Marketers Tap into New Outlets for Gay, Lesbian Audiences

The proliferation of film festivals intended for gays and lesbians has given marketers hoping to reach those audiences new advertising options. For example, Stolichnaya vodka is underwriting a documentary, called Be Real, along with a website (stoli.com/bereal) which will present “stories from queer America,” writes the New York Times. This is a sign that advertising venues for marketers reaching out to gay and lesbian consumers have broadened beyond print, according to the article.

Until now, those marketers have had limited choose as to where to advertise, because there were few effective or efficient alternatives beyond print - television shows such as Will & Grace that would seem appropriate, for example, were too expensive and attracted too much of a mainstream audience.

But those options are increasing, the article states. Clear Channel Radio Chicago’s WKSC-FM’s HD2 Side Channel is now the home of Pride Radio, which serves music, entertainment and spoken word content especially for the gay population, for example. Viacom’s year-old Logo, a cable network and website aimed at gays and lesbians, is now available in 23 million households, as opposed to only 13 million last year. And the Bravo cable network has teamed up with Planet Out to launch OutZonetv.com, aimed at lesbians and gay men.