Pride Month Marketing

To most of the people, June may be a month-long celebration of the LGBTQ+ community: a haze of parades and rainbows.

But Pride Month is such a lot quite that. Its history is rooted within the struggle of an extended suppressed and persecuted community, and it celebrates not just the people, but the fight for rights and equality.

As a part of our commitment to center, highlight, and celebrate underrepresented communities, we are taking time to acknowledge Pride Month, especially considering how intertwined the Black and LGBTQ+ communities have always been.

Now is the time to teach yourself on the history of Pride. So, we’ve put together a couple of resources, also as some steps that each one folk should take as marketers to form sure we do the LGBTQ+ community justice. Because just slapping a rainbow on your product and calling it good isn't getting to cut it.

Here is your brief guide to Pride Month and the way you ought to (and shouldn’t) market around it.

Why Pride Month? (A Short History)

Early within the morning of June 28th, 1969, a police raid of the Stonewall Inn—a popular Greenwich Village gay and lesbian bar—turned violent and depart a wave of riots therein the big apple neighborhood.

The Stonewall Riots marked the start of a replacement era in activism and liberation efforts and would form the inspiration for the fashionable fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

Several of these presentations during the Stonewall Riots would become notable leaders within the movement. Marsha P. Johnson, an outspoken gay-rights advocate, was active within the Stonewall uprising and would continue to found and encourage several LBGTQ+ outreaches and support groups.

Johnson and her close friend Sylvia Rivera, another significant gay and trans-civil-rights activist, founded the road Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), which provided housing and support to gay, gender-non-conforming, and transvestite homeless youths. STAR would also function as a foundation for other organizations advocating for and supporting LGBTQ+ groups.

In the years after the Stonewall riots, marches and parades were held at the top of June to commemorate the day. But Pride Month became what it's now when President Clinton declared June “Gay & Lesbian Pride Month” in 1999, then-President Barack Obama dubbed June “LGBT Pride Month” annually he was in office.

Now, Pride Month serves to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and provides a louder platform to the advocates and activists fighting for LGBTQ+ civil rights.

But far too often, corporations and businesses see it as a publicity opportunity, which consumers can see throughout. to form sure, you get your Pride Month marketing right, we’ve got a couple of tips for what you ought to and shouldn’t do.

Pride Month Marketing DO’s (How to urge it Right)

Hire and Pay LGBTQ+ People for his or her Work

Whether you're using artwork from an LGBTQ+ creative genius or consulting with someone on a campaign, you would like to actively compensate them for his or her work. Mention the artist and link to their work or website, and confirm their paid rates are an equivalent as the other artists or consultants you're employed with. Additionally, confirm that your hiring process goes beyond “not discriminating” against new LGBTQ+ hires.

Center LGBTQ+ Voices

This can mean showcasing your LGBTQ+ customers like this recent MeUndies campaign, or featuring more LGBTQ+ creators on your social channels almost like the #sharethemicnow posts. Remember to make sure you're centering their voices, not adding them certainly a “diversity play.”

Support Queer Organizations

Supporting queer organizations (like any of those listed below) can mean donating some time, your platform, or your money to the cause. These are just a couple of ways to point out your audience that you simply put action behind your words.

• Our Youth

• Human Rights Campaign

• Marsha P. Johnson Institute

• The Trevor Project

• Actively Seek Intersectionality

No matter what you're doing, confirm you’re being intersectional and including as many identities as possible. this is often especially important with Queer and trans-POC who often get overlooked. You would like to possess the foremost representation possible in your marketing efforts, in both creative and artistic.

Start a Diversity-Equity-Inclusivity (DEI) Group in Your Company

Making DEI a daily and central part of your company’s conversations can help to push for more advancement in diversity, equity, and inclusion, even when it isn’t marked on the calendar. It also shows your staff that you simply are dedicated to making a far better all-around company culture.

Pride Month Marketing DON’Ts (We Can Do Better)

Don’t Just maximize Queer Identities

Avoid simply putting a queer person in a billboard for a “diversity play” or working with LGBTQ+ creators without paying them or mentioning their contribution.

Don’t Just Make Your Products Rainbow Colored

Creating a rainbow product or changing your logo to a rainbow is usually just a publicity stunt, and unless you back it up with the important work from the list above, your “statement” will encounter as misguided and hollow.

Avoid Vague Messaging (“Love is Love”)

While this type of messaging isn't actively harmful, it’s better to focus your messaging on the larger, more specific issues facing the LGBTQ+ community. Your messaging should reflect an actual desire for meaningful change.

Don’t plan to Just Make Money Without Including Any Queer Organizations

Running a purchase on your rainbow product without contributing to any queer non-profits is simply not getting to make a true difference, and it's getting to signal to your customers that you simply care more about your pocketbook than the important meaning behind Pride Month.

Don’t Stop July 1st

June 30th may mark the top of the official Pride Month, but it's in no way the top of the fight for LGBTQ+ civil rights. And it shouldn't be the top of your advocacy and support for the movement. All of the recommendations we listed above can and will carry over into the remainder of the year, because the important goal is diversity, equity, and inclusion a day, all the time.

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