Pride Month Marketing

Happy Pride everyone!

As I'm sure we all know, June is Pride Month! It's a month for visibility, activism, community, love, and social good. And every year, brands partake in Pride Month marketing campaigns - and on one hand, it can be viewed as performative and surface-level but also it reflects the greater society's acceptance and view of the LGBTQIA+ community. Some companies are scaling back or abandoning their Pride Month marketing altogether, and others are increasing and doubling down on their support, emphasizing long-term activism and efforts.

Themed products and campaigns during Pride Month are very popular - with some brands revealing their Pride collections months in advance to grow excitement and increase their sales as people get more excited. Nearly 2/3 of consumers view Pride collections as being performative, or 'for profit only', whereas 1/3 view it as 'social good'. In this sense, for Pride collections to look genuine and serious, long-term, year-round efforts need to be made. Members of the LGBTQIA+ community are more likely to support companies that show support for them year-round, rather than companies that only show up for one month of the year. 

SurveyMonkey ran a poll in May 2024 to determine the disconnect between what companies do and what the LGBTQIA+ community expects. 

TLDR: Hosting educational panels, workshops, discussions, etc. feels more genuine and supportive and people are more likely to support brands that offer year-round support. People are also likely to research a brand's policies before purchasing, and that increases when purchasing a Pride collection product. Consistency, transparency, and visibility are becoming the expectation and brands falling short of that do not perform as well during Pride compared to the others.

This year, Pride marketing is a lot quieter and lowkey compared to other years, and for a number of reasons. A lot of brands have faced backlash and criticism for "rainbow washing" - performative Pride support without any substantive long-term efforts. After facing backlash in previous years, brands are likely to play it safer to avoid negative publicity at the very least. Slapping a rainbow on your brands logo no longer cuts it for a lot of people. As well, a lot of companies are playing it safe this year following a recent increase in societal conservatism and pressures from the current US Government. This goes from less support from corporate partnerships to less support from governments.

Long story short, if you as a brand are not fully committed to impactful, long-term support, it's best to go smaller and less "noisy" about your Pride marketing if at all. For the companies that are serious about their support for LGBTQIA+ causes, these are some best Pride Month practices to show you mean business:

1. Update your Logo for a Cause

If you change your logo to a rainbow version for Pride, tie it to some sort of initiative. It can be donations to an LGBTQIA+ nonprofit, queer owned businesses, employee-led initiatives, workshops. Always back the change with "real impact". 

2. Highlight LGBTQIA+ employees, partners, customers

Creating visibility for a marginalized group is one of the most impactful methods of support that can also be one of the easiest.

3.Prioritize Impact over Promotion

Make sure your customers know exactly who is benefitting and who is engaged and involved. If your base does not know who is benefitting from this except for the company, it will be viewed as performative and 'for profit only'.

4. Utilize Social Media & Email

Directly communicate with your base about what you are doing for Pride and how your brand is involving the community: share your internal initiatives, share direct links to projects and resources, and explain your campaign's purpose and strategies. Use your platform to amplify and educate LGBTQIA+ voices and causes.

5. Feature LGBTQIA+ Brands & Creators

If your brand is creating a Pride clothing collection, use a queer designer or partner with queer-owned businesses to distribute your product. Highlight queer stories and businesses, use this month as an opportunity to shine a spotlight on creators who face more hardships and backlash. Giving these creators and brands a real platform shifts your collection from being decoration and performative to "meaningful participation"

Pride Marketing is a great way to build your brand and gain year-round consumers, as long as it is done correctly and genuinely. Ensure you have both purpose and passion when it comes to Pride marketing, and make sure your brand's policies and actions reflect the way you portray yourself publicly in June. Consumers can sniff out fakes easily when so much information is at our fingertips now, so always remember purpose and impact goes further than performance.

Hope to see you all at Pride this weekend!💖💛💚💙💜

How else do you think brands can support LGBTQIA+ initiatives year-round? Are you more or less inclined to support a brand that participates in Pride marketing, even if it is performative?