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Strategy

LGBT Community 2x More Likely to Show Interest in Mobile Ads

A growing number of marketers are gearing messages toward the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) audience, but until recently, there wasn’t a lot of data specifically about the media behaviors of the LGBT community.
To help shed some light on the topic, Experian Marketing Services conducted a study, “Marketing Out loud: What Brands Need to Know About LGBT Consumers.”
The study provides new insight that marketers can tap into to tailor campaigns for the roughly 9 million people that identify as a member of the LGBT community.
Here’s what the report shows: 

Mobile addiction

Does it feel like society as a whole is addicted to mobile technology? From smartphones to tablets, the population is wired to consume media, and the LGBT population is no exception.
In fact, the study describes the LGBT community as “voracious mediavores.”
Thirty-four percent of LGBT adults say they consume media on another device while watching television, making them 14 percent more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to juggle multiple forms of media at once.
That means traditional advertising, like TV ads, aren’t the best way to reach the LGBT community. Since they’re scrolling through Facebook, reading emails or surfing the Internet while watching TV, mobile advertising is the best way for brands to connect.
In fact, the LGBT community is 1.8 times more likely to be interested in mobile ads than their heterosexual counterparts.

Mobile use for shopping

The LGBT community can be described as “always-on” consumers. In other words, they’re using their mobile addiction for good – the good of the economy, that is.
One of the trends the study reveals is the dependence on smartphones to shop. The LGBT community uses their phones to plan shopping trips, look for deals before they go and search for coupons while in the store.
Smartphones take some of the guesswork out of shopping. By exploring options first, consumers in this niche know exactly where to go and what price they should pay. They’re educated consumers that aren’t just planning, they’re digitally savvy enough to hunt for coupons minutes before checking out to see if they can knock a few bucks off their bill.

Better checkout experience

Marketers working with brands to reach the LGBT community should also ensure a speedy checkout process.
This niche is 1.3 times more likely to want mobile checkout options in store. Consumers want to come to a store, shop, check out on their phone and leave.
Waiting in tedious lines to checkout has this group frazzled, and self-checkout lanes aren’t cutting it either. Research indicates that consumers avoid self-checkouts because they’ve experienced too many technical errors. However, 75 percent of consumers say self-checkout would trump long lines if the scanning process were error-free.

Study Conclusion

The study shows the LGBT community mirrors many societal trends with the population at large, like a high dependence on mobile technology. However, the LGBT community is actually embracing these trends at a slight faster rate than most Americans.
Still, the trends uncovered in this study provide marketers with a better idea of what the LGBT community is looking for and how to reach them.

The numbers

  • Twice as likely to say that they need to be connected to the Internet from the moment they wake up until the moment they go to bed.
  • Twice as likely to carry many devices at once.
  • 8 times more likely to get less sleep because of the Internet.
  • 8 times more likely to say that they would be interested in receiving ads on their phone.
  • 8 times more likely to believe their phone is an expression of who they are.
  • 6 times more likely to say the Internet has become their sole source of entertainment.

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