Image provided by www.nutwork.com.au

Hello everyone! Before anything, I just want to say that it is an absolute honor to be a part of the OutFront Blog and I look forward to sharing with you my unique perspective on how today’s LGBT communities are being effectively reached by some of the worlds most notable brands and organizations. Today I would love to focus on a question posed to me yesterday that really got me thinking, “with an increase in overall acceptance of the LGBT community, does the world still need initiatives that specifically target them?”

While today’s youth are certainly not the same as yesteryears and every day societies around the world are becoming more accepting, does homophobia, in its ugliest form still exist? The answer is yes. Not only does discrimination continues to exist in countries like Iran,  where the LGBT community must live in fear of being sentenced to the death penalty, but here in our own country as well. And when businesses are involved, the repercussions are just as detrimental to a brand as the conflict they are supporting.

We have previously discussed the challenge that Target is facing with gay equality advocates across the board currently boycotting the franchise. In fact, Edge Magazine blogger Barbara Farfan wrote in an Aug. 24 About.com posting that both Target and Best Buy (who also supported the same candidate) are now at risk of losing a substantial amount of money by underestimating the purchasing power of the LGBT community (which is currently estimated at more than $750 billion). Not to mention, the companies now have to accept the loss of any support they had previously had from the Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest LGBT advocacy group boasting more than 750,000 members, as well.

While many brands have previously ignored, and continue to ignore, the potential in reaching out to this segment of society, there are, however, an increasing amount that are now seeing the benefits of appealing to the community. In fact, according to Jeff Garber in an article from The BrandChannel, “there are approximately 22 to 30 million gay, lesbian, bisexuals and transgendered people in the United States alone. And that is a considerable market share that lacks attention from many brands.” Orbitz, Subaru and Absolut Vodka, for example, have been targeting the gay community for years now and in the end are more than happy to admit that it’s had nothing less than a positive outcome for them all with an increase in traffic, loyal customers, and a better overall business. 

So, does the world still need initiatives that specifically target the LGBT community? The answer lies in whether or not you want to improve your overall brand image and business entirely.

There’s no such thing as a coincidence. Today, several significant moments come together: for one, we are at a new phase with our very well-received blog, FH Out Front, secondly, I find myself starting off as a proud and happy contributor for it, and finally, we have very important news to share with everyone regarding the considerable ground that has been gained in terms of civil rights for Latin America’s LGBT community, and the especially interesting case of Mexico.
Allow me to offer some background information on myself. My name is Vera González, I am Mexican, I am gay, and I am the Healthcare, Nutrition & Lifestyle Practice Vice President for Fleishman Hillard’s Mexico office. I joined the Firm five years ago, and it’s worth noting that this is my second tenure with the office, because I first joined FH sometime back in 2000. I am a nutritionist and I hold a Bachelor’s degree in nutrition from Mexico City’s Universidad Iberoamericana and completed post-graduate studies in this field in London. However it’s safe to say that what I know regarding PR, I learned mainly at FH.
It was the tremendous power of communications, as well as the notion of being able to shift perceptions and educate audiences, that gave me a whole new perspective on what to do with my life, and I decided that I would work in my field taking on a non traditional approach – one that would take me beyond the medical office or perhaps even a hospital, using communications strategies instead to promote a healthier lifestyle precisely through our clients.
Through my collaborations, I’ll be discussing some of the most relevant issues affecting our community from the Latin American perspective, particularly, the Mexican point of view.
Now, would you allow me to give you a preview of what you can expect? As it turns out Mexico is elegantly and decidedly coming out of the closet onto a global stage, in what is in fact, a surprise for many. On August 10, the country’s Supreme Court resolved a potential unconstitutionality conflict and upheld the endorsement of gay marriage in Mexico City! And the good news doesn’t end there. Just some days ago, this very same Mexican high court declared a separate trial as unfounded, one that was being promoted in a second intent by the country’s Attorney General Arturo Chávez, (a member of the conservative and incumbent PAN (Partido Acción Nacional political party). His initiative was to deny adoption rights to same sex couples, legislation which had in fact been approved for months in Mexico City. What finally happened was that once again, the high court upheld their decision.

Gay Flag and The Angel of Independence, an iconic monument in Mexico City (Courtesy of SXC)

These are all tremendously relevant facts opening hopeful doors and setting up great expectations for the LGBT community in Mexico. These are also facts, which I personally hope will resound throughout the world. Separately, but also along these lines, they represent great premises in terms of marketing. Given the new-found openness, one stands to believe that many brands who used to draw a line in their communications towards the LGBT community, might now in fact take on a broader perspective.  
And so, we are living in exciting times!! And even better ones lie ahead!! Please stay tuned,
We’ll be in contact again very soon! Hasta la vista!!

As Michael noted yesterday, this summer has been chock full of inspiration, creativity, new faces and new directions.  I am absolutely thrilled to be more involved with this group of amazing and talented individuals we have across the world.  I’d like to officially welcome you back to the OutFront blog and hope that we continue to  join forces and stand together to remain out front.

And out front is where we have been. Gay and lesbian issues have been front and center in media news throughout the summer, here in the states and internationally. From gay marriage, to Target stores to prom settlements and even Hispanic perspective (my sweet spot!) on gay marriage.  A recent Associated Press-Univision  study found that the younger Hispanic generations support gay and lesbian issues – like marriage – which puts them right in line with their  general market counterparts in supporting the gay community. According to The Advocate.com, the Higher Education Research Institute reported this year that 65 percent of college freshmen are in support of gay marriage.

Also, the native countries  that our U.S. Hispanic counterparts are relocating from are celebrating progress. Argentina was the first Latin American country to legalize gay marriage. Parts of Mexico (the largest source of Latino immigrants to the states) recognize legal marriage and adoption is on the agenda, and marriage rights are becoming a more relevant issue in Costa Rica. This is important because it’s shaping the attitudes of future Americans and it raises the profile of LGBT communications from a domestic issue to a true global agenda.

The future is looking very promising as one of the main factors that affects the acceptance of LGBTs within the Hispanic culture (and many others) is religion. However, the same AP-Univision study shows that young Hispanics in the states are less likely to be Catholic.

There are more than 45 million Hispanic consumers in the U.S.  and Hispanics are on track to reach a one trillion purchasing power mark this year. Handfuls of corporations and organizations have been reaching out to the Hispanic community as it is a huge opportunity. The gay Hispanic community blends culture definers from both their Hispanic heritage and the LGBT community. I encourage you to add a Hispanic spin to your diversity planning for the next year – it’s clearly an opportunity staying out front for.

Welcome back to the Out Front blog. We’ve been a bit quiet this summer, but there is a reason. Select one of the following choices as to why we’ve been MIA:

• Retreat — The blogging team took some much needed time off, away from our cyber community.
• Redesign — We got tired of looking at the same blog.
• Regroup — We got together to decide the future direction of our blog.
• Renew — We decided to expand leadership of the Out Front practice as well as the voices represented on this page.

If you selected any of these answers, you are right. In fact, all of the answers explain our dark period. If you are reading this blog, you can see that we have a new look on our page. We worked with a great design team to bring our blog up to date, including our visual appeal and graphical layout. I am thrilled that our colors have been refreshed to represent the diverse opinions that we bring to LGBT communications.

If you keep coming back to the blog, you’ll see that we are adding new voices to our discussion, representing colleagues in London, Latin America and San Francisco. I am so excited for you to read their unique perspectives on LGBT outreach. I hope you value their opinions as much as I do.

These new perspectives provide us the opportunity to take this blog in a new direction. While we might not post every day, our goal is to provide more thought-provoking pieces that start new dialogue vs. recycling outdated topics and conversations. To that end, we want you to hold us accountable for our blog posts. Engage with us in the conversation. Tell us what you think.

Someone who has never been afraid to tell me what she thinks is someone I am proud to now call the co-chair of the Out Front practice group. Ivette Lopez Sisniega is stepping up to help define the new vision and offering of our team. She represents a market segment that is quickly trending as the untapped opportunity in our space—the Hispanic LGBT community. If you have ever read her posts on here, you know that she brings a fresh, creative approach to engaging with this audience. I am happy that she now has an even bigger platform to make an impact. Come back tomorrow to read Ivette’s take on her new role and the future of LGBT communications in the Hispanic community.

We are relaunching this blog at a time when the debate on LGBT inclusion and communications is louder than ever. Companies, and governments for that matter, are trying to figure how to confidently stay Out Front in this debate. We’ll track these real-time case studies and provide our perspective. We want you to do the same.

Thanks for staying Out Front with us.