Targeting the Gay Market - The Advocate

TOPICS: Companies targeting the gay market. Gay market issues. LGBT. GLBT. Targeting the gay market. Target marketing. PlanetOut. Lesbian and gay attitudes towards marketing and advertising strategies targeting the gay market. Lesbian target market. GLBT communications issues. PlanetOut joins the many companies now targeting the gay market with increasing openness.

Ian Johnson, Out Now
July 11, 2007


There are many signs of the times when looking at trends in companies targeting the gay market.

One such sign is the New York Times article about the PlanetOut company starting to send their key publications, The Advocate and Out magazines in the usual post format rather than enclosing them in opaque envelope packaging.

The fact that an LGBT communications professional company such as PlanetOut - whose core business is targeting the gay market - felt it necessary to previously use such packaging to protect the privacy of their subscribers says a lot about how new the gay market is, and how relatively recent, yet how profound, are the social changes now underway in the US market.

PlanetOut is listed on the Nasdaq Exchange under the code LGBT and recently received vital investment funds to continue its operations. Investors included Bill Gates of Microsoft through his investment company Cascade Investment LLC.

Here is an extract of the NY Times article about this new development in the fast moving world of issues faced by companies now targeting the gay market.

Advocate to Offer Magazine Without 2nd Cover
July 9, 2007

The Advocate, the national gay magazine, is kicking off the covers. That is, the magazine is starting to do away with the extra cover that is placed on the magazine before it is sealed in a plastic wrapper, concealing its identity during shipment.

The current issue of The Advocate. Subscribers can still have the magazine’s identity concealed in the mail. Most have opted for no coverup.

Its July 3 issue, which features on its cover a gay Marine who is a war veteran, was mailed to most subscribers with a standard address label in the lower left-hand corner, looking like any other magazine delivered by the Postal Service.

Michael Phelps, the publisher of The Advocate, said the new policy of openness came about after the magazine polled its readers in April, asking them if they wanted to continue to receive the magazine in the wrapper or not.

“The majority no longer wanted the covering,” said Mr. Phelps, who was promoted to publisher of the magazine just a few weeks ago. “For some, they said they were environmentally conscious and wanted to cut down on waste. For others, it was more of an out-and-proud issue.”

And what about those who do not like the idea of the mail carrier knowing their business? “Those readers will still have the option to continue to get the magazine in the bag,” Mr. Phelps said.

Keith Boykin, a frequent commentator on CNN who is openly gay, said he was not surprised about the new policy. “People who subscribe to The Advocate tend to be more politically conscious,” he said, “and as society moves forward, more and more gay people want to be visible.”

The Advocate is owned by PlanetOut, and the company is planning to change the way it mails out other magazines it publishes, too, including Out magazine.

For help with targeting the gay market more effectively, contact Out Now.

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