support for LGBT families that went viral ……
+Barilla? No grazie…
+Or with even more feeling….
+And more pasta companies weigh in, with humor….
+Reaching New Markets - LGBTQ Youth
n “Labels are for Soup Cans”
n Completely new way of looking at identity – beyond the binary, fluid and multi-faceted;
n Influence of allies, in growing numbers on issues related to LGBTQ equality;
n Reaching young people is primarily about social media and mainstream media; and
n Note there is not a great deal of LGBT focused youth media.
+Reaching new/emerging markets: Trans Bodies, Trans Selves
n Recent and tremendous uptick in interest and visibility of transgender people in popular media;
n GLEE
n “Orange is the New Black”
n “Redefining Realness”
n Soon to be released “Trans Bodies, Trans Selves”; and
n Just beginning to understand size and diversity of transgender community and allies, although alliance with gay, lesbian and bisexual communities is clear.