Lesbian and gay boycotts

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TOPICS: Gay market boycotts, lesbian marketing, gay marketing, gay community politics, advertising mainstream marketing, homophobia, lesbian and gay workplace diversity, gay and lesbian market lobby, gay marketing diversity, workplace diversity, gay diversity marketing, lesbian and gay advertising strategies.

There was an interesting gay marketing article in weekend editions of some US newspapers recently about efforts being made by one of the worst corporate gay and lesbian rights violators of the 1990s trying to rehabilitate its brand and win favour with several previously disenfranchised markets, including African-Americans and the gay and lesbian market.

The lesbian and gay market though may still be taking some time to forgive and forget.

And for once when it comes to boycotts, it looks like the gay and lesbian market has the corporation over a barrel - and when you read on it seems clear that this is a case of the gay market strikes back against inappropriate corporate marketing actions.

In the early 90s, US fast food chain, Cracker Barrel was caught out actively practising gay discrimination when a leaked corporate memo revealed that the company wanted to get managers to dismiss gay and lesbian employees as part of company practise.

The company was later forced to apologise for these discriminatory actions and subsequently instituted diversity policies in the workplace to protect the rights of its gay and lesbian employees. Nonetheless, significant public relations damage had already been done to the brand, and many members of the gay and lesbian market, and many of their supporters, will still not use the chain's fast food restaurants.

Gay marketing strategy advises us that clients should seek positive word of mouth amongst all customer groups, including, of course, customers from the gay and lesbian market segment. However, the old adage that bad news travels ten times faster is probably true in relation to negative word of mouth, and the bad publicity that results when a company like Cracker Barrel is so blatantly exposed for pursuing anti-gay initiatives travels ten times further - and it has a tendency to last.

The gay and lesbian market, and individual lesbian and gay market consumers, have very long memories it seems when it comes to such issues.

According to a leading US gay community group, the Cracker Barrel company has improved since the dark days of last decade, but still has some distance to travel to become one of the 'world's best practice' companies in the area of gay and lesbian equality in all its markets.

According to Daryl Herrschaft, a deputy director with the US gay and lesbian community advocacy group, Human Rights Campaign: "We're gratified they reversed course and added sexual orientation to their hiring and nondiscrimination policy. (However) it did take them almost 10 years to do so. I think there's a lot of gays who still cringe when they drive by that Cracker Barrel sign on the highway."

The lesson is clear - treat all your company's customers equally, and with respect, as well as your staff, and expect to win that gay goodwill and all the brand loyalty that flows with it through adopting effective gay and lesbian market strategies and by thinking holistically when you pursue gay marketing initiatives.

It not only feels good - it's worth it.

The alternative might just leave a bad taste in everybody's mouth.