New documentary explores the state of gay pride in America 04:38Ĭompanies that are successful in making the rainbow connection show a "year-round, trickle-down, 360-degree commitment to the community," NGLCC's Lovitz said. AT&T also powers the Trevor Project's text and chat counseling services for potentially suicidal LGBTQ youth.īut there also can be a lot of "Pride clutter," and authenticity is key to businesses standing out, according to David Paisley, senior research director at Community Marketing & Insights. AT&T continued its multiyear partnership with the Trevor Project, a provider of life-saving services, to which it donated $1 million in 2018.Target this month launched a special 90-item Pride collection and donated $100,000 to GLSEN, an organization dedicated to making schools safe and inclusive for everyone.Swedish furniture retailer Ikea partnered with the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRCF) to release a Pride version of its iconic blue shopping bag for $3.99, with all proceeds going toward HRCF's educational programs for LGBTQ people.Many companies that wave the rainbow flag at consumers do give back, LGBTQ advocates say. You have to live your mission and you have to actually take the risk of doing it," Edelman said. You can't just advertise and expect people to believe you. "They have to take action.you can't do brand-washing, you can't just buy people's attention," he said. Two-thirds of consumers worldwide identified themselves as "belief-driven buyers," indicating that they expect brands "can make change and not just talk about it and do advertising," Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman, recently told CBSN. In general, consumers of all kinds say that their purchase decisions are driven by companies' social and political stands. Verizon LGBTQ pride campaign "Love Calls Back" 01:00
This is well-understood by wireless provider Verizon, a corporate giant with more than $130 billion in revenue that for a second year has partnered with PFLAG, the nation's oldest organization uniting LGBTQ people and their families, to help it build programs, call centers and education resources in underserved communities.Īs Diego Scotti, Verizon's chief marketing officer, explained in an email to CBS MoneyWatch: "Verizon's customers are diverse across the spectrum in gender, race, age, sexual orientation, culture, etc., so our marketing needs to be inclusive of our base." "That's why it's so important for companies that advertise rainbow merchandise or that march in Pride events to make sure those commitments don't end on June 30, and recognize that LGBT inclusion is 7 days a week, 365 days a year," Lovitz said. Indeed, 78% of LGBTQ community members said they are inclined to support companies that market to and support LGBTQ people, according to report by Community Marketing & Insights, an LGBTQ-focused business research firm.