Top (left to right): Mark, Kendra, and Anna. Image credit: D&AD
May is drawing to a close, and in addition to the summer weather, the industry is (or should be) excited about another Pride month starting in June. Along with this, we at LBB found out yesterday that Outvertising would be on stage at D&AD 2024 and were first in line.
The organization's non-executive chairman, Mark Lanakas, and Outvertising's co-intelligence director, Kendra Rogers, gathered to ask D&AD attendees about the acceptability of the LGBTQIA+ community with advertisers and expectations for the media queer communities consume. talked about.
Their session presented key findings from the Outvertising Consumer Report as well as a snapshot of different areas of commerce where there are incredible opportunities to connect with the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies. Speaking of allies, Anna McInally, Head of Brand at the National Lottery, also joined Mark and Kendra to discuss the leap the National Lottery took in telling the story of a gay couple who kept trying until they finally won.
“I want to be clear,” Mark said at the beginning of the session. Here we explain how to achieve true communication. And how we can involve ourselves in communication, by involving queer people in communication and first by changing attitudes. Unfortunately, some of these attitudes are receding. ”
Citing Stonewall, Mark says sexuality remains the number one reason young people are discriminated against, with 40% of Gen Z and Millennials saying they have personally experienced discrimination. He explained. In addition to this, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (IGLA) has released an updated table assessing European countries' acceptance of queer people. Britain ranks her 16th, a significant step back from her 1st place in the 2015 standings.
Against the backdrop of these disappointing numbers and the knowledge that being LGBTQIA+ friendly is good for business, Outvertising produces authentic, robust and reliable insights into the queer community – the latest consumer report I decided to.
Before sharing some of the most interesting insights from the report, Kendra took a moment to discuss why LGBTQIA+ inclusion matters, beyond the moral issues: “There are real people behind these brands and campaigns. When you build inclusive communications, people within your organization will definitely feel more supported.” The data noted that younger people are the largest group of people who identify as bisexual, with 13% of Gen Z identifying as bisexual, double the number of people who identify as gay or lesbian.
Mark added: “If you look at the same statistics after you've had a few pints of lager and ask who you'd have sex with,” around a third of the population wouldn't consider themselves 100% heterosexual. He added that you can see that it is not. “If you ask young people who they would have sex with after drinking the same two pints of lager, more than half of them will say yes.” The message for brands and agencies is clear. If you're going to work with or for young people, “you need to think in a very queer way.”
Kendra also talked about more data, showing that 67% of LGBTQIA+ people are more likely to recommend a product based on an ad, and that number is increasing among Gen Z and decreasing among non-queer people. I made it clear. It has also been revealed that LGBTQIA+ people have higher expectations from advertising and want brands to feature “real people.” Overall, they prefer tailored ads, are more “discerning viewers,” and crave authenticity and messages that resonate with their experiences.
But brands shouldn't be fooled by the “youth” statistic. Because, as Mark reminds us, “queer people love TikTok, but we don't spend our lives on it.” Indeed, the Outvertising report showed that the queer community still loves and has a particularly special relationship with traditional advertising channels such as print, out-of-home, and television.
Turning the conversation to allyship, Anna McInally spoke of the National Lottery's commitment to communities as an ally, particularly through the National Lottery's 2023 campaign 'Pocket'. The ad depicts her 30-year love story of Edward and Isaac, a gay couple who stuck by each other through trials and tribulations. While the landscape for queer people changed significantly from the '90s to the early 2000s, one of the things Isaac and Edward held on to was their dedication to the National Lottery. Until one day they win.
This beautiful campaign, which resulted in many in the D&AD audience tearing up, shows that speaking up about the things that matter most has an incredible impact on the community, especially when it comes from someone from the outside. It was born as a result of Anna's awareness of making a difference. that.
“As someone who has the opportunity and privilege to see intersecting identities, speaking up is a lot easier emotionally than it would be for someone who shares those same identities,” Kendra said. “Sometimes asking, 'Why does this couple have to be straight?' is a much easier conversation to have as an ally.”
Speaking further about 'Pocket', Anna explained that its brief began to celebrate the tenacious believers who play the lottery throughout their lives and never give up hope. “At first, the team had a great idea about a couple who met at the beginning of the National Lottery in 1994. They went through many ups and downs in life, but the one thing that remained the same was , that they stayed hopeful and kept playing for it.”
After researching this idea, the feedback the team received was that while the storyline was great, it felt quite traditional. It was the agency that posed the question, “Why does this couple have to be heterosexual?”
“He explained to me, as a gay man, what the past 30 years have been like and what the gay community has been through, with all its celebrations and challenges. And I thought, “God, that feels like a persistent believer to me.” Someone who never gives up. ’ It was a great way to further strengthen this idea,” Anna explained.
In line with this idea that authenticity needs to be paramount for everything LGBTQIA+ the brand does, Anna explained that as a heterosexual woman herself, she felt unsure of what was right and what was wrong. To help with this, the brand engaged agency On Road to bring in a panel of 40 gay men who were present during the creation of the campaign to advise and consult with the brand.
Unfortunately, creating a campaign featuring two gay characters at the center is still considered taboo by some. Anna explained that her senior stakeholders appear to be “uncomfortable” with what the brand has produced, and that some turmoil is to be expected. She said: “It's very interesting. People don't necessarily say it's unpleasant, but you can feel it in the room. We needed to make sure we were united for what we believed in.”
To address this, the National Lottery team devised a robust FAQ process (which was never used because no one asked) and tested the ad multiple times, further cementing their belief in the idea. became.
Concluding the session, Anna said that brands should always be looking for ways to represent the people they want as their audience: “You always have to learn, you always have to learn something new about your customers. And indeed, while there is an opportunity to learn what connects people, there are also very interesting elements that differentiate people and make them different. Think about those continuously.”
Mark touched on the importance of remaining allies for the long term and not jumping into the deep end from the beginning. “You shouldn't do something like this if it doesn't align with your brand. You also don't have to jump on TV like Anna did here. Try to make a real journey. Start with the little things. Get started, build your credentials in the community, and then move on to bigger steps. Even if there's pushback, stick to your principles and never back down.”
