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In many ways South Africa is a first world country. However when it comes to the marketing of brands and services to the gay community, South Africa is still in the stone ages. |
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Published on: 3 June 2011
Region: South Africa » National
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  "This demographic is WIDE OPEN, they are early adopters and have a higher disposable income! Positioning your brand now will have a huge ROI. Let Lunch Box Media take you there! It makes perfect sense"
Donovan Steyl
In recent years, a number of major ad categories have targeted LGBT markets around the world. These categories include travel, financial services, alcoholic beverages, automotive, entertainment, hair and skincare, luxury goods, pharmaceuticals, and fashion. (For example, American Airlines have launched a specific LGBT targeted vacations website.) While over fifteen years old in the United States and Europe, LGBT marketing is a relatively new marketing phenomenon in South Africa.
The ABNSA Gay Consumer profile that was commissioned in 2008 is the largest of its kind in South Africa and its findings showed that roughly 10% of the South African population is gay. This amounts to just over 4.8 million people. Of the 15 000 respondents that completed the survey, 76% of the respondents said they were more aware of advertisements that specifically targeted gay people. Plus, 96% of respondents paid more attention to gay ads and ads that identified with them as a market segment and 92.5% said they would consciously support advertisers who made use of gay publications or media. The term "DINK" for this demographic was coined ... "Dual Income No Kids". This means that the gay community tends to have more disposable income. They are also early adopters, eager to try new brands and set trends. The "Pink Rand" is a considerable segment of the South African market and is known for its superior spending value.
So why then are corporates so afraid of this lucrative market? Various factors include: fear of the unknown, potential damage to brand image and alienating their heterosexual customers, negative stereotypes and then simply pure ignorance of the market and its potential.
I was recently asked by a strategist of a large media agency "Why would one consider sexual orientation as a planning factor" and my response to her was "Well, when you are deciding on a target demographic one would consider age, sex, psychographics, geographic, income, education, etc, etc ... so why not sexual orientation?". This does not place gay consumers in a vacuum; they do form part of the community. I merely want to demonstrate that gay media titles should be considered as a "life style" medium for possible advertising and marketing.
This being said, no consumer is more particular about the images and messages used in marketing than the gay community, which is why it is important to have the help of a knowledgeable niche media sales agency, such as Lunch Box Media, to assist with smooth integration and appropriate messaging.
Lunch Box Media was formed in 2009 and brought together like-minded media owners, whose publications target the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) markets, to help mainstream brands communicate with these communities.
Owner of Lunch Box Media, Donovan Steyl, says, "We provide our clients with a comprehensive marketing mix of advertising. This includes print, online and social media. We pride ourselves on not only selling ad space; another advantage of working though us is that you get unbiased advice and expertise as to how to enter this lucrative market - and we don't charge an agency commission."
Lunch Box Media is your first stop when considering approaching the gay and lesbian market in South Africa.
Visit www.lunchboxmedia.co.za for more information. |
 | | gay, lesbian, pink, advertising, marketing, online, print, media, magazine, sales, agency, lucrative, demographic, brand, |
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| PRESS RELEASES ISSUED BY LUNCH BOX MEDIA |
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| | Cape Town Pride Needs You
26 January 2012 | PRIDE, an International Brand that has featured on the Gay, Lesbian (LGBTI) Community event calendars World-wide for the past 30 years.
Pride is a volunteer run Non-Profit Section 21 Company that annually organises an 10-day Cape Town Pride Festiva. | |
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