LGBT Americans 2017 discuss key-takeaway for marketers, who are targeting to growing LGBT Americans segementation.

1. LGBT AMERICANS 2017
MGKT 485- Multicultural Marketing
Dr. Katrin R. Harich
Alyssa Schultz
An Nguyen
Giang Luong
Kimberly Torres Garcia
Vi Nguyen

2. AGENDA
▸ LGBT Demographics
▸ Segments within Segment
▸ Tastes and Preferences
▸ Products and Services
▸ Advertisement Examples
▸ Unanswered Questions
▸ Conclusion

3. LGBT is simply an
abbreviation for lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender,
however, an individual may
identify with more than one if
not any at all.

4. History

5. Demographics
Total United States
Population
LGBT United States Population
324
MILLION
?

6. Buying Power
55% of LGBT consumers will choose to do business with companies
that are committed to the diversity/equal treatment of the LGBT
community.
70% of LGBT adults stated they would pay a premium for a product
from a company that supports the LGBT community.
78% of LGBT adults and their friends, family and relatives would
switch to brands that are known to be LGBT-friendly.
Compared to other consumer, gay men are more likely to shop for
luxury goods and be early adopters of new consumer electronic
products.

7. Income and Education
Lesbian Average Income: $45,606 Gay Male Average Income: $56,936
46%
same-sex
couples
have
college
degrees

8. Geographics and Issues
Percentage of LGBT Population, by state (Source: Gallup, 2013)

9. Interviews
“I deeply care that the LGBTQ
community. We fight so hard for
equality, and it’s scary to me that in
2017 we still have people that want
to hurt us. When I lived in America I
didn’t feel safe, I was always careful
of my surroundings. I have been gay
bashed in America and moving to
the UK I feel much safer. Being gay
in America to me was always a
struggle.”
How much do you care about the
issues that surround LGBT
Americans?

10. Current Statistics

11. Diversity Within LGBT Segment
LGBT
Asian
Black
Hispanic
Non-Hispanic
Other
Baby Boomers
Generation X
Generation Y
Generation Z

12. Generations

13. Marriage and Parenting

14. Cultural Influences

15. Trends
● LGBT persons as
spokespeople for
makeup brands
● LGBT characters as
leads on TV shows
○ Younger
characters
● Androgynous/
Gender Neutral
clothing

16. Subsegment of LGBT
▸ Transgender Individuals
▹Millennials
▸Medical Innovations
▸Less coverage than rest
of LGB segment

17. Suggested service for Transgenders
▸ Personal styling
▹ Forever 21
▹ Affordable
▹ Comfortable +
Confident

18. Summary of findings
● Frequently purchased
○ Condoms, Lube, Poppers,
Makeup
● Popular
○ Whole foods, Trader Joe’s,
Target
○ H&M, American Apparel,
Topshop, ZARA
○ FB, Instagram, Snapchat
○ Traveling
● Discontent
○ The way gays are
portrayed
(stereotypes, lack of
depth)
● Issues
○ Bullying
○ Trans rights

19. Lifestyle - Activities LGBT Consumers Regularly Engage In
Lesbians Gay Men
Dine out with
friends
90% 88%
Attend a
concert
32% 24%
Go to a club or
bar
31% 50%
Go to the
movies
28% 40%
Attend live
theater
26% 39%
Visit a museum 18% 24%

20. Lifestyle -Travelling
● Annual economic impact of LGBT travellers is over
$100 billion
● 85% of the LGBT community take annual vacations
● Almost 50% travel abroad
● Top 3 key factors for selecting hotel: LOCATION,
PRICE, “LGBT FRIENDLY” REPUTATION

21. Values
Meaning of the Pride Flag

22. Values - Equality
❖ When being asked about the level of concern for ...
❖ Most important issues to the community...

23. “
I feel like it’s nonexistent. In
talk shows LGBT are shown
in a more positive light,
however there seems to be
little to no representation in
popular mainstream culture

24. Examples
The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention &
Visitor Bureau (CVB) integrated LGBT campaign
into their mainstream media ads
Search for the word “Gay” on American Airlines
Website, and 3 topics pop up: consumer travel,
workplace equality, and employee resource groups

25. Shopping Behavior - Consumer Personalities

26. Shopping Behavior - Major Purchases

27. Shopping Behavior - Experience Purchases

28. Shopping Behavior - Clothing Purchases

29. Shopping Behavior - Clothing Purchases

30. Media Habit - Changes in LGBT Media Consumption

31. Media Habit - Changes in LGBT Media Consumption

32. Media Habit - Social Media

33. Products and Service - Music

34. Products and Service - Music

35. Products and Service - Movie
TOP INDEX GENRES
AMONG LGBT
MOVIEGOERS
http://www.advocate.com/film/2016/10/24/17-horror-films-
only-lgbt-people-understand

36. Products and Service - Broadcast with LGBT appearance
Most of the time I’m very happy about the
LGBT are portrayal, but in some TV shows
homosexuals are portrayed in an extremely
stereotypical way. That is not inclusive at all.

37. Products and Service - Books, Beverage & Barks

38. Products and Service - Popular brands from interviews

39. Advertisements

40. Positive
Company: Wells Fargo
Aired: 2015

41. Positive
Company: Coca Cola
Aired: 2017

42. Positive
Company: Nike
Aired: 2016

43. Negative
Company: Snickers
Aired: 2007

44. Negative
Company: Baileys Irish
Cream
Aired: Early 2000’s

45. ● How can companies target the LGBT segment
without stereotyping?
● Is the lack of LGBT minorities in advertisements
and on television a true reflection of the lack of
acceptance in those communities?
● Are marketers not giving minority communities
enough credit for their open mindedness?
● How do marketers target the LGBT segment as a
whole without making subsegments of the LGBT
community feel left out?
Unanswered Questions

46. Key Take-away
● Even though there are laws and regulations that restrict the LGBT segment,
acceptance is growing across the United States.
● When conducting market research or forming new mainstreamed campaigns, LGBT
perspectives should be considered and included.
● As more people feel comfortable coming out as LGBT in their daily lives, marketers
gain more information on the segment (i.e. their buying power, what appeals to
them, and how to reach them).

48. Thank you!

49. Appendix

50. Interview Questions
1. What is you sex?
2. What is your date of birth?
3. What is your current residence?
4. What are some stores that you like to shop at in your neighborhood, and why do you
shop there?
5. What are some of you favorite retail stores, and why do you like shopping there?
6. How often do you shop online?
7. Name five products that are frequently used by LGBT Americans?
8. How do you know about those products?
9. What is the average price of those products?
10.Do you recommend products you like to friends and family?
11.What products have your friends or family bought that you have recommended?
12.Are there specific companies or brands you regularly make purchases? Why?
13.Do you interact on any LGBT articles or forums?
14.What social media platforms do you use, and what type of content are you sharing
on each platform?
15.How do you feel about the way LGBT Americans are portrayed in media?
16.How much do you care about the issues that surrounded LGBT Americans?

51. Interview 1
1. Male
2. 10/23/1984
3. Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom
4. Tesco, Wilko & Boots. Wiko has it all from howe goods, toiletries to food and office supplies. Tesco is a supermarket,
food, clothings, and entertainment. Boots is an amazing shop for personal care like Sephora for America.
5. For clothes in town I like River Island, H&M and Primark. For entertainment movies etc., I like HMV.
6. Not often
7. Lube, condoms, poppers, beauty products and makeup.
8. Friends and personal use.
9. Anywhere from $5-$30
10. Yes
11. Charcoal toothpaste as of most recent
12. Same as #5
13. No
14. Facebook, Instagram and I share pictures, thoughts or activities I am doing.
15. I feel they are portrayed a bit over the top. A gay man is always portrayed very feminine and loud. The character is
always the same in the media.
16. I deeply care that the LGBTQ community fights so hard for equality and scared me that still in 2017 we have people
that want to hurt us. When I lived in America I didn’t feel safe, I was always careful of my surroundings. I have been
gay bashed in America and moving to the UK i feel safer. Being gay in America to me was always a struggle.

52. Interview 2
1. Female
2. 11/2/1993
3. Warren, Michigan
4. The mall, just because there’s more than one store in there that I enjoy. (Sears, JC Penny’s, Hot Topic, Sex Stores)
5. 7-11, Speedway, Marathon, They normally have good prices on gas and cigarettes.
6. Once every few months
7. Depends on what type of answer you’re looking for. Gays just as straight people buys normal things but lesbian and
gay men need sexual things not every straight person has to have.
8. Because I’m lesbian and use products from the se shop.
9. The average price for a toy could be anywhere between $10 & $500 depending on size, color, depth etc.
10. Yes I do especially when i enjoy the product.
11. My friend went to her first shop when i was 18 and bought something for her and her girlfriend. I think it was an outfit
and strap.
12. Yes because quality over quantity.
13. Sometimes depending on what it’s regarding.
14. No to sure what it's asking but i share a lot of my facebook. I’m not one to judge on what draws my attention.
15. The way they do know is better than what they had years ago. Being labeled as gay or lesbian or trans is a lifestyle
change and that’s how they should be portrayed. As who we are, just like if someone says their male then that’s
what you call them and vice versa for females wanting to be seen as female.
16. Getting married and adopting spouses children and equal rights are something that I care about and something I will
always voice my opinion about no matter what. But depending on what is the issues sometimes I won't get involved
but if someone’s voice got heard from the start who knows where we would be now.

53. Interview 3
1. Male
2. June 15, 1997
3. Fullerton, CA
4. Target or any close/ convenience stores because they have everything.
5. The Mall, Japanese restaurant, Forever 21, Beauty Sally’s, Topshop
6. Three time per week
7. Condom. Lubricant, make-up/jewelry, shoes (Fashion)
8. Online and through friends
9. The average prices is $10-$30
10. Yes, I recommend the products to friends and family
11. No, I buy whatever I like
12. Yes, LGBT group on social medias now,
13. I use some popular platform includes Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat
14. The U.S public are very open, positive, protective on LGBT issues.
15. From 1-10 scale, I rate 8 relatable to LGBT Americans

54. Interview 4
1. Male
2. April 2, 1994
3. Pasadena, California
4. Food: Whole Foods (fantastic food, great organic products but very expensive), Trader Joe’s (great food, organic,
less expensive than Whole Foods), Target (has everything), Ralph’s (best selection of brand foods),
CVS(convenient, always open). Some companies I don’t go to are: Chick-Fil-A, Walmart, Taco Bell, Burger King,
Carl’s Jr
5. American Apparel, H&M, Uniqlo, Abercrombie & Fitch, Nike, Under Armour. I like to shop at all of these because
they fit well, and they carry decent sizes.
6. About once a month, much during the Holidays, however (then it’s probably about 6 times a month)
7. This is hard to generalize, as it comes down to age, wealth, preference and demographics (are they single or not).
Products and services I use often include: food, entertainment (netflix, movie theater), gasoline (I drive a lot), beauty
products including haircuts, car washes etc. I also travel a lot but that’s not really a product…
8. I personally use them.
9. Usually most individual things are below $ 50
10. Not without them asking me, but I’m definitely a hard recommender of Apple products.
Also, I usually recommend restaurants I’ve been to and foods I’ve tried.
11. My mom bought a Mac and is going to buy an iPhone soon, some of my friends switched to Apple products as well
and I think a lot of them went to restaurants I’ve recommended.
12. I go to Starbucks almost every day, I regularly go to the previously mentioned grocery stores, I wash my car once a
week and I go get a haircut every 3-4 weeks
13. I read gay magazines and newspapers such as OUT Magazine, Pink News, Gay Huffpost etc.
Other than that, I don’t interact a lot in forums, I mainly passively use them to get news or read about a question I
might be having.

55. Interview 4 (cont)
14.) My favorite social media platform by far is Instagram, I have Facebook as well but I only use the messenger
app to keep in touch with people. I also have some professional social media profiles, such as LinkedIn and Xing.
Content wise, I share my daily travels on Instagram and funny or beautiful moments on Instagram Life; about once a month I
might share a video, photo or something on Facebook and I do not share much on my professional profiles.
15.) Most of the time I’m very happy about the portrayal, but in some TV shows, homosexuals are portrayed in an
extremely stereotypical way, that is not inclusive at all.
I hate guy movies like Chips that’s on right now where they sort of promote homophobia by being extremely scared of
touching a guy friend too much, I really don’t think that’s funny because most gay people deal with straight males being
afraid of them for their entire lives. I haven’t seen ads like this yet, but would somebody show that, I would not buy their
product anymore.
16.) A lot! I’m very engaged in all issues that are currently happening. Especially Trans kids need our support
right now, but lots of work needs to be done in terms of fighting homophobia, especially in schools when it comes to
bullying.
If you, as a company, manage to help alleviate some of these issues, I’m gladly recommending you to my friends. If you
fight against LGBT people, however, like Chick-Fil-A, I will not buy your product and try to keep others from buying it too.

56. Interview 5
1. Female
2. Feb 25, 1994
3. Irvine, CA
4. Target, because it’s a convenient megastore. Other than that, I don’t physically go shopping much. I do more online
shopping, usually on Amazon.
5. Target (convenience), American Eagle and Hollister (nice clothes)
6. At least once a week
7. I don’t know.
8. N/A
9. N/A
10. N/A
11. Chips
12. Target, American Eagle, Hollister. Because I like and trust their products.
13. No
14. Facebook, Instagram. I rarely share things on FB. I would occasionally post a picture on IG.
15. They’re overdramatic.
16. A fair amount, but I wouldn’t go to protests or anything like that.

57. Interview 6
1. Male
2. August 11, 1995
3. Fullerton, CA
4. Target, TJ Maxx, Subway, Ralphs, Albertsons, Amazon.com …all because I like a good deal
5. Target, Hollister, H & M. They have style and are inexpensive.
6. Very frequently. I like to buy books and camera equipment online through Amazon. I do not buy clothes online
however, I never get the right size.
7. I honestly do not know, I will try to make up some things: Hats, flannel, chap stick, hair products, skinny jeans. (I’m
thinking of one specific person while answering these)
8. I know a specific person who identifies with the LGBT that is more “in” with their culture that seems to associate with
it by using some of the above products.
9. Hats: $20, flannel: $40, chap stick $8, hair product $15, skinny jeans: $60.
10. Only if they are needed or wanted by the recipient.
11. A Canon camera, certain books, some computer products, and lenses for the camera.
12. Canon lenses because that will work with my camera, certain food brands because I know the taste to expect, and H
& M because I’ve been satisfied with my purchases there.
13. Not really. I follow some LGBT sites on social media but am not actively involved.
14. Facebook: personal funny observations, Twitter: day of thoughts, Instagram: professional pictures, Snapchat: day of
images, and deviant art: random art-ideas.
15. I feel like it’s nonexistent. In talk shows LGBT are shown in a more positive light, however there seems to be little to
no representation in popular mainstream culture.
16. I do care. I would like to see it treated as if it’s a normal topic that does not need to be given special attention. It
should just be a fact, accepted, and then moved on from.

58. Interview 7
1. Male
2. 1994
3. LA (K-Town), recently moved back San Fran
4. N/A
5. Lately ZARA fro the European aesthetic, Living for ASOS b/c also European, Admittedly goes to Hot Topic b/c good
t-shirts , Vans & Nikes favorite shoes, Topshop but rarely b/c it’s expensive
6. once every 2 to 3 months and Don’t shop much but when I do ~ ½ is online
7. Grinder, lube, Andrew Christian (underwear brand popular amongst LGBT community), drugs, alcohol, high fashion
& vacations, Lush b/c ethical & everything is really nice, wholefoods
8. The Internet, word of mouth, gays are very cliquey once you make friends you learn about these things
9. Depends on the quality, Underwear ~ 8-10 , Lube ~ same, Poppers expensive
10. Yeah, often clothing especially, known for personal style
11. Has bought things for people, Friends ask him what they should buy, Little brother buys same shoe brands
12. Lush again b/c ethical & really nice, Makeup routine : uses face wash, moisturizer, + NYX shine killer primer,
Makeup Forever foundation + moisturizer to sheer it out
a. +Beauty Blender to apply
b. +Becca cream highlighter in Moonstone
c. +Laura Mercier powder for t-zone
d. +Anastasia brow powder for eyebrows, sets with clear mascara
NYX matte setting spray, All to achieve a natural look, Appearance is very important to gays even just athletic, They spend
a lot on appearance, Bf spends ~60 to perm eyelashes, it lasts for ~ 6 weeks
13.) Not really, Tumblr articles, Not anything specifically LGBT not that they don’t attract him just doesn’t know any
specifically , D-list celebrity gossip sites run by gays

59. Interview 7 (cont)
14.) Instagram (personal + art), Snapchat the most (funny selfies, updates on art but never full pieces)
15.)In regards to makeup companies having gay men as spokesmen now:
a. Gimmicky but necessary
b. The one w/ the white gay
c. Thinks they’re doing it b/c they think they have bto instead of waiting for the right one
d. They’ve chosen problematic
e. Not the right choices
f. Just doesn’t think they’re the right gays
g. Bad role models b/c vapid, no substance, fulfill stereotypes not something positive
h. Doesn’t know better option just not satisfied
i. Would prefer people who realize the platform they’ve been given and the impact they could make
j. Knows them independently of the brand
k. “Uneducated but opinionated”
l. Please like me main character a better depiction b/c he’s an asshole
m. “White gays kind of the worst”
n. Part of the majority as white, typically racist
o. “No spice, no rice” on tinder profiles
p. Taking over black womens’ culture
q. No struggle so try to come up w/ one
r. Want to be opressed
16.) More socially aware aware of everything after college, Recently gay baiting is an issue, People want to push the boundaries w/
gay characters but don’t do much, Ex: Beauty & the beast, & Power Rangers, Hates Katy Perry problematic, Trying to be political
since gays have moved on, feels like she uses the gays, Not cool to use gays as a demographic to take advantage of just to make
money

60. References
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1. Community Marketing & Insights - U.S. Overview Report 2016

61. References (cont.)
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64. Negative Example: Snickers Negative Example: Bailey’s

65. Example 1: Wells Fargo Example 2: Honey Maid

66. Example 3: Nike Example 5: Microsoft

67. Example 5: Levi's Example 6: Coca Cola

68. Example 7: Clean and Example 8: Secret

69. Example 9: Chobani Example 10: Tylenol