Whose brand allyship do LGBTQ+ Americans find authentic?
In a recent report to kick-off Pride Month, YouGov highlighted preferred brands among LGBTQ+ Americans up to that point. The report serves to level set the particulars that any marketer would want to know when embarking on a journey to fully comprehend a new audience – how prevalent is the audience, where do they live? How receptive are they to advertising? It then identifies which national brands are doing well in LGBTQ+ Americans’ hearts and minds.
In June in particular, marketers may be interested in attributing their efforts in allyship for Pride, but similar to many corporate communication efforts rooted in cause, consumers may be prone to question the authenticity of those efforts. Are brands acting in self-interest or out of allyship for the community?
Answering that thoroughly can be daunting, but drawing on a panel of 6+ million US Adults, YouGov can begin to chip away at it. For starters, what do Americans value in brand communications?
More than anything else, nearly three-quarters of US adults (73%) feel that it is very important that brands are communicating honestly. Additionally, majorities of Americans believe it is important that brands act genuinely and consistently (57%), and that they communicate authentically (53%).
According to YouGov Profiles, 63% of LGBTQ+-identifying Americans don’t see their lifestyle represented enough in advertising. This means that advertisers could be more effectively reaching this audience segment of 20+ million Americans.
Considering that LGBTQ+ Americans are more likely than the average American to believe it’s important that brands communicate with authenticity, survey data suggests that diverse representation might lead to more authentic inroads.
Which major US brands are doing well with the LGBTQ+ community?
More than any category tracked in YouGov Profiles (major market categories like Auto, Retail, Entertainment, among others), LGBTQ+ Americans that value authentic brand communication are most likely to be in-market to seek out financial products, a mortgage or new bank account, take an online learning course, and purchase music.
Notably within the financial services sector, Chime’s efforts at LGBTQ+ allyship seem to resonate - Ad Awareness and Consideration drastically over-index when compared to Chime’s Ad Awareness and Consideration among the general population.
Outside of the financial services category, recognition of recent advertising activity from the following brands skews higher among this audience than any other national brands tracked by YouGov:
These are strong ad recognition levels from an audience that clearly values the medium.
July is here, and with that the end of the official celebration of Pride. But like with any end-of-campaign debrief, there are questions and a retrospective. YouGov BrandIndex and YouGov Profiles are a powerful combination that allows marketers to find and identify opinionated audiences like LGBTQ+ Americans, and track brand performance among those audiences and any relevant benchmarks.