By Tim Feran
The Columbus Dispatch Friday June 15, 2012 5:30 AM
Retailers are going mainstream with ad campaigns aimed at gay customers in an effort to get their merchandise into more consumer closets.
“Retailers, particularly fashion retailers, always like to be ahead of the curve,” said local retail analyst Chris Boring of Boulevard Strategies. “In 2012, supporting gay rights and accepting gays is pretty mainstream.”
In one high-profile move, J.C. Penney is running an ad for Father’s Day featuring a gay Texas couple and their two children. A month ago, the retailer had an ad for Mother’s Day showing a lesbian couple with their children. The iconic retailer also has tapped openly gay comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres as a company spokeswoman.
Macy’s, meanwhile, is marking June, Gay Pride month, with special in-store events, special merchandise and active support of parades around the country.
They join a who’s who of other big-name retailers — including Limited Brands, Abercrombie & Fitch and Target — sponsoring local Gay Pride parades and touting their companies as gay-friendly.
The change is driven as much by changing views as it is by the profit motive.
A recent Pew Research Center survey found a dramatic shift in public opinion. In 2004, 60 percent of the American public opposed gay marriage, and only 29 percent supported it. Today, approval of gay marriage tops 40 percent, and among young people born after 1980, support for gay marriage is over 60 percent.
“There’s a dramatic difference among age groups,” Boring said. “That’s important. From a retailer’s standpoint, they’re going to connect with younger customers and that’s what Penney’s is trying to do. They’re trying to burnish their brand as being progressive and leading edge.”
There is big money at stake in gaining that image, too, said Matt Wilson of SBC Advertising.
“Depending on what report you read, ... (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) buying power in America ranges anywhere from $850 million to $2 trillion annually,” Wilson said. Compared with the average consumer, this group” is twice as likely to have graduated from college, twice as likely to have per capita income of $60,000-plus and twice as likely to have household income exceeding $250,000."
“In an economy in which the mainstream customer is losing buying power, the LGBT public becomes a valuable and easily activated supplement, ff only you’ve got the guts to acknowledge it positively and publicly,” Wilson said.
There are consequences, he noted, because those who run such ads often “wind up on a conservative mom group’s hit list.”
“The American Family Association’s ‘One Million Moms’ group, for example, has expressed disapproval of some companies’ efforts to reach out to the gay community.
Penney’stook some heat for its Father’s Day ad.
“One Million Moms is disturbed that J.C. Penney's is continuing down the same path of promoting sin in their advertisements,” the group said in a statement issued soon after the ad rolled out. “Scripture says multiple times that homosexuality is wrong, and God will not tolerate this sinful nature.”
Penney’s also endured criticism from that group for using DeGeneres in its ads. But a Penney’s spokeswoman said the company stands by her.
“We are extremely proud to have her on our team,” said Penney’s spokeswoman Kate Coultas.
Some retailers are going beyond marketing in to the demographic in general and are specifically acknowledging “pride” month by selling special T-shirts and other merchandise.
Macy’s, for example, has a “Pride + Joy” campaign that features merchandise, in-store fashion events, commemorative advertising and gift registry booths for same-sex couples.
Others, such as Abercrombie & Fitch, eschew such special offerings, preferring to show their support in their everyday business dealings with customers and employees.
“For us, it means a whole integration of policy,” said Todd Corley, Abercrombie’s vice president of diversity. “For me, the most important thing is when an employee asks, ‘What do you do for me as a person?’ I can tell you. You can see a shirt, but are we holding people accountable?”
The trendy retailer is a founding partner of the European Diversity Awards, which recognize those who foster the embrace of people of all kinds and abilitiesas well as a lead sponsor in the “ Who’s Who in GLBT in Columbus” book.
“We seek out opportunities wherever we are,” Corley said.
Whether companies produce T-shirt and sponsor parades or not, “The public declaration of support is the thing,” Wilson said. “It’s a legitimizing force in a consumer-fueled culture. The LBGT community is a brand loyal consumer base who are willing and able to shell out a little more for a product and service because a company has decided to side with the community. ”
As this year’s Columbus gay-pride activities take place today and Saturday, corporate support of this demographic is becoming more and more the norm, said Karla Rothan, executive director of Stonewall Columbus.
“None of our businesses want people to think they’re not inclusive. (Support of the parade) is a perfect way to show they welcome our business and they welcome our talent.”
“Retailers, particularly fashion retailers, always like to be ahead of the curve,” said local retail analyst Chris Boring of Boulevard Strategies. “In 2012, supporting gay rights and accepting gays is pretty mainstream.”
In one high-profile move, J.C. Penney is running an ad for Father’s Day featuring a gay Texas couple and their two children. A month ago, the retailer had an ad for Mother’s Day showing a lesbian couple with their children. The iconic retailer also has tapped openly gay comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres as a company spokeswoman.
Macy’s, meanwhile, is marking June, Gay Pride month, with special in-store events, special merchandise and active support of parades around the country.
They join a who’s who of other big-name retailers — including Limited Brands, Abercrombie & Fitch and Target — sponsoring local Gay Pride parades and touting their companies as gay-friendly.
The change is driven as much by changing views as it is by the profit motive.
A recent Pew Research Center survey found a dramatic shift in public opinion. In 2004, 60 percent of the American public opposed gay marriage, and only 29 percent supported it. Today, approval of gay marriage tops 40 percent, and among young people born after 1980, support for gay marriage is over 60 percent.
“There’s a dramatic difference among age groups,” Boring said. “That’s important. From a retailer’s standpoint, they’re going to connect with younger customers and that’s what Penney’s is trying to do. They’re trying to burnish their brand as being progressive and leading edge.”
There is big money at stake in gaining that image, too, said Matt Wilson of SBC Advertising.
“Depending on what report you read, ... (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) buying power in America ranges anywhere from $850 million to $2 trillion annually,” Wilson said. Compared with the average consumer, this group” is twice as likely to have graduated from college, twice as likely to have per capita income of $60,000-plus and twice as likely to have household income exceeding $250,000."
“In an economy in which the mainstream customer is losing buying power, the LGBT public becomes a valuable and easily activated supplement, ff only you’ve got the guts to acknowledge it positively and publicly,” Wilson said.
There are consequences, he noted, because those who run such ads often “wind up on a conservative mom group’s hit list.”
“The American Family Association’s ‘One Million Moms’ group, for example, has expressed disapproval of some companies’ efforts to reach out to the gay community.
Penney’stook some heat for its Father’s Day ad.
“One Million Moms is disturbed that J.C. Penney's is continuing down the same path of promoting sin in their advertisements,” the group said in a statement issued soon after the ad rolled out. “Scripture says multiple times that homosexuality is wrong, and God will not tolerate this sinful nature.”
Penney’s also endured criticism from that group for using DeGeneres in its ads. But a Penney’s spokeswoman said the company stands by her.
“We are extremely proud to have her on our team,” said Penney’s spokeswoman Kate Coultas.
Some retailers are going beyond marketing in to the demographic in general and are specifically acknowledging “pride” month by selling special T-shirts and other merchandise.
Macy’s, for example, has a “Pride + Joy” campaign that features merchandise, in-store fashion events, commemorative advertising and gift registry booths for same-sex couples.
Others, such as Abercrombie & Fitch, eschew such special offerings, preferring to show their support in their everyday business dealings with customers and employees.
“For us, it means a whole integration of policy,” said Todd Corley, Abercrombie’s vice president of diversity. “For me, the most important thing is when an employee asks, ‘What do you do for me as a person?’ I can tell you. You can see a shirt, but are we holding people accountable?”
The trendy retailer is a founding partner of the European Diversity Awards, which recognize those who foster the embrace of people of all kinds and abilitiesas well as a lead sponsor in the “ Who’s Who in GLBT in Columbus” book.
“We seek out opportunities wherever we are,” Corley said.
Whether companies produce T-shirt and sponsor parades or not, “The public declaration of support is the thing,” Wilson said. “It’s a legitimizing force in a consumer-fueled culture. The LBGT community is a brand loyal consumer base who are willing and able to shell out a little more for a product and service because a company has decided to side with the community. ”
As this year’s Columbus gay-pride activities take place today and Saturday, corporate support of this demographic is becoming more and more the norm, said Karla Rothan, executive director of Stonewall Columbus.
“None of our businesses want people to think they’re not inclusive. (Support of the parade) is a perfect way to show they welcome our business and they welcome our talent.”
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