Author Olivier della Valle

Hi, I'm Olivier - student and marketing professional in the auto industry. I'm passionate about future mobility, marketing, and pop culture. I also happen to be a proud gay man. The Queer Marketing Blog is about all that and more. It shines a light on how a gay Millennial sees the marketing world around him. It should be an informative, helpful and fun way to show marketers why they should care about LGBT-marketing. Since the Stonewall riots in New York in 1969, many governments across the globe have realized, that people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) should be offered the same rights and privileges as their fellow straight and cis-gendered citizens. You may ask now, if LGBT people seek full equality, though, why should you market to them differently from everyone else? Apart from the fact that in many countries, including Switzerland, equality is still far away from reality, from a marketing standpoint, the answer lies in the ability of brands to create an emotional bond with every single one of their consumers. This of course leads to higher conversion rates, and more sales. With socio- and geo-demographic mapping of the LGBT community and analyses on their propensity to spend across varied markets, we have been able to learn that the LGBT community collectively over-indexes in many categories. The 2015 Nielsen LGBT consumer report shows that when compared to the general population, LGBT people spend 35% more online, are 25% more likely to see a movie on opening weekend and are 26% more likely to subscribe to an entertainment streaming service. A 2017 GLAAD study showed that 20% of Millennials – consumers who are building considerable earning potential in their 20s, 30s and 40s – identify as LGBT. In addition, LGBT consumers are over twice as likely to buy from companies they trust. Marketers need to find ways to authentically engage with this growing segment. To find out how to make LGBT-marketing work for your brand, read on!

23 How Subaru Paved the Way for Automotive LGBT Marketing

Let’s take a trip back to the 1990s. Rachel and Ross, Britney and Justin, MTV, Sony Discmans, Slime, Tamagotchis, Yo-Yos, VHS tapes, … It was a fun decade. One brand wasn’t having a great decade, though. Subaru’s sales were in steep decline. Although the small automaker was known for building very reliable (albeit a bit

3 10 Steps to LGBT-Inclusify Your Business

In a previous post, I’ve told you all about Rainbow-Washing, and why you’ll want to avoid painting your business in rainbow colors if there’s nothing to back up your claim of inclusiveness. However, making your business LGBT-inclusive isn’t easy and certainly doesn’t happen overnight. If you choose this path, you’ll need courage, strength, patience, and

5 How To Find LGBT-Inclusive Businesses

When you make a large investment, say more than $ 1,000, what do you look for in a corporation? Maybe you want them to be environmentally friendly (or at least conscious), maybe you want them to pay equal wages to all genders, maybe you just want them to not be evil. When I make a

3 How To Celebrate Pride During a Global Pandemic

June is almost here – you probably know what that means: Rainbows everywhere! Stores, windows, corporate Twitter profile pictures, crosswalks, entire streets, and even buildings glow in beautiful, celebratory colors. Every year, there’s parades, celebrations, parties, and – yes – equal rights manifestations that aren’t always so peaceful. Now, you’re probably already cringing. Parades? Parties?

4 Rainbow-Washing: Explained

June is just around the corner! You know what that means, hopefully: Pride Month! 🌈 Of course, this also means lots of rainbows everywhere. And I really mean everywhere. For a while now, an increasing number of brands have turned their brand logos into rainbow versions to celebrate Pride Month. Here are some examples: Showing pride,

5 How to Deal With Anti-LGBT Backlash

You’ve seen why your business needs LGBT-Marketing. You’ve learned about some of the most important dos and don’ts, and you now know why some companies have failed hard or won big with LGBT ad campaigns. Now, it’s time to talk about backlash. The sad truth is that LGBT-related topics are still regarded as controversial by

6 LGBT-Marketing: Best Practices

In the last post, I’ve talked to you about some of the worst practices in LGBT-Marketing, and, let me tell you it was surprisingly hard to find those. Finding the great ones was much easier – I even had to leave some out! Here are some of my all-time favorites: 1. Chevrolet General Motors landed

10 LGBT-Marketing: Worst Practices

In the last post, I talked about some dos and don’ts of LGBT-marketing. To make these points more identifiable, I want to show you some examples of past LGBT ad campaigns that have failed hard. Stay tuned for a post about the winners up soon! 1. Snickers Snickers is known for its confrontational campaigns. In

8 The Dos and Don’ts of LGBT Marketing

Establishing LGBT diversity in advertisement not only helps your business create a deeper connection to its customer base but it also reaffirms the LGBT community’s sense of having a place in society and being “seen”. Before you get started with your inclusive ad campaign, though, there are some things you should know. Let’s dive right

5 4 Reasons Why Your Business Needs LGBT-Marketing

With trust in large corporations, the government and the press fading, consumers are increasingly looking to brands to take a progressive stand on the issues they care about. Millennials, in particular, want to put their money where their mouth is and deal with companies that represent their values. Key among those values is inclusiveness and