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; The
New 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 children
under the age of 18
is 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)
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