Given that October 11 th was National Coming Out Day, it is only fitting that this month’s Smart Marketer focuses on the Latino Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered (GLBT) audience and how the Internet is meeting their needs. In preparing for this issue, it was a challenge to find research for the GLBT content category online. I was reminded of one of my ethnology professors, who had instructed us to listen to what is not said with at least equal importance to what is said. Simply because content does not exist, does not mean that it would not be welcome, or needed.

Terra.com broke the silence by being one of the first and only Spanish language news/information/entertainment portals in the United States to create an online GLBT channel in April 2005 (http://terra.com/vidablue/gay/portada2.htm). This channel, Vida Blue, is dedicated to providing a home for the US Hispanic GLBT community, where they can gain access to relevant news from around the world, see reflections of their own lives through personal stories and share a sense of community in our forums, chats and blogs. To best serve this audience segment, Vida Blue offers content in both Spanish and English.

This month’s Human Rights Campaign video for National Coming Out Day features celebrities from Steven Spielberg and Jessica Lange to Ellen DeGeneres, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Cristina Saralegui, encouraging support and acceptance. The campaign slogan, “Talk About It” is particularly relevant this month, since October is also the 18 month birthday of Terra’s Vida Blue channel. Vida Blue is preparing to “come out” with an enhanced 2.0 re-launch just after the New Year. So, it’s time to “talk about” what has not been said.

This brief inquiry compares characteristics of the consumers of online gay/lesbian content with that of the general market and examines this distinct audience segment.

In comparing the gay/lesbian (G/L) category audience with the general market, the items with the largest percentage change listed in Chart #1 below include:

• The G/L category audience is 30% less likely to report being married
• The G/L category audience is 29% more likely to have used/accessed personal dating services during the last 6 months
• The G/L category audience is 23% more likely to have used/accessed IM applications during the last 6 months
• The G/L category audience is 19% less likely to have children in the household
• The G/L category audience is 15% more likely to have Digital subscriber line (DSL) (home/internet connection).

Chart #1: Gay/Lesbian Category Audience Comparison to General Market, Psychodemographics 1
Source: comScore Media Metrix, AiM Audience Profile Report, Adults 18+ Years Old

Chart #2 adds more color to the high travel index finding above, as it highlights the differences between Gay and Lesbian consumers when selecting a cruise line.

Chart # 2:

The distinct psychodemographic of the G/L category audience emerges as high tech early adopters whom actively seek out travel and entertainment research and activities. Perhaps because the gay/lesbian category audience is 15.4% more likely to subscribe to DSL, it may explain its propensity to over-index in online travel research, heavier IM use, and increased comfort level with new technology overall than the general market. 2 Additional research, by Community Marketing, Inc. (Gay and Lesbian Tourism Profile, 2006) further reinforces the travel data, by reporting that a huge 91% of gays/lesbians have taken one or more vacations in the last year and 72% prefer to travel to destinations that have GLBT-oriented marketing campaigns. 3

According to Chart #3, the gay/lesbian population is well in control of their finances. Additionally, 69% of the G/L population claims that it is important to know that a financial institution does not discriminate, versus 41% of heterosexuals.

Chart # 3:

It is prudent to grasp the psychodemographics of any audience to better cater to their particular consumer needs. This is even more important when overlaying multiple segments: ethnicity (US Hispanic) with Gay/Lesbian category content. However, published research about this niche segment is almost non-existent. So, in the absence of quality market data, Terra responds to the needs of our audience by listening to what they want.

Vida Blue offers relevant content regarding Gay Americans, with particular emphasis on that which is important to the US Hispanic audience. Original articles such as Ten Myths about Gays (http://terra.com/vidablue/articulo/html/vid942.htm) expose and falsify widely held misconceptions. Also, our editorial team provides insightful suggestions on how to find love and happiness (http://www.terra.com/vidablue/articulo/html/vid948.htm) and more articles about gay marriage, health and entertainment.

Gay American Audience Snapshot

• Increase in Traffic by Unique Visitors, August 2005 to August 2006
• Gay/lesbian category audience – 26% increase in traffic 4

• 2006 Spending Power
• Gay Americans - $641 billion 5
• On average, lesbians earn 20-34% more than heterosexual women
• 45% of gay travelers stay in hotels more than 20 nights per year – far above the national average

• Population
• Approximately 4% and 10% of populations are gay or lesbian, meaning between 12 million and 28 million in the United States alone. 6
• The 2000 US Census reported over 105,000 US Hispanic gay/lesbian households 7

• Online Behavior
• 29% of gay Americans spend more than 20 hours online per week
• 74% have purchased a product or service online
• 69% have made airline or hotel reservations online 8

In looking more specifically at Terra’s Vida Blue audience, it is even younger than the overall G/L category audience, with 53% of its audience between the ages of 18 – 34 9 (versus 38% of the G/L category audience) 10. Plus, 79% of Vida Blue’s audience connects daily to the Internet, and 70% prefer advertising in Spanish. 11

Clearly, more research needs to be done on the US Hispanic GLBT segment, but from this investigation, inferences can be made regarding the strong buying power and consumer preferences of the overall segment. The over-indices in adoption of technology, propensity to travel and frequency to use the Internet as a medium, are just some of the many advantageous characteristics of the gay/lesbian category audience.

Be a Smart Marketer. Take a closer look and consider including Terra’s Vida Blue, a pioneer in online Latino gay/lesbian content, in your marketing plans. If you want to “Talk About It”, send an email to vidablue@terra.com to learn more about how we can help you reach this niche, growing audience.

1. comScore Media Metrix. AiM Audience Profile Report. Winter 2006. Analysis performed by Terra Networks. October 2006

2. comScore Media Metrix. AiM Audience Profile Report. Winter 2006. Analysis performed by Terra Networks. October 2006

3. Community Marketing, Inc. CMI’s Gay & Lesbian Tourism Profile 2006. San Francisco, CA. 2006

4. comScore Media Metrix. % Change Media Trend Report. August 2005 vs. Aug 2006. Unique visitor metric. Analysis performed by Terra Networks. October 2006

5. Witeck-Combs Communications.Gay Buying Power Projected at $641 Billion in 2006, Feb 2006

6. Wikipedia. Gay marketing. 2006

7. US Census 2000

8. OpusComm Group, Syracuse University. 2006

9. Dynamic Logic Channel Study. Terra.com Vida Blue Channel. n=340. October 2006

10. Reference Chart #1.

11. Dynamic Logic Channel Study. Terra.com Vida Blue Channel. n=340. October 2006

To learn more about how you can reach Terra.com's quality audience with your marketing message, call us at 212-354-2700. Visit http://www.terra.com/advertise/ and http://www.terra.com/terraenlaprensa/.

By Natasha Funk Published October 20, 2006. If you missed past issues of Terra’s Smart Marketer Series and would like to obtain them, please send an email to: smartmarketer@terra.com.