Gay and Lesbian Marketing - Sports Sponsorships

TOPICS: Lesbian communications. Lesbian marketing. Lesbian sponsorship. Gay and lesbian marketing. Sports sponsorships. Gay marketing news. US lesbian communications strategies. Homophobia in sport. Basketball. Women's basketball. Detroit Shock women's basketball. Gays in sports. Lesbian and gay community interest in sport. Gay community marketing sponsorship opportunities. Lesbian and gay marketing. Gay and lesbian community marketing. Detroit Michigan professional women's sports team - Shock Detroit - sponsorship as part of gay and lesbian marketing.

Ian Johnson, Out Now
September 14, 2007

Yesterday Gay Market News reported on the paucity of out gay and lesbian sports stars, and the resulting loss of sponsorship marketing opportunities that can arise.

Today we show how a mainstream company is using a very targeted sponsorship of Detroit Shock--a professional women's basketball team--to increase its marketing results from two important niche market segments: marketing to women and marketing to gays and lesbians.

In particular by way of marketing to lesbian consumers who may have an interest in women's professional sports--including professional women's basketball.

Great gay and lesbian marketing usually requires not just one single communications strategy, but rather a multi-channel marketing approach--so as to make sure that a brand communicates as effectively as possible the messages justifying why lesbian and gay consumers should pay attention to that particular brand's gay marketing communications.

As well as traditional gay and lesbian communications strategies, like advertising, sponsoring gay and lesbian causes or sponsoring organizations that gay and lesbian consumers relate to--like a women's pro basketball team--can become a very effective element of the overall gay and lesbian marketing mix.

As Michael Levey, owner of Berkley-based Air Master Heating & Air Conditioning in Detroit is discovering - some well targeted gay and lesbian marketing dollars in the form of strategic sport sponsorship can yield big returns on investment when a gay and lesbian sports loving audience appreciates your effort.

According to Levey: "We find (the gay and lesbian market) usually like better things, more high-end products. They're usually a better customer, and they have two incomes. It's a market a lot of people don't want to go into, but it's a market with a lot of money behind it. What else can you ask for than a niche with a lot of money behind it?"

This report from Detroit, Michigan in the US about the gay marketing benefits of a Shock team sponsorship deal reveals very clearly why gay and lesbian marketing communications should be perceived in an holistic manner.

Here is an extract from that report in Oakland Business Review about the strong gay and lesbian marketing impact of this mainstream sports targeted sponsorship deal of Detroit Shock women's basketball team:

Michael Levey liked the business that began coming his way from new demographics - mainly, women and the gay and lesbian communities. So this year he pushed a few more chips toward (sponsoring) the Shock, spending six figures to become the team's presenting sponsor. And at a time when Southeast Michigan's economy is limping, Levey's customer base is growing 10 percent to 15 percent a year, much of which he attributes to the Shock.

"I've cut way back on (television communications) because we weren't getting anywhere near the response," Levey said. "Some of the print, I've cut back on, some of the radio - it didn't work nearly as well as the Shock. We're going back to what's made us successful."

Part of what has made the Shock a good investment for Levey is its following in the gay and lesbian communities. A major demographic for the WNBA, it's also becoming a big draw for Air Master, Levey said.

"I know some very specific jobs we've gotten from the Shock that are attributable to the gay community," Levey said. "(The Shock) seem to attract a pretty large gay crowd, or primarily lesbian crowds.

"I think there's a mystique about the gay community, where businesses are afraid of the gay community. We find they usually like better things, more high-end products.They're usually a better customer, and they have two incomes. It's a market a lot of people don't want to go into, but it's a market with a lot of money behind it. What else can you ask for than a niche with a lot of money behind it?"

But the business Levey draws from his investment in the Shock seems almost secondary to the joy he gets from watching the team.

"I originally said, 'Women's basketball, who's gonna be interested in women's basketball? I thought it was another venue to market in, and see where it gets us. But I kinda fell in love with it, to tell the truth. I was quite surprised by how much I enjoy the games. I'm at the games now, and people come up introducing themselves and ask for business cards. I get a lot of people at Shock games who actually thank me for my sponsorship."

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