Gay Tourism - Seattle Falling Behind

The US gay and lesbian travel and tourism market is valued at around USD$60 billion annually. That has led to a large number of destinations targeting gay tourism. One US city that might have been expected to be at the forefront is reported as falling behind. Learn why.


Ian Johnson, Out Now
January 31, 2008

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TOPICS: Gay tourism. Lesbian and gay travel market. Seattle, Washington, US market. Lesbian and gay travel and tourism marketing. Destination marketing to the gay and lesbian tourism segment. Gay tourism efforts by Seattle have been criticized for falling short.

There is now no shortage of destinations targeting the US gay tourism market.

From cities as diverse as Dallas, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and the traditional gay heartland city San Francisco -- more destination marketing organizations are getting on the gay marketing train.

One city whose convention and visitors bureau might have been expected to have been there from the start is Seattle, a city well known for a free and respectful attitude towards its gay and lesbian residents and visitors.

In fact I made the point that Seattle in particular is a creative and welcoming gay comfortable city during this interview with BBC TV news a couple of years back:



Now though, local business and the Seattle CVB realize that Seattle is at risk of being left behind, and are taking steps to address this.

Whether their reported proposed budget is really enough to make a gay tourism market impact of real significance remains to be seen.

But absolute full marks to all concerned for realizing that Seattle has work to do if it is to improve its standing in the list of most visited gay tourism destinations.

There is an excellent overview of this in local Seattle media, an extract of which appears below.

Philadelphia and other towns outdo Seattle in going after $56B gay tourism market

The city posted street signs adorned with rainbows in a gay neighborhood, teamed up with Rosie O'Donnell to host a gay family vacation weekend, and aired commercials on a national gay TV network.

The ambitious program to attract gay tourists sounds as though it could have come out of Seattle, but it was from Philadelphia. Known more for the Liberty Bell than its "Gayborhood," Philly spent $1.6 million on marketing to gay vacationers in the past four years and reaped an estimated $153 million in gay visitor spending in return.

Seattle, on the other hand, is playing catch-up. Though known for its arts offerings, tolerance and assortment of gay clubs, Seattle hasn't aggressively gone after its share of the $56 billion global gay travel market.

Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau spent less than $50,000 to attract gay tourists last year, when Seattle ranked 18th among cities most visited by that segment.

"Seattle has not been aggressive in going after gay dollars," said John Tanzella, executive director of the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association.

That could change. Both the Greater Seattle Business Association (a gay business group) and Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau are working on new initiatives for the gay traveler. The bureau is in the early stages of creating a comprehensive ad campaign to give Seattle an identity that appeals to gay tourists, said David Blandford, the bureau's director of public relations.

"We've targeted this market as one to really develop," Blandford said.

The decision to push gay travel marketing emerged as Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau watched both the growth of the gay travel industry and the expensive, in-depth ad campaigns emerging from other U.S. cities.

In web searches of gay travel, Seattle doesn't pop up high in the search results. Seattle's No. 18 rank as a gay destination ranks far behind, say, its position as the ninth most popular cruise-ship destination.

Local gay business leaders say Seattle should be doing more. The problem stems, they say, from Seattleites taking the area's assets for granted, and assuming gay vacationers will come whether the city markets itself or not.

"There's a certain cockiness that we are already progressive, welcoming and beautiful, so why do we need to do more," said Louise Chernin, executive director of the Greater Seattle Business Association.

Other cities have gone after the gay traveler because the market is lucrative and growing. Blandford acknowledged that the bureau hasn't tapped all opportunities for gay marketing, but said the city is making progress.

"We can always be doing more," Blandford said. "I do think Seattle could be in the top 10 for gay travel destinations."

Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau isn't brand-new to the gay tourism marketing effort, as the bureau started an initiative several years ago.

But the annual budget has been limited -- less than $50,000 in 2007, and below that in 2006 -- and efforts modest. So far, the campaign has consisted largely of the bureau attending gay travel expos across the country, advertising in gay travel guides, pitching Seattle features to gay publications and creating a "Seattle Fun Map" aimed at gay tourists.

Now, the Visitors Bureau wants to take marketing to the next level. Spending this year will rise to as much as $60,000. Staffers are currently discussing a new campaign with a brand specifically devoted to gay travel, which has not existed so far. The bureau plans to participate in more gay trade shows and form gay advertising partnerships with Seattle hotels, tour companies, restaurants and attractions. Bureau staff will visit European gay tour operators to convince them to bring groups to Seattle. The bureau wants to develop a Seattle brochure aimed at the gay market to be distributed in other cities.

"We know lots of destinations across North America targeting the gay market," Blandford said. "Rather than just trying to throw dollars at it, we're really trying to be strategic." As for the Greater Seattle Business Association, the group recently formed a tourism committee with members across the hospitality industry, including the Visitors Bureau.

Both the Visitors Bureau and the Greater Seattle Business Association want to expand their presence at gay-themed events. The Greater Seattle Business Association wants to develop welcome packages with two gay cruise companies -- Olivia Cruises and RSVP -- that will host trips stopping in Seattle this summer. Cruise ship passengers will receive a coupon book with discounts at gay and gay-friendly businesses, Chernin said.

Local gay businesses say they welcome any efforts to draw more gay tourists to Seattle. Even with new marketing pushes, Seattle will need to work hard to compete with cities that have already aggressively targeted the gay vacationer.

Two unlikely cities, Philadelphia and Dallas, have emerged as gay destinations, despite the fact that Philly is known more for history than its gay scene and Dallas sits in the heart of a traditionally conservative state. Even so, the cities have succeeded in attracting gay travelers because of their aggressive marketing strategies.

While Philadelphia and Dallas still rank behind Seattle's No. 18 place as gay destinations, those cities' efforts to target the segment far surpass Seattle's.

Dallas, which spends $500,000 a year on gay and minority marketing, created a website with information on gay-friendly hotels, sites and events. The city ran ads that featured photos of all kinds of shoes and the tag line "Try Dallas On for Size: We're Out and About in the Big D." Dallas wanted to communicate that the city is not just about cowboys, but is actually very diverse, said Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Phillip Jones.

"The perception of Dallas was J.R. Ewing and cowboy hats and women with big hair," Jones said. "We wanted to get the word out that the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) traveler would be welcome in Dallas." The word seems to be out. Dallas booked 33 gay-related meetings and conventions in the past two years. Jones said the market was simply too valuable for the city not to act.

"We're not doing it because it's politically correct," Jones said. "We're doing it because it's economically correct."

Philadelphia has spent $1.6 million on gay marketing since November 2003. The city launched an advertising campaign called "Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay." The city created ads that resembled historic paintings and, with a nod to the rainbow motif for gay pride, featured Betsy Ross sewing a rainbow flag and Ben Franklin flying a rainbow kite.

A nationwide television ad is running on the gay network Logo. Philadelphia also partnered with Rosie O'Donnell's gay family travel company R Family Vacations, creating a weekend for gay families in Philadelphia last March. Greater Philadelphia Tourism's research indicates 87 percent of gay travelers now see Philadelphia as a gay-friendly city, and the city has seen $153 million in gay travel spending since the campaign began.

Cities with experience in this area say Seattle would be foolish to not aggressively go after the sector.

"This is a very lucrative niche market," Dallas' Jones said. "I strongly encourage Seattle to look into it."

For reaching the lesbian and gay market on the leading edge of global gay marketing, rely on Out Now. Leading gay marketing since 1992.

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To contact Out Now, send us an email. Gay market insight is Out Now: Gay Marketing. Solved. OutNowConsulting.com
All content on all Out Now websites (C) 2007 - Out Now. If you find any material you believe is subject to other copyrights here, other than allowed fair use for copyright purposes, please contact Out Now with details. Out Now Gay Market News -- Gay Marketing 101 gay market updates site. LGBT communications. Gay PR. Global gay PR marketing, gay public relations strategy, GLBT PR, LGBT issues training, gay advertising, LGBT market, lesbian and gay market research leaders, GLBT marketing. Gay Market News is Gay Marketing 101 - Out Now Gay Marketing, Advertising, Gay PR, Market Research. Travel Market. Training. gay market gay advertising gay marketing gay tourism gay travel pink dollar pink pound gay agency advertising marketing travel tourism gay lesbian gay and lesbian market research glbt lgbt communications community pink euro

Gay Tourism Market - Aspen Gay Ski Week

Ian Johnson, Out Now
January 30, 2008

For more than three decades the ski slopes of Aspen, Colorado in the US gay market have enjoyed the benefits of the gay tourism market. Read how they are taking steps to grow the tourism value and gay tourism market reputation of their special annual US gay ski event. And learn how some old familiar gay community tensions are apparently surfacing.

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TOPICS: Gay tourism market for winter travel market product. Gay tourism market growth. US gay marketing. Gay communications. Gay tourism marketing and gay tourism advertising. Gay Ski Week at Aspen Colorado.

There has been yet another gay tourism market event taking place this month, with the 32nd annual Gay Ski Week event being held on the ski slopes of Aspen Colorado.

This US gay tourism market event started 31 years ago, and now attracts a large and valuable slice of gay tourism market revenues for the Aspen region, said to be worth several million dollars in revenues to the local economy.

But there is tension as organizers try to lift the event's attendance numbers from the 3,500 level of recent years in an attempt to grow its scale. In last year hiring an outside marketing company to do that, they have been criticized by some who think that funds raised should be spent on local gay community causes.

Of course Aspen is not the only location targeting the gay tourism market for fun in the snow.

Whistler, in British Columbia, Canada also has its own gay ski week event happening in February 2008, as Gay Market News reported earlier in the month.

The Gay Ski Week event in Aspen is targeting, it seems from their marketing, a party crowd, possibly even a sex focused crowd with their tagline "Come Play With All The Other Dirty Boys" (and girls? -- not sure how many 'dirty girls' look for ski holidays in Aspen, but that's another discussion).

This approach to Aspen Gay Ski Week marketing is identifying and targeting a niche within a niche.

Some, but by no means all, gay men interested in skiing will respond well to such a sexually charged slogan. Some in the lesbian and gay tourism target market audience may actually be put off by it.

Organizers are also facing concerns about the extent to which revenues are expended on operations, in conflict with a stated aim of the organizing group to exist for raising gay community funds, as the following extract from local Aspen media attests.

One apparently growing concern highlighted by that report is the possible destabilizing impact of what has often been a source of tension during the past decade when gay community groups seek to target corporate sponsorship while remaining a community group. (Bud Light is the presenting sponsor for Aspen Ski Week.)

There can be a conflict between increasing revenues for the sake of the event's scale compared to the original purpose of fundraising to benefit local gay community causes -- that is reportedly one raison d'être for the Aspen Gay Ski Week event's existence. Local Aspen gay community groups are reported to have received just $4,000 from organizers in 2006, the last year for which figures are available.

How does such a group remain true to its aims while simultaneously pursuing the corporate sponsorship dollar?

And how does an event like Aspen Gay Ski Week cope with growth when being traditionally run by volunteers, who may not be best suited to managing a business oriented growth model?

A key mission of Aspen Gay and Lesbian Community Fund (AGLCF) -- the Aspen Gay Ski Week non-profit group who organize the event -- is to provide resources to support local gay community causes. That can be in direct conflict with using increasing corporate sponsorship revenues to grow the scale of the event.

Such conflicts have afflicted many gay community events this past decade, such as the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

I wrote about this very issue in an article on Mardi Gras and corporate sponsorship issues for the Sydney Morning Herald back in 2002.

Resolving such tensions is likely to be imperative to the ongoing success of such a gay community event.

Here's every good wish to the organizers and member stakeholders of the Aspen Ski Week as they step on to the next stage in the gay tourism development of their long running event. And let's hope they can grow to a revenue point where their event can manage to donate a larger amount to gay community groups.

Aspen Gay Ski Week will either have to cut their operating costs, or grow revenues, or both, if gay community causes are going to enjoy much benefit from all those Aspen Gay Ski Week tourism dollars.

Aspen Gay Ski Week organizers might broaden reach
Leaders hope to offer greater regional support, funding

ASPEN — The organizers of Gay Ski Week said this week that they won’t know for some time whether a beefed-up marketing effort paid off for this year’s event.

Anecdotally, some participants said this year’s Gay Ski Week drew the biggest crowd they had seen in several years, but the numbers won’t be in for a couple of months.

“It felt bigger,” said executive director Bryan Gonzalez, adding that “as far as numbers, and all that stuff, we’re still working on it.”

Organizers planned to boost attendance for the event, billed as the oldest of its kind in the United States, through a marketing partnership with Gay Days Inc., the company behind Gay Days in Orlando, Fla.

Taking place in June, Gay Days bills its event as one of the top three gay and lesbian events in the world, and cross-promotion of Aspen’s Gay Ski Week was expected to entice a bigger crowd to Aspen this year.

According to Gay Days Inc., the Florida event is 15 years old and regularly attracts 150,000 people. Aspen, which celebrated its 31st birthday this year, has remained flat at about 3,000 or 4,000 participants each year.

The economic effects of the Aspen event, though, are significant — attendees spend between $1 million and $2 million, and the city is said to collect as much as $250,000 in sales tax receipts as a direct result of Gay Ski Week.

Gonzalez also served as AGLCF’s executive director in 2006, and earned a salary of $42,000 for the 30 hours per week he was expected to put in to organize the Gay Ski Week events.

He declined to discuss how much the AGLCF paid Gay Days Inc. under a contract signed last year, but noted the arrangement was necessary because “[Gay Ski Week] has gotten too big for one person to handle. It’s very difficult to throw this party.”

In addition to putting on Gay Ski Week, the organization handed out a total of $4,000 in grants — $2,000 to the Western Colorado AIDS Project in Grand Junction, and $2,000 to the Youth of Vision Scholarship at the University of Colorado at Denver.

Sources within the local gay community have said that a schism has developed among the membership of the Aspen Gay and Lesbian Community Fund.

One faction, according to sources who asked to remain anonymous, would like to see the organization begin to donate more money to other regional gay-activism causes, while another believes the AGLCF should focus on its roots and make Gay Ski Week the biggest and best party of its kind in the United States.

Gonzalez rejected the idea that there is a split in the organization.

“I think we’re all pretty much on the same page” in believing that the organization needs to provide greater amounts of funding and support to the area gay community, he said.

“We would like that to be the case,” Gonzalez added, “to raise enough money to sustain the organization and be able to give to organizations that provide services we can’t provide, such as the Western Colorado AIDS Project.

“We need to be the first contact in helping these folks,” he said. “Our greater goal is to be a support group for the gay and lesbian community. That is very much more important to me than throwing a party every January, helping people succeed in their lives and getting everything together.”

As difficult as it is to put the annual Gay Ski Week together, with one director and a core of volunteers, Gonzalez said there are no plans to shelve the event because, “Without the event, there isn’t a community fund.”

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For information and help with understanding the key gay and lesbian marketing issues, to most effectively understand and meet the consumer needs of the lesbian and gay market, rely on the gay market experts, Out Now. Leading in the gay market since 1992.

Access market research and gay marketing at the leading edge -- gay marketing expert strategic advice from Out Now -- the experienced global strategic gay marketing, research and communications agency, specialized in targeting the lesbian and gay consumer market.

To contact Out Now, send us an email. Helping brands marketing & advertising to gays and lesbians. Out Now Consulting and Gay Market News will keep you updated on all the latest gay marketing, GLBT community market research, LGBT travel and gay tourism, gay and lesbian communications, gay PR and gay advertising developments. Gay market insight is Out Now: Gay Marketing. Solved. OutNowConsulting.com GayMarketing101.com. All content on all Out Now websites (C) 2007 - Out Now. If you find any material you believe is subject to other copyrights here, other than allowed fair use for copyright purposes, please contact Out Now with details. Out Now Gay Market News -- Gay Marketing 101 gay market updates site. LGBT communications. Gay PR. Global gay PR marketing, gay public relations strategy, GLBT PR, LGBT issues training, gay advertising, LGBT market, lesbian and gay market research leaders, GLBT marketing. Gay Market News is Gay Marketing 101 - Out Now Gay Marketing, Advertising, Gay PR, Market Research. Travel Market. Training. gay market gay advertising gay marketing gay tourism gay travel pink dollar pink pound gay agency advertising marketing travel tourism gay lesbian gay and lesbian market research glbt lgbt communications community pink euro

Coming Out Gay At Work - As The Boss

Lesbian and gay workplace equality and diversity are modern day HR buzzwords. E and D policy is meant to make it easier for gay and lesbian employees to come out as gay at work. But what about if you're gay and the boss? Why are more gay and lesbian CEOs taking the plunge and seeing what happens? Read on...


Ian Johnson, Out Now
January 28, 2008

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TOPICS: Gay equality and diversity. E & D. Equality and Diversity policies at work. Workplace equality. Gay and lesbian rights. Being gay at work. Diversity HR policies. Coming out as gay at work. Gay CEO. How to come out gay at work, when you're the boss.

Coming out as gay at work is something that many gay and lesbian employees can ponder and fret about.

Gay and lesbian workers are worried about how coming out may affect their standing in the workplace, from day-to-day interactions with others right through to their prospects for promotion.

Imagine then, how much harder the decision could be when you are the boss.

There is an interesting article on just this topic in the Philadelphia Inquirer today, and we extract a portion of it for you below.

I must say that the article seems to take what we believe to be a somewhat positive view of the ease with which workers can come out as gay at work, let alone when they are the CEO of the company.

It is really not that easy for many gays and lesbians to be openly gay at work, although it is certainly becoming easier than it used to be.

For me, the key quote in the article was this:

"You can't be in leadership and not be who you are," she says. "You lead by example. Leaders have to be truthful and open. I couldn't live any other way."

Even a so-called Workplace Equality Index -- such as is put out by UK gay rights group Stonewall, and the HRC Human Rights Campaign gay group Corporate Equality Index in the US -- can only serve to offer a benchmark, and may in fact give a false sense that all is well in the modern workplace for gay and lesbian staff.

Nonetheless, progress is most definitely being made, and the US market situation seems to be seeing a growing number of CEOs choosing to come out as gay.

And that is most definitely a good thing.

Gay chief executives come out winners

Despite difficulties in buttoned-down corridors of power, institutional and business CEOs aren't so willing to hide.

Alba Martinez, chief executive officer of the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, didn't know her father was gay until he contracted AIDS and died when she was 21.

To the world, Antonio Martinez, an administrator at the University of Puerto Rico, was a heterosexual family man. Only when his disease was diagnosed, in 1986, did he reveal his secret life. Six months later, he was dead at 55.

The traumatic event "reaffirmed my belief in being true to yourself," says Alba Martinez, 45. "I felt really sad that my father had to lead a double life. Nobody should have to go through life hiding who they are."

In the buttoned-down business corridors of Philadelphia and other large cities, an increasing number of gay CEOs are not hiding anymore. Some, like Martinez and Sean Buffington, new president of the University of the Arts, have been open about their sexual orientation for their entire professional lives.

They are in the minority. Coming out is serious business in business. Especially for a CEO.

It can stall, or even derail, careers. It can spark backlash from clients or shareholders or boards of directors. It can trigger consumer boycotts or alumni mutinies.

For gay CEOs who keep their sexual orientation under wraps, much of that fear is self-generated, says Kirk Snyder, author of The G Quotient: Why Gay Executives Are Excelling as Leaders.

"That closet has become very familiar," says Snyder, 47, who came out 15 years ago. "You're not fooling anybody. Employees take their cues from you. Everybody knows, but nobody talks about it. We can't live that way anymore."

Still, not a single CEO of a Fortune 500 company is openly gay, according to Snyder's research. He says he knows of five who are closeted, however, and he predicts that at least one of them will come out within five years.

Five openly gay CEOs in Philadelphia were interviewed for this article. An equal number declined. Despite being out to their companies and to the gay community at large, several said they weren't comfortable, or weren't ready, to be totally public.

One said she wanted the spotlight to be on her company, not on her, regardless of her sexuality. Another was advised by his company not to participate. All agreed it was more difficult to be out in the business world.

Difficulty aside, "I would never even consider working in an environment where I couldn't be open about who I am," says Martinez, former commissioner of Philadelphia's Department of Human Services, the city's largest operating department, and a former columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News.

Gay CEOs "are more reticent to stand out in a crowd," says Bob Witeck, openly gay CEO of Witeck-Combs Communications in Washington and author of Business Inside Out.

"It's more important to represent the company than yourself. You don't want to go off script. You don't want to be perceived by a conservative board of directors as pushing an agenda."

Martinez says she does not judge other gay leaders on how public - or private - they choose to be. For her and numerous others, however, personal authenticity is essential for good leadership.

"You can't be in leadership and not be who you are," she says. "You lead by example. Leaders have to be truthful and open. I couldn't live any other way."

For reaching the lesbian and gay market on the leading edge of global gay marketing, rely on Out Now. Leading gay marketing since 1992.

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To contact Out Now, send us an email. Gay market insight is Out Now: Gay Marketing. Solved. OutNowConsulting.com
All content on all Out Now websites (C) 2007 - Out Now. If you find any material you believe is subject to other copyrights here, other than allowed fair use for copyright purposes, please contact Out Now with details. Out Now Gay Market News -- Gay Marketing 101 gay market updates site. LGBT communications. Gay PR. Global gay PR marketing, gay public relations strategy, GLBT PR, LGBT issues training, gay advertising, LGBT market, lesbian and gay market research leaders, GLBT marketing. Gay Market News is Gay Marketing 101 - Out Now Gay Marketing, Advertising, Gay PR, Market Research. Travel Market. Training. gay market gay advertising gay marketing gay tourism gay travel pink dollar pink pound gay agency advertising marketing travel tourism gay lesbian gay and lesbian market research glbt lgbt communications community pink euro

Gay Men and Hair Loss - Rogaine and Propecia

Men in general hate losing their hair. Gay men particularly so. Now comes news that Rogaine in the US market is to include gay media channel, Logo, in its media buy -- to specifically target their Rogaine hair loss treatment towards gay men.

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Ian Johnson, Out Now
January 27, 2008

TOPICS: Gay male market for hair loss products. US gay marketing. Gay communications. Mainstream media. Gay advertising. Mainstream advertising. Gay men and Rogaine. Gay market and Propecia. Gay men and hair loss products.

Men in general share one fear in common -- almost all men hate losing their hair.

It makes them feel old, and worst of all, makes them feel they are going to look old -- 'like their fathers'.

That means there has been an almost Grail-like quest through the years to try to defeat the forces of nature that sees men lose the hair on their heads as a natural consequence of aging.

The modern pharmaceutical industry has for some years stepped up to the plate with various pharma products to offer.

Gay men who are often stereotypically said to take great pride in their personal appearance have become logical targets for the the marketing of such hair loss treatments.

The two hair loss treatments that science shows as having efficacy are Rogaine (with the chemical name of minoxidil) -- a lotion applied to the scalp to retard hair loss, and Propecia (chemical name of finasteride) -- a once a day tablet from Merck.

Both Propecia and Rogaine have become involved in marketing their hair loss treatments to gay men.

Out Now has created two gay advertising campaigns for pharmaceutical company Merck, the marketers of Propecia.

The Out Now Australian campaign for the Propecia brand used the headline "He Doesn't Believe I'm Over 30", and used imagery of two gay men on a sofa. Media included a dedicated website, gay media and selected in-venue media targeting.

In the Netherlands market we created a Dutch language campaign for Propecia that said simply "Hij Kijkt Naar Jou" ("He is looking at you"). Media included gay print and gay online media.

Now comes news that Rogaine, marketed by Johnson and Johnson, is to target the gay mens market with their latest advertising campaign, including Logo -- the Viacom owned gay TV network in the US gay media market.

The new ad campaign sets out the brand as part of the morning routine, and relies on a new sports scented foam version of the product.

This step by Johnson and Johnson is a smart one, as Out Now gay market research has for years revealed gay men to be above average spenders in the area of personal grooming and toiletries products.

That, coupled with most men's fear of baldness, plus many gay men's diligence to their personal grooming and appearance all means that the marketing fundamentals really do stack up here for targeting hair loss treatments towards the gay male consumer market.

This is going to be one to watch, and we predict that Rogaine will see strong additional sales growth, and revenue expansion, by including gay men as part of its targeted marketing strategies for the product.

We would perhaps like to have seen more tailoring of their creative execution but nonetheless a definite step in a right marketing direction for the Rogaine brand.

The New York Times has also covered this.

“The key here is compliance, and the foam experience is much more something that’s going to fit into lifestyles,” according to Meghan Marschall, Johnson & Johnson representative. By talking to men as young as their early 20s, “we’ve expanded our target audience by a roughly a decade,” Ms Marschall said.

“In the morning it’s all about get in, get out,” begins [the TV] commercial that began appearing recently. It shows a young man getting ready for work by shaving, showering, brushing his teeth and, yes, rubbing a dollop of foam into the crown of his head.

Rogaine was developed by Upjohn, now a division of Pfizer, but was bought in 2006 by Johnson & Johnson, which created the product’s new identity around the foam version.

Such an approach is “a big move away from Rogaine treating a condition, to being part of an everyday grooming routine for men who want to look their best.”

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For information and help with understanding the key gay and lesbian marketing issues, to most effectively understand and meet the consumer needs of the lesbian and gay market, rely on the gay market experts, Out Now. Leading in the gay market since 1992.

Access market research and gay marketing at the leading edge -- gay marketing expert strategic advice from Out Now -- the experienced global strategic gay marketing, research and communications agency, specialized in targeting the lesbian and gay consumer market.

To contact Out Now, send us an email. Helping brands marketing & advertising to gays and lesbians. Out Now Consulting and Gay Market News will keep you updated on all the latest gay marketing, GLBT community market research, LGBT travel and gay tourism, gay and lesbian communications, gay PR and gay advertising developments. Gay market insight is Out Now: Gay Marketing. Solved. OutNowConsulting.com GayMarketing101.com. All content on all Out Now websites (C) 2007 - Out Now. If you find any material you believe is subject to other copyrights here, other than allowed fair use for copyright purposes, please contact Out Now with details. Out Now Gay Market News -- Gay Marketing 101 gay market updates site. LGBT communications. Gay PR. Global gay PR marketing, gay public relations strategy, GLBT PR, LGBT issues training, gay advertising, LGBT market, lesbian and gay market research leaders, GLBT marketing. Gay Market News is Gay Marketing 101 - Out Now Gay Marketing, Advertising, Gay PR, Market Research. Travel Market. Training. gay market gay advertising gay marketing gay tourism gay travel pink dollar pink pound gay agency advertising marketing travel tourism gay lesbian gay and lesbian market research glbt lgbt communications community pink euro

Pam Ann - First Class Entertainment

Gay Weekend Review: Pam Ann, the comedy alias of Australian Caroline Reid has long made an impact on those lucky enough to have caught one of her shows. Gays and lesbians form a core part of Pam Ann's market. Now a new DVD 'Come Fly With Me' lets a wider audience learn why Pam Ann's fans include the likes of Madonna, Elton John and almost every airline employee who catches her show. Learn why.


Ian Johnson, Out Now
January 26, 2008

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TOPICS: Pam Ann. Caroline Reid. Gay comedey. Lesbian and gay entertainment. Drag performances. Camp comedy. British Airways. Airline humor. Gay and lesbian audiences in the UK and Australia adore Pam Ann.

In recognition of Australia Day today, Gay Market News is pleased to introduce you to one of the most wickedly funny comedians you are ever likely to watch.

Pam Ann -- the comic creation of Australian comedienne Caroline Reid -- is a piece of cruel comedy genius.

With a new DVD and year after year of back-to-back comedy hits in the UK especially, Pam Ann is set to reach an even wider audience.

Pam Ann evolved as a character seemingly trapped in the time capsule of airline travel in the days when 'glamor' and 'airline travel' were synonymous.

For many travelers today who can find themselves on a budget airline scrambling for a heavily discounted seat, and wondering whether or not the 'food' on offer onboard comes with a price tag or not, remembering that travel by air used to be the height of sophistication may be difficult.

But Pam Ann remembers.

And she is not about to let her audience in the 21st century forget what airline travel in the glory days of the 1960s and 1970s truly meant to all the passengers and the airline industry staff that served them.

The success of Pam Ann - whose career began in the gay community and on the comedy club circuit of Melbourne, Australia -- has been steadily growing year on year this past decade.

British Airways hired Pam Ann to work on a trial basis as BA cabin crew. Here are the results of that piece of online viral marketing 'work experience':



Caroline Reid, Pam Ann's creator, says her character has found a natural home amongst gay audiences. "I've always hung around with gay men," said Caroline.

"The show was never specifically targeted at a gay audience, but they seemed to go for it and it was logical when I first performed in London that it was at a gay club," she added.

Pam Ann was booked by Elton John as the in-flight cabin crew when he flew his husband David Furnish to Venice by private jet for his 40th birthday.

We all can identify with her sharp eyed observations of modern air travel. From the attitude of the passengers to the staff flying today, Pam Ann's genius is that she sees and tells it exactly how it is. Just in technicolor and with Mach 2 comedic intensity.

Key to Pam Ann's act is her ability to poke ('skewer' would perhaps be a more accurate descriptor here) holes through her audience and most especially through the staff that crew on today's slimmed back, cost conscious airline industry.

I first saw Pam Ann back around 1997, when her comedy act was playing in the legendary Sydney gay drag pub - The Albury Hotel. Gay and lesbian audiences had long been used to acerbic wit from the drag queen performers that were a staple of gay entertainment from the 1970s, but Pam Ann was something else.

For a start she was a woman, playing a female character -- albeit one that was as campy and bitchy as any drag star that ever graced the Albury's stage.

And irrespective of her gender, her comic timing and 'eye' are sharply honed. Seeing Pam Ann on stage is not something you are likely to forget.

Now comes the chance for a wider audience to take Pam Ann home with them (what a thought!) with the release of her 'Come Fly With Me - Pam Ann Live' DVD.

You will meet Pam Ann along with a host of other flight attendant creations of Caroline Reid, including the legendary Lily -- Singapore Airlines flight attendant and the British Airways Flight Director who is, well, more than just a bit "horsey".

Madonna describes Pam Ann as "cruelly funny". Cher chose Pam Ann to support her on her 2004 farewell tour in the UK. This is the trailer for the new DVD (strong language alert!)

It is hard to do justice to Pam Ann in words alone. Check out some of the Pam Ann clips on YouTube to see what we mean, and be sure to pick up Pam's new 'Come Fly With Me' DVD: if you like cutting humor, you're in for a treat.

For reaching the lesbian and gay market on the leading edge of global gay marketing, rely on Out Now. Leading gay marketing since 1992.

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To contact Out Now, send us an email. Gay market insight is Out Now: Gay Marketing. Solved. OutNowConsulting.com
All content on all Out Now websites (C) 2007 - Out Now. If you find any material you believe is subject to other copyrights here, other than allowed fair use for copyright purposes, please contact Out Now with details. Out Now Gay Market News -- Gay Marketing 101 gay market updates site. LGBT communications. Gay PR. Global gay PR marketing, gay public relations strategy, GLBT PR, LGBT issues training, gay advertising, LGBT market, lesbian and gay market research leaders, GLBT marketing. Gay Market News is Gay Marketing 101 - Out Now Gay Marketing, Advertising, Gay PR, Market Research. Travel Market. Training. gay market gay advertising gay marketing gay tourism gay travel pink dollar pink pound gay agency advertising marketing travel tourism gay lesbian gay and lesbian market research glbt lgbt communications community pink euro

Gay Travel Marketing - Pittsburgh Tourism Marketing

As more destinations than ever realize the value of the gay and lesbian travel market is simply too large to ignore, non-traditional gay destinations increasingly target gay market travelers. Learn how Pittsburgh in the US gay travel market is approaching the gay travel market.

Want to receive Gay Market News by email? It's easy--click here.


Ian Johnson, Out Now
January 25, 2008

TOPICS: Gay tourism market. Pittsburgh Convention and Visitors Bureau. Marketing gay Pittsburgh. US lesbian and gay tourism marketing strategies. Gay travel and tourism marketing. Visit Pittsburgh.

Gay Market News talks a lot about the importance of applying consistent effort in targeting the lesbian and gay tourism market.

We first reported last year on one particular city -- whose interest in gay marketing we described as being representative of the market reaching a 'tipping point' -- not cut from the traditional "gay destination" cloth.

That city is Pittsburgh and we applauded its gay marketing strategy.

Now comes news that Pittsburgh understands the critical importance of consistent and ongoing attention to the gay travel market in achieving lesbian and gay tourism marketing sales results.

In a GayWired report, the progress of Pittsburgh has been noted.

We commend Pittsburgh on their demonstrated strategic commitment, and Gay Market News will keep you up-to-date on their future gay and lesbian marketing strategies.

Here is an extract of the latest news from Pittsburgh:

Pittsburgh Reaches Out to Gay and Lesbian Tourists

Pittsburgh—the newest gay hotspot? Maybe.

The wild success of gay specific marketing campaigns in destinations like Philadelphia and Fort Lauderdale is apparently having a ripple effect in major cities across America, like Pittsburgh, where the pursuit of the pink dollar is reaching a fever pitch.

Like so many other cities, Pittsburgh is trying to attract more gay and lesbian visitors by tackling misconceptions about the town head on and showing the gay and lesbian community what it has to offer.

"Statistics tell us there is a lot of money to be had, a lot of money to spend," said Beverly Morrow-Jones of Visit Pittsburgh according to WTAE TV. "They like spending money and they like having a good time, and I think, just like everybody else, the gay and lesbian community wants to feel welcomed."

To this end [Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau] launched the LGBT specific Navigaytor travel guide. The purpose of the guide is to better expose the gay friendly side of Pittsburgh and to position the city as an inviting destination for gay and lesbian travelers.

So far the city’s efforts to be more gay welcoming have been greeted enthusiastically by Pittsburgh’s local LGBT community.

"I think it's huge," said Gary Van Horn of the Delta Foundation, which helps to unite Pittsburgh's gay community Van Horn. "I think they see that there is a huge market there and to kind of encompass that and bring them to Pittsburgh, I think, is great."

For more information on Pittsburgh gay-friendly travel options, go to: www.visitpittsburgh.com.
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For information and help with understanding the key gay and lesbian marketing issues, to most effectively understand and meet the consumer needs of the lesbian and gay market, rely on the gay market experts, Out Now. Leading in the gay market since 1992.

Access market research and gay marketing at the leading edge -- gay marketing expert strategic advice from Out Now -- the experienced global strategic gay marketing, research and communications agency, specialized in targeting the lesbian and gay consumer market.

To contact Out Now, send us an email. Helping brands marketing & advertising to gays and lesbians. Out Now Consulting and Gay Market News will keep you updated on all the latest gay marketing, GLBT community market research, LGBT travel and gay tourism, gay and lesbian communications, gay PR and gay advertising developments. Gay market insight is Out Now: Gay Marketing. Solved. OutNowConsulting.com GayMarketing101.com. All content on all Out Now websites (C) 2007 - Out Now. If you find any material you believe is subject to other copyrights here, other than allowed fair use for copyright purposes, please contact Out Now with details. Out Now Gay Market News -- Gay Marketing 101 gay market updates site. LGBT communications. Gay PR. Global gay PR marketing, gay public relations strategy, GLBT PR, LGBT issues training, gay advertising, LGBT market, lesbian and gay market research leaders, GLBT marketing. Gay Market News is Gay Marketing 101 - Out Now Gay Marketing, Advertising, Gay PR, Market Research. Travel Market. Training. gay market gay advertising gay marketing gay tourism gay travel pink dollar pink pound gay agency advertising marketing travel tourism gay lesbian gay and lesbian market research glbt lgbt communications community pink euro

Brokeback Mountain Star Heath Ledger

The gay community has a lot to be grateful to Heath Ledger for. One of the standout movies of 2005 was the movie that became euphemistically described as ' the gay cowboy movie' -- Brokeback Mountain by director Ang Lee. Sad news out of New York today of the death of one of the film's stars, and film industry leading light, Australia's Heath Ledger.


Ian Johnson, Out Now
January 23, 2008

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TOPICS: Brokeback Mountain. Heath Ledger. Gay community marketing. Lesbian and gay community acceptance. Gay movie roles. Perth, Australia. Gay and lesbian community. Heath Ledger dies in New York City aged 28.

Sad news out of America today.

Heath Ledger, one of the most feted of actors currently working in Hollywood, was found dead in his Soho New York apartment yesterday afternoon.

Ledger's death was said to be the result of an assumed accidental overdose of prescription sleeping tablets. Ledger told the New York Times last year that a forthcoming film role had given him insomnia.

Heath Ledger had also experienced personal trauma lately with the breakdown of his relationship with the mother of his two year old daughter.

Ledger was well known to gay Australians long before the US market and Hollywood took notice of this Aussie actor with the rising star.

In Australia, as a 17 year old in 1996, Heath Ledger took on the role of Snowy Bowles, a gay athletic school student in an ABC TV production called Sweat.

That role -- at a time when few actors, let alone a 17 year old just starting an acting career, wanted to be associated with playing an openly gay character made gay Australia sit up and pay attention to what became his increasingly impressive acting career. The role in Sweat got him noticed, and I recall reading gay community media coverage at the time of this young actor -- 'Heath Ledger' -- from Perth playing a gay character on TV.

Fast-forward a decade, and Heath Ledger finds himself walking the red carpet at Hollywood's annual Academy Awards Oscars ceremony in Hollywood, surrounded by celebrities and, he, himself, well along the trajectory of joining them as one of Hollywood's new elite.

Ledger's role as Ennis in the Ang Lee film Brokeback Mountain was widely acclaimed as extraordinary and Ledger was nominated in 2006 for 'Best Actor' at the Oscars.

Brokeback tells the story of two 1960s cowboys in Wyoming who meet and fall in love on Brokeback Mountain -- a love that stays with them for decades.

As Gay Market News reported two years ago, the success of Brokeback Mountain was primarily due to several factors.

A smart marketing approach saw the film -- containing themes that middle America was not used to embracing -- being progressively released market-by-market across the US in a way that allowed word of mouth buzz to gradually snowball across market demographics, leading up to a broader theatrical release.

That alone though would be for nothing were it not for the strength of the Brokeback Mountain story by author Annie Proulx, the strong direction by Ang Lee, and the impressive performances of the two lead actors, Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger.

The strength of performances delivered ensured the film will remain one of the many 'tipping points' in the progress of the global gay and lesbian communities out of the shadows and into general mainstream acceptance.

For Australian Heath Ledger's role in that, the gay community should be immensely grateful.

As a legacy he leaves not only his acting work but the fact that through his efforts he helped make things better for a great number of gay people all over the world.

Heath Ledger most certainly made a big difference for the gay community and will be missed.

For reaching the lesbian and gay market on the leading edge of global gay marketing, rely on Out Now. Leading gay marketing since 1992.

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To contact Out Now, send us an email. Gay market insight is Out Now: Gay Marketing. Solved. OutNowConsulting.com
All content on all Out Now websites (C) 2007 - Out Now. If you find any material you believe is subject to other copyrights here, other than allowed fair use for copyright purposes, please contact Out Now with details. Out Now Gay Market News -- Gay Marketing 101 gay market updates site. LGBT communications. Gay PR. Global gay PR marketing, gay public relations strategy, GLBT PR, LGBT issues training, gay advertising, LGBT market, lesbian and gay market research leaders, GLBT marketing. Gay Market News is Gay Marketing 101 - Out Now Gay Marketing, Advertising, Gay PR, Market Research. Travel Market. Training. gay market gay advertising gay marketing gay tourism gay travel pink dollar pink pound gay agency advertising marketing travel tourism gay lesbian gay and lesbian market research glbt lgbt communications community pink euro