Whither Gay Media in this Economy?

Lost amidst all of the coverage about the faltering economy is a consideration of the impact of the corporate meltdown on gay and lesbian marketing and communications efforts by the companies being affected.

The fall of big banks like Washington Mutual, the sale of Wachovia and the perceived threat to many other financial institutions could mean less ad dollars are available for LGBT media.

Banks like Washington Mutual were leading advertisers in gay publications, regularly appearing in print publications like the Advocate and Curve. It’s not yet known if JPMorganChase (which bought Washington Mutual after the government purchased it), will continue with WaMu’s aggressive advertising and outreach efforts. Other financial leaders not currently seen as threatened – Amerprise Financial, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and others – are also regular advertisers in LGBT publications. In fact, the most recent Advocate includes full-page ads from all three of the latter corporations.

So, what happens if these advertisers pull their dollars? We’ve said before that we’re a viable, and valuable, audience, particularly in a down economy when consumer loyalty is all-important to companies across the spectrum. So, if major LGBT advertisers pull their ads, what will happen to LGBT publications? Here's my take:

• Magazines are likely to be the hardest hit as they rely more on national advertisers and are often the first to suffer from spending cutbacks.
• Local newspapers are likely to be in somewhat better shape as long as their local economies hold up as they are generally supported more by local advertisers (although the most recent issue of the Washington Blade does have full-page ads from Travelocity and Harris Teeter) than national ones.
• Online channels are also likely to be in better shape as their ad rates are generally affordable and they rely on a mix of local and national advertising that is, for the most part, able to withstand downturns in the economy.
• Broadcast advertising is so small (at least in terms of LGBT-specific advertising) that it’s hard to say for now if they’ll take a hit or not. The sinking market for new cars could mean that leaders like Subaru (which was one of the first advertisers on Logo) retrench a little bit, but others like Levi’s are likely to pick up at least some of the slack (witness their recent announcement of a partnership with Logo).

This economic downturn has the potential to threaten the future of gay media, but only if advertisers forget the principal lesson of LGBT marketing communications: we are powerful and we are loyal. We are often willing to spend disposable income even in down economies (although that will likely be tested in this case). We should be the last audience advertisers and marketers abandon, not the first. Ad dollars directed toward our community are always money well spent if the ads are well done and demonstrate respect and engagement with our community.

What do you think? How will the economy impact the gay media market? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

Comments

[Winston]

I want the Advocate, Out, Attitude, DNA, Tetu, reFresh, Pref, Genre, HX, GUS, DOM and all magazines like them to fail. They constant put straights on the covers. Their big stories are always of straight people. They value straights more than gay people. They are oppressing gay people instead of moving us forward.

[Chris]

Unless reader or viewership is down, I don't see why gay media dollars would be affected.

I'm not a reader of gay magazines, but I do watch LOGO and value the connection it gives me to the larger gay community.

Though I live in a mid-sized city with several gay businesses, the culture here is generally conservative. The gay community here is not centralized. So feeling part of a community, even a virtual/TVlandish one, can be a great value for many LGBT folks like myself.

You could say I've developed a greater appreciation for our gay media and their ability to create a sense of community.

I used to read Out. Maybe its time I started again.

This might be a good call to action for our community:

Buy gay publications.

Watch gay cable channels.

Support theses media and maybe the dollars will continue to come.