Brands that take a stand on LGBTQ issues influence purchasing decisions among members of that community, underscoring the need for corporations to communicate their efforts in being a LGBTQ partner, according to the latest in an annual survey conducted by LGBTQ market research firm Community Marketing & Insights.
CMI’s survey found that nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of self-identified LGBTQ community members said they’ve made a conscious purchasing decision in the past year due to a company’s LGBTQ-inclusive outreach, employment practices or LGBTQ-supportive political stance. An even larger percentage of those surveyed (80 percent) reported that companies that support LGBTQ equality “will get more of my business this year,” and 85 percent believe that corporations that support LGBTQ equality are “more important than ever.”
When asked to write in the companies or brands LGBTQ respondents think are doing the best job reaching out and supporting the LGBTQ community, Target, Apple, Starbucks, Absolut and Amazon were the top-chosen brands that consumers perceive to support LGBTQ equality. They were followed by Disney / ABC, Delta Air Lines, Google, American Airlines, Subaru, Wells Fargo, Nike and Macy’s.
When it comes how respondents came to recognize these brands’ LGBTQ support, respondents most likely said it was because they saw the brand advertise in LGBTQ print or digital media (59 percent) or sponsor an LGBTQ event (49 percent). Consumers also said they discovered a brand’s LGBTQ support by following the news on an LGBTQ issue (45 percent), seeing the brand sponsor or participate in a LGBTQ Pride event (44 percent) or seeing the brand’s posting on social media (43 percent).
Respondents believe the five most important social issues currently facing the LGBTQ community are: LGBTQ equality; health care quality and costs; fair elections and protection of democracy; racial discrimination; and the government’s ability to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CMI’s 14th Annual LGBTQ Community Survey was based on data from 34,000 adult respondents living in 130 countries, including 17,230 self-identified LGBTQ community members living in the U.S. Surveys were fielded between March and May.
Many brands have scaled back their Pride marketing due to a fear of consumer backlash as well as reputational and financial risk. However, this is far from the end of brands celebrating Pride, and those that continue to do so are showing their true colors. 
As communicators, we must be both cognizant of the challenges of educating the public about LGBTQ lives and focused on the reality of what Pride really is, what it means and why it’s more important than ever in times of increasing difficulty and discord.
The current assaults on LGBTQ rights make it essential that communicators ensure they are fluent in the fight against those assaults. LGBTQ people—including the people you work with and your friends—need to step up the fight for our rights. And your clients—companies, organizations, nonprofits, advocates, and others—are going to be thrust into the middle of this fight whether they want to be or not.
Now more than ever, companies must recognize that allyship can’t be seasonal. Backing away from LGBTQ+ inclusion during Pride Month can cause more long-term damage than any short-term political blowback.
Media coverage is always a good way to shine a light on how our nation's resources are being used to persecute people abroad.
