Performance marketing needn't be performative for Pride - here’s how to do better
Pride month is upon us and for many brands, June is marked in the calendar as an opportunity to show support to the LGBTQ+ community
As someone who’s career and current role has combined a mix of partnership marketing as well as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) it’s important that these areas become more integrated. I believe that it’s important for Pride to move from being a performative period in June to being something embedded into marketing strategies all year round.
Data shows that between 3-7% of people declare themselves as LGBTQ+. However, some brands still find it challenging to source and engage with LGBTQ+ media and content creators, especially as a lot of online marketing can rely on algorithms which can incorrectly mark LGBTQ+ content as unsafe, or deprioritize LGBTQ+ tags on social media. Here, I’ll offer four practical tips on how you can leverage partnerships marketing to create meaningful engagement with this community.
1. Discover partners who can support your brand
Finding partners that are able and willing to work with your brand is an important first step in ensuring a more authentic connection. If you use a partner management platform such as Awin or similar, many of these have directories which allow for search by keywords. You can also discover more information about the publisher and the promotional spaces they have for partnerships.
Some publishers use platforms like Awin to transparently list any available placements and the payment models within an opportunity marketplace. Make sure you utilise your partnership and influencer partner beyond a searches for LGBTQ+ keywords; Awin, for example, can provide curated lists of LGBTQ+ owned publishers and queer content creators.
Alternatively, you can also use search to identify prominent publishers within the space alongside manually checking hashtags on social media. Many publishers have preferred ways of working with brands, but if you require them to use a platform for tracking or payments, make sure you are able to offer a seamless sign-up process to allow creators to focus on their content creation as opposed to learning and deciphering new platforms. For example, forAwin, creators can sign up using their Instagram account. Seamless signup on platforms content creators use, will always work better for social creators.
Influencers often build strong communities with like minded creators. So seek the expertise of your existing influencers and discover more about other LGBTQ+ folk within their networks who could be a great fit for your brand, products or campaigns. And remember to think long-term with campaigns. These partnerships should be mutually beneficial to you and the content creator you’re working with for months to come, not just for Pride.
2. Allow LGBTQ+ partners space to be their authentic selves
One thing that is essential to the LGBTQ+ community is the ability to be their true authentic selves, with many content creators seeking to use their platform to further represent queer identities and issues. When it comes to partnerships, it’s important to not limit their expression. The best relationships usually involve the brand being clear with some top line messages but then allowing the publisher or creator to tailor the content to what they know will work for their audience.
It’s also important to make sure that your brand authentically connects with the community. When working with publishers, consider how you can demonstrate any commitments or work done within the community. For example, share the work your company does to protect and promote allyship internally, any pro-LGBTQ+ criteria in procurement or charitable partnerships.
The authenticity of a brand’s partnership can quickly be called into question by an LGBTQ+ creator when these collaborations focus solely on Pride month, or as one offs. While we know budgets may not always allow, it’s worth considering ways to make these partnerships run over 3-6 months. This gives creators the breathing space to genuinely mention your products and services.
3. Protect and support you LGBTQ+ brand partners and content creators
Unfortunately, in the past year even the act of forming a partnership with an LGBTQ+ content creator can attract backlash from those who dispute the validity of LGBTQ+ identities. NPR found 64% of all LGBTQ+ internet users have experienced hate towards them online.
Most recently, we saw Dylan Mulvaney a woman who openly spoke about her transgender identity, take a break off social media following a hate-fuelled backlash to her promotional posts for Bud Light and Nike. Brands like Target have also cancelled Pride collaborations following bomb threats to their stores. When both Bud Light and Target back-stepped on their LGBTQ+ community activities, many called into question the authenticity of the support they were providing to LGBTQ+ people involved in these campaigns.
For brands that genuinely want to collaborate in this space, consider what safe spaces you can provide to your partners. Something as simple as an open communications line where concerns and experiences can be shared with the brand. Advertisers that want to be best in class for LGBTQ+ content creators must consider what mental health support or legal advice can be accessed by any collaborators, and make sure this is shared within campaign information. I think most importantly, it’s important that brands that want to be seen as allies should enter into campaigns wholeheartedly and be strong enough to stand up for their LGBTQ+ creators.
4. Embed diversity in decision making at all levels
Any readers who don’t fall within the LGBTQ+ umbrella may feel anxious about getting things wrong. One way to better equip yourself is ensure as many people involved have been trained on topics around DEI and the LGBTQ+ community. Your company’s People and Culture or HR teams should have training programmes in place, but if not there are many charities, organisations and freelancers that can offer support here. Within my DEI role, this is an area I look at day-to-day, and I would be happy to discuss further with readers of The Drum.
If your company is lucky enough to have any employee-led DEI communities or LGBTQ+ employee groups then involve them in decision making, this can help you get it right. This can be an important step in moving DEI from a corporate responsibility silo, and instead embedding it in business as usual.
The power of meaningful, well-thought partnerships can allow you and your brand to extend the inclusivity, allyship and authenticity of Pride beyond the confines of a single month. I believe that the current pushback against LGBTQ+ equality is temporary, being able to confidently reach the community will be the expectation of all brands. Whilst activity over the month is still incredibly important and can help drive change. Let’s strive together for a future where diversity can shine not just in June but every single day.
By Alex Parmar-Yee, UK strategy lead & global DEI lead at Awin