Marketing For The LGBTQ Community
LGBTQ marketing has grown around (much) of the world to become a serious economic force that even the largest corporations are eager to reach with their products and services. The growth in Queer marketing over the past 20 years has been nothing short of Amazing!
“Successful campaigns targeting the LGBTQ community must be genuine, honest, and reflect the true values of your company and employees.”
In 1999 I founded Rainbow Communications in Edmonton and launched QueerSeek.com as a support and resource site. It quickly grew to be one of the largest LGBTQ support, travel and business directories on the web.
Over the following 15 years it evolved and rebranded a few times (Bqueer, SearchTheGayWeb, GayMetro). Thanks to the WayBackMachine for providing a trip down memory lane with the screen capture below. I forgot how extensive the services were, and that it was through my own personal ads that I met my husband, and we’ve been together since 2007 
QueerSeek / SearchTheGayWeb focused primarily on Gay & Lesbian Travel Marketing through strategic partnerships with the IGLTA, Rainbow Tourism in Australia, and Purple Roofs in the USA. I continued to own and operate these sites until 2015, when I sold them to move on to new projects.
I also launched QueerAd, the first Gay & Lesbian Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising network in 2004. In its second year it served 38 million ad impressions across my partner network. Unfortunately in 2007 a small competitor called Google AdSense launched and grew so fast that by 2009 I threw in the towel and sold the site and domain.
Recently, I worked with Canada’s OUTtv Network as they launched their Direct Streaming (OTT) App. This included campaigns for their hit shows RuPaul’s Drag Race and the BBC’s The Collection.
“Your marketing strategy needs to begins with a clear understanding of why you want to market to the LGBTQ community.”
If you need more convincing that the Queer community in Canada has a tremendous level of buying power, this 2015 report from Nielson is a great read…Pink Power – The State of LGBT Spending in Canada. (Sorry, it's the most recent data I could find from a reliable source)
And, if you want to know the LGBTQ financial impact in the USA, this 2018 article in the Advocate estimates the LGBT consumer buying power was over $917 billion USD in 2017.
Are you an LGBTQ business owner, or a gay-friendly or gay-welcoming business in need of guidance on how to best reach the LGBTQ community? Let’s connect and discuss your marketing goals and objectives. Or, if your company is needing guidance to provide a safe, and inclusive workplace for LGBTQ employees, let's talk!