Posts Tagged ‘Finance’

True Financial Reform

Posted by Michael Murphy

There is a lot of talk about Wall Street reform this week. The financial sector has always been just outside of my comfort zone—I know enough to be able to follow industry news, but I wouldn’t call myself a dangerous expert in it (my savings account reflects this as well).

The financial reform news I have been following this week comes from London and Hong Kong. According to the Financial Times, Galileo Capital Management has launched “LGBT Capital,” a corporate advisory and investment management company focused on the LGBT consumer market. The firm will initially provide two primary services: corporate advisory and business development consultation to companies that serve the LGBT sector and a fund investing in companies providing services to the LGBT sector.

The design of the business is rooted in proprietary research and conversations within the LGBT community. According to a survey commissioned by LGBT Capital, 30 percent of LGBT sector businesses felt they needed to adopt a degree of secrecy when setting up and seeking funding. Additionally, while a majority of these businesses have expansion goals outside of their current geographic location, 80 percent lacked specialist advice on how best to secure funding.

Who will benefit from this new service? According to the story, the company will be looking for good quality businesses that give investors – gay or straight – access to a market segment whose already substantial potential is set to be boosted by expanding gay liberation in both the developed and developing markets. And, what’s really great about LGBT Capital’s business model is that the company has committed to donating 10 percent of profits back into the LGBT community.

In today’s economy, we know that many small businesses are struggling. However, data keeps showing us that the LGBT community represents an affluent, untapped market. LGBT Capital clearly recognizes the value proposition of not only working in the LGBT community, but working with the community by funding big thinkers and innovators and helping LGBT business-owners realize their full funding potential. And the company is not just capitalizing on our community—they are giving back as well. Talk about a smart “return on investment.”

What do you think about LGBT Capital’s business proposition? “Innovative” or “It’s About Time”?

Self promotion moment… Remember when I blogged that I would be presenting at the New York Gay and Lesbian Marketing Conference? It’s tomorrow—and we’ll be blogging live, providing the latest trends, case studies and best practices on marketing to the LGBT community. Mr. Blaise will be providing real-time coverage, so check back throughout the day for news. Perhaps you’ll even get a picture of me looking like a pundit on cable news. That alone is worth bookmarking.

Have a great Thursday.

| April 29th, 2010 No Comments »
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Faces of Pride

Posted by Bryan Blaise

Faces of Pride This weekend was the Midwest’s largest street festival, Chicago’s North Halsted Market Days. Not necessarily billed as exclusively LGBT, the event seems like a second tasting of Pride with its performers (the Village People and En Vogue), location (Halsted Street – the main drag of Boystown), and vendors (HRC, HIV/AIDS research organizations, the local gay showchoir, etc).

Ditching my Chicago Spirit Brigade pom-pons for two seconds, I took the chance to check out the companies present, seeing if those topping the HRC Corporate Equality Index had a presence or if there were any other rising stars in LGBT inclusiveness. Verizon and T-Mobile had the phones and sales people out in droves, as did Chase, but it was the Progressive Insurance booth and their Faces of Pride campaign that blew me away.

Created and managed by Arnold Worldwide, Progressive Insurance’s Faces of Pride campaign visits LGBT events across the country and let’s anybody proudly flash their smile by themselves or with the one(s) they love. Participants can then immediately upload that picture to their Facebook profile as well as be captured in the larger event’s “Faces of Pride” Facebook photo album. Participants could also choose to create a funky Progressive nametag that label you with options such as the “Backseat Driver” or “Off Key Singer” (I’m the latter…or both depending on who you ask). These helped create buzz throughout the festival and drive greater participation, as if the cute booth attendants weren’t enough.
Progressive and Facebook then extended the brand interaction further, as countless of us went home last night to peruse the photo albums for friends’ and colleagues’ pictures. Check out the Faces of Pride photo albums from this weekend, as well as Progressive’s out front commitment to progress on LGBT issues here.

Congratulations to Progressive for their commitment and creativity to elevating the conversations and profiles of the LGBT community above trite, stereotypical communications about our lives. I encourage all our readers to keep your eyes open at future events for Progressive’s Faces of Pride campaign and let them capture your proud smile.

| August 3rd, 2009 5 Comments »
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Lesbians Optimistic About 2009 Economy

Posted by Ivette López Sisniega

The current issue of Curve has a very interesting poll* on the lesbian economic outlook for this year. Almost half of lesbians see the glass half full: 49 percent say “I’m making some cuts, but overall I’ll be Ok.” Fourteen percent said things are looking good from where they stand, and an 11 percent said “Recession? What recession?”

Based on this poll, about 75 percent of lesbians have a positive outlook on the economy. That is a promising number. So who is getting our attention? Advertisers in the magazine lean heavily on the travel and tourism side with Sweet and Damron among others, along with online dating and music festivals. The list seems pretty varied, however the majority are gay and lesbian companies. From the non-gay and lesbian business community: Bridgestone (yes, the tires), Visit Las Vegas and Subaru.

There needs to be a little more diversity within these pages. As pretty much the only nationally distributed lesbian publication, this is an important platform in reaching your optimistic, forward-thinking, brand-loyal female. The diversity in support will compliment the diversity of women that grace each page of the publication and our community.  In addition to celebrities, authors and musicians, Curve recognizes ten powerful lesbian politicians.

I’d like to take a moment to highlight two Latinas who made the list: Rosie Mendez, NYC councilmember and Mautner Project board member, and Sheriff Lupe Valdez – the highest ranking law enforcement officer in Dallas County, Texas.

I digress. Our community will only diversify as time passes and progress is made. There are plenty other ways to communicate with this audience as alternatives to advertising in publications; some ways even more credible. Ways of connecting with your audience have grown exponentially, mainly through the digital arena ( social networking, bloggers, Twitter, etc.) And as each dollar spent on your product is increasingly becoming more and more valuable, so should targeting a population which is most willing to listen and take action.

*Curvemag.com

| April 29th, 2009 1 Comment »
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The LGB Money Myth?

Posted by Peter Klaus

Dollar SignJames Withers, over at the 365 Gay Blog, posted an interesting commentary today about the recently published study entitled, "Poverty in the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Community." The study, published by The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, sheds light on the presumption that members of the LGB community are, generally speaking, better off economically than their heterosexual counterparts and have more disposable income.

The introduction to the study states:

This report undertakes the first analysis of the poor and low-income lesbian, gay, and bisexual population. We find clear evidence that poverty is at least as common in the LGB population as among heterosexual people and their families.

The executive summary of the report continues:

After adjusting for a range of family characteristics that help explain poverty, gay and lesbian couple families are significantly more likely to be poor than are heterosexual married couple families.

I must admit… up until reading this study (I'm not a researcher and can't comment on the validity of the study and the methods employed in conducting it), I have been prone to believe that members of the LGB community must be better off during these times of economic crisis than their heterosexual counterparts. Since the majority of LGB folks don't have kids, I've simply assumed that they must be able to dedicate more of their financial resources to themselves versus spreading them across a family that includes children.

Indeed, a piece of research from 1987 states:

Many homosexuals may be more financially able to take early retirement than heterosexuals. Gays often have more disposable income than non-gays.

What to believe given the new Williams Institute study?

Regardless of the truth, I think this is one of those beliefs that is constantly reinforced through word-of-mouth.

As professional communicators, we often create and plan word-of-mouth programs for our clients. This new study is making me think about how many times I may have repeated the statement above… and the power of word-of-mouth in establishing awareness and assumptions.

What do you think about the new study and its findings?

photo credit

| March 25th, 2009 1 Comment »
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Suze Speaks

Posted by Ben Finzel

As the global economic crisis deepens, financial guru Suze Orman has been receiving even more attention than usual with her advice to consumers about how to weather the economic storm. This weekend, Suze took advantage of that bully pulpit to focus attention on the inequality of the nation’s marriage laws. Specifically signaling out Proposition 8 in California and Proposition 2 in Florida, Orman exhorted her viewers to understand just how unjust these anti-gay initiatives are in financial terms. 

As we’ve blogged before, the decision by public figures to come out and to be vocal can have an enormous impact on how society at large views our community and acts on the issues of concern to us. Suze Orman’s very public coming out in The New York Times and subsequent public statements on Larry King Live and elsewhere have certainly helped raise the visibility of our issues before audiences that might not otherwise be aware of them. 

You might argue that Suze could have and should have been much more vocal much sooner about Proposition 8 and the other state ballot initiatives, particularly given how often she speaks about the benefits of marriage. That’s a valid point, but I think it’s also valid to praise Suze now for so forcefully, and directly, making the case that LGBT rights are human rights by couching them in financial terms that are so easily understood by so many.

I’m still a fan and I’m still hopeful that Suze will continue to leverage her voice and her position to advance issues of importance for all of us. Thanks to AMERICAblog and Towleroad for the tip on Suze’s comments (in the video below).
 

What do you think?  Let us know in the comments below.

| February 17th, 2009 No Comments »
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