Gay & Lesbian Media - September 2009

Gay & Lesbian Consumers

Gay and Lesbian media is your portal to communicate with this big spending audience!

Today, more than ever before, the power of the gay advertising dollar – the pink dollar – is being recognised. Increasingly, advertisers understand that gay men and women represent a significant group within the general population that is not being targeted by advertising or having its information needs met.

As consumers, gay people recognise and support products and services that, in return, recognise and support them both as individuals and as a community. These are advertisers who reflect gay lifestyles in mainstream advertising campaigns or who place advertising in gay media .

In Australia, gay media is dominated by free publications targeted by location. Major capitals such as Sydney and Melbourne have weekly papers; other centres have fortnightly or monthly publications. There are also excellent monthly publications for both gay and lesbian audiences as well as Australia’s only gay and lesbian radio service, Joy FM, in Melbourne.

Gay consumers share some characteristics that make them attractive to advertisers.

* More likely to be single

* Couples more likely to enjoy two full time incomes

* Less likely to have children

* More likely to live in a city than regional/rural

* Have higher rates of disposable income

Sydney’s annual Mardi Gras Festival is the gay community’s biggest annual celebration and puts Sydney on the map internationally as a city with a thriving gay culture. Corporate advertisers as diverse as the ANZ and Ikea have extended their advertising campaigns to gay audiences by participating in the parade and February-March is the peak time to target the gay community.