Survey reveals detailed information about gay men and lesbians

A massive 25,000-person survey of gay men and lesbians conducted by Community Marketing Inc. is revealing new insights about the demographic and consumer tends of the LGBT population.

The survey found that there are approximately 1.3 million gay and lesbian households in the United States with children under the age of 18, gay and lesbian consumers are more likely to have used a Visa card than other Americans, and they are also more likely to buy products from companies that treat their LGBT employees well and advertise in gay media.

Tom Roth, president of Community Marketing Inc., said the 2007 Gay Consumer Index and 2007 Lesbian Consumer Index, which is based on data collected from more than 12,000 men and 10,000 women, could be used by marketers interested in targeting gay consumers.

“Our community has risen to the forefront among corporate marketing executives in recent years, but most campaigns have relied on a ‘shotgun’ approach to reaching various segments. This is mainly because in-depth cross sections of gay and lesbian consumer data have not been available,” Roth said. “These indices are a comprehensive and truly representative statistical picture of gay and lesbian consumers. They tell us who the U.S. lesbian and gay consumer is, including an unprecedented profile of the demographic and psychographic details of their motivations, issues and preferences.”

According to the survey, the top three most widely-read publications among gay men are LGBT-specific titles such as The Advocate,Out and local LGBT publications; TheNew York Times,Men’s Health, and GQ were the three most commonly cited “mainstream” publications. For lesbians, the three most widely read publications were The Advocate,Curve, and local LGBT papers, with People,AARP The Magazine, and O The Oprah Magazine serving as their mainstream favorites.

The most widely watched television networks for both gay men and lesbians were NBC, ABC, and CBS. Gay men cited the next three as Fox, Bravo, and Logo while lesbians liked Showtime, Fox, and Logo.

The study concluded that 61% of gay men and 83% of lesbians have a pet (specifically, 38% of gay men and 59% of lesbians have dogs while 28% of gay men and 51% of lesbians have cats).

CMI senior research director and survey architect Jerry McHugh notes that marketers who in the past have actively targeted LGBT consumers most likely have only been engaging gay men, who make up only half of the market.

“Marketers and advertisers haven’t had the tools to understand that there is no single LGBT community in terms of consumer statistics. It is a diverse melting pot of people who cannot be reached with one type of campaign or communications channel,” said McHugh.

Information regarding gay and lesbian business and career choice was also gathered: 88% of gay men and 91% of lesbians report that their purchasing decisions are favorably influenced by corporate sponsorship of events and participation in gay-related charities. Survey respondents work in a variety of careers, although both women and men cited the same top two career fields: medical and education. The third was accounting or finance for gay men and legal or government sector for lesbians.

In terms of family life, 65% of lesbians and 46% of gay men and are partnered or live with a significant other; the number of couples with childrenunder the age of 18is 20% for lesbians and 5% of gay men.

Additionally, the median household income for gay men is $83,000 per year (gay singles $62,000; gay couples living together $130,000), almost 80% above the median U.S. household income of $46,326, according to US census data. 40% of gay men reported household incomes in excess of $100,000 per year. For lesbians, the median household income is $80,000 per year (lesbian singles $52,000; lesbian couples living together $96,000), and 36% of lesbians reported household incomes in excess of $100,000 per year.

The survey was coproduced by Rivendell Media and sponsored by Absolut. Survey participants were solicited through over 75 widely distributed internet and print publications; with a sample size of more than 10,000 for each Index, the margin of error is plus or minus 1% at a 95% confidence interval. (The Advocate)