With media coverage of an impending recession mounting, I’m waiting for the predictable wave of “how will we get out of this situation?” coverage that generally follows such coverage. Generally, these follow-on stories address the sectors of the economy that will “rebound” first, the companies best positioned to emerge in the strongest position, etc. Predictably, the stories don’t generally address the role of specific audience segments like gays and lesbians in helping boost the economy with spending and other behaviors that contribute to economic recovery.
As we’ve discussed many times before, gays and are a powerful economic force. With our large buying power and loyalty to marketers that genuinely engage us, we are – or should be – a prime audience for companies looking to engage key audiences to weather the impacts of uncertain economic conditions.
To that point, here are my suggestions for the top three market sectors that could/should consider direct engagement with gay and lesbian consumers now and in the future to help survive the expected economic downturn:
Travel and tourism – discretionary expenses are the first to go in economic downturns; at the risk of making a gross generalization, gays and lesbians are one of the last groups to completely abandon discretionary expenses such as travel when times get rough. We may change our travel habits, but we don’t abandon travel altogether.
Financial planning – there’s nothing like a bad economy to remind us all of the importance of financial planning. Companies in this market (many of which are already engaged in targeting our community) should be poised to capitalize on renewed interest in financial planning services from a community that will be even more responsive to smart, strategic efforts to reach and engage us in the midst of a bad economy.
Fashion – high-end consumers are most likely to continue spending in difficult economic conditions. Although not all gays and lesbians fall into this economic group, fashion is one of the industries most willing to use gay and lesbian imagery to connote the “cool” or “hip” factor that helps sell clothes not just to us, but to all of those high-end consumers that are likely to keep spending. In this case, outreach to our community might have a “spillover” effect into targeted segments of the straight community that will help maintain sales momentum.
That’s my two cents. What do you think? Are companies wise to consider us as a target audience now more than ever? What market sectors are best poised to engage us? I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments below.
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