Yesterday we shared our thoughts on the year that was 2008; today we’re going to offer our fearless forecasts for 2009. After the events of the past year it’s harder than ever to make predictions about the future, but in this time when literally anything can happen, perhaps we stand a greater chance of being right!
We hope you’ll stick with us this year to find out. You can subscribe to the blog (in the upper right hand corner), follow us on Twitter (right below the subscription area), become a fan on Facebook (Out Front Blog) or just stop by every business day to see what we’re talking about. We look forward to hearing from even more of you even more often in the New Year (and we’re considering ways to make it even easier to follow us and share your thoughts about us with others).
In the meantime, onward into 2009. As is our custom, we asked the Out Front blogging team to answer one question about the new year:
- What will be the top trend (or trends) in LGBT communications in 2009?
Here are our responses:
Ben: Experimentation with gay and lesbian marketing and communications by new market entrants (Campbell’s Soup anyone?) and long-time leaders (nice pair of Levi’s!). New market entrants will try creative new ways to engage our community without necessarily spending large sums and long-time leaders will think of new ways to remain engaged with our community beyond what they are already doing. Although I don’t think the sinking economy will bring down gay and lesbian communications, I do think it will slow the rate of growth. Marketers will still be in engaged in 2009 (and we’ll see new entrants as mentioned above), but 2009 will be more of a building/rebuilding year than a bold new step forward that changes the way we all view gay and lesbian communications. With any luck, the work done this year (and a strengthened economy by the end of the year) will set the stage for a more dramatic 2010.
Bryan: No doubt dialogue created by the 2008 elections will continue into 2009. I believe marketers and communicators will more directly consider LGBT audiences in their messages and outreach, in both LGBT and mainstream media. Similarly, I hope the LGBT community is able to harness the upswell of passion and advocacy and organize it into a collective movement, with a focused message and deliberate approach. In total, I hope our incoming president sets the trend for 2009 and onward – hope and change.
Ivette: I think gay and lesbian issues will be featured in mainstream media with more frequency. In regards to Hispanics, I think we’ll see more celebrity support and find more emerging leaders while the Hispanic gay and lesbian population continues to grow.
Kim: I expect to see in 2009 LGBT communications continue to be more targeted toward unique audience segments. I am sure the online channel will be a critical and expanding form of these targeted communications. Along these lines, I expect to see segments like the LGBT baby boomers become a more prominent target as they continue moving into retirement in strong numbers.
Laura: Over the past year, we’ve seen social media soar even higher. This year, we’ll see more social marketing campaigns to the LGBT population and an increased engagement through social networking tools and platforms. Through this outreach, we’re able to reach audiences in a targeted, tailored and authentic manner.
Michael: Communicating Change. Plain and simple. It's the universal theme for 2009, in politics, in the economy, and in social behavior and acceptance. How will companies adapt to the growing LGBT population in the U.S. and global economies? How will the Fortune 500 address the aging LGBT population? The messages will vary from audience to audience, but the trend will be all about the positive, and challenging, effects of change.
Peter: The LGBT community has always been an innovator in terms of digital technologies and communications. As more and more LGBTs create social networking profiles and connect with friends and family across LGBT/straight lines, the subtle realities of our lives will become more real than ever before…The use of digital technologies that help to display our identities and capture our lives will continue to communicate — more than ever before — the simple truth: we are no different than anyone else… we all love and want to be loved regardless of our sexual or gender identities.
Steve: With a still-weak economic outlook for 2009, I expect that more companies will be marketing aggressively toward our community and its expendable income to help fill an expected void, especially in consumer goods and luxury products. However, as we say repeatedly on this blog, we're a sophisticated and discerning market. The companies that are successful with us in 2009 will be the ones that truly are engaged in our community and already have an established track record of supporting our issues.
Please share your thoughts in the comments. And look for follow-up from us on these forecasts during the year. In the meantime, best wishes from all of us to all of you.
Happy New Year!
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As a business owner in Washington DC, I will be focusing more efforts to bring the local LGBT business community together. I think you’ll see more LGBT business professionals reaching out to each other to share ideas, collaborate on projects and provide role models to aspiring entrepreneurs. Our visibility will also provide inroads to the mainstream chambers of commerce and boards of trade, helping to break down barriers in many areas.
That’s a great point, Eileen. Thanks for commenting and for reminding us of the importance of LGBT businesses, particularly in this economy. I hope other readers will share their predictions as well – the more the merrier!