Gay & Lesbian Consumer IndexTM

New Research Study

Community Marketing’s 2007 Gay & Lesbian Consumer Index™, a comprehensive study of more than 26,000 LGBT consumers, was released in August 2007.   Order the report here, or register to receive a free abstract of the report by checking "Gay and Lesbian Research updates" here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Community Marketing, Inc. (CMI), the San Francisco-based gay and lesbian research, marketing and communications firm, released the most comprehensive LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) market research report ever conducted, the Gay Consumer Index™ and the Lesbian Consumer Index™, in August 2007. The study was co-produced by Rivendell Media, and sponsored by Absolut.

Community Marketing, Inc.'s Gay & Lesbian Consumer Index™ study gathered a total of 26,205 complete responses. 24,563 of them reside in the United States, and some of the U.S. respondents are bisexual, transgender or straight, and are not included in these indices, or in the sample key findings below.

	Lesbians	Gay Men
Total Respondents	10,344	12,044
Margin of Error	1%	1%
Sample Demographics Include...
Median Age	45	45
In relationships and living together	64.5%	46.3%
Single	23.3%	42.6%
Have children under age 18 living in home	20%	5%
Annual Household Income	Approx. $80,000	Approx. $80,000
Work in the Medical / Health Industry	15.2%	8%
Own a single family home	59.0%	41.2%
Rent an apartment	18.4%	28.6%
Sample Key Findings Include...
Personal Internet Usage (per week)	10 hours	12 hours
TV Viewing (per week)	10 hours	10 hours
Dine out per week	3 times	4 times
Guardian of a cat	50.8%	28.4%
Guardian of a dog	58.5%	37.6%
Purchased a plasma or HDTV in the last year	17.3%	20.0%
Drive a hybrid car	3.2%	2.6%
Prefer vodka among spirits	47.5%	55.2%
Voted in 2006 mid-term elections	78.0%	83.8%
Used an American Express Card in the last month	24.0%	36.0%

"Never before has an LGBT research study been based on a sample size of such proportion, and from such a broad spectrum of consumers," said Jerry McHugh, Senior Research Director at Community Marketing, and the survey's architect. "The study included more than 10,000 responses from lesbian consumers, and over 12,000 from gay male consumers. The resulting Gay Consumer Index™ and Lesbian Consumer Index™ reports include ground-breaking quantitative data and deep insights on demographics, psychographics, purchase behavior and motivations, and social and political perspectives. These indices will guide LGBT development and effective outreach communications for years to come," McHugh added.

From April 13 to May 16, 2007, Community Marketing, Inc. conducted an online survey of lesbian and gay adults. As an incentive, respondents were offered a chance to win one of four airline vouchers valid for a roundtrip flight in North America. This survey comprehensively and effectively represents a broad spectrum of LGBT consumers in all parts of the USA. With a sample size of more than 10,000 for each Index, the margin of error is plus or minus 1% with a 95% confidence interval.

Survey participants were solicited through over 75 widely distributed internet and print publications, including: here! Interactive, Olivia, Instinct Magazine, Curve Magazine, Jane and Jane, Windy City Times, Philadelphia Gay News, OutSmart Magazine, Bay Windows, Genre, HX Magazine, Dallas Voice, Just Out, Gay People's Chronicle, Outlook Magazine, Bay Area Reporter, Out And About Newspaper, Out Front Colorado, Washington Blade, Metro Weekly, Edge, Next Magazine, Chicago Free Press, Watermark, Outlook Weekly, Q Notes, Between The Lines, The Ozark Star, A Bears Life Magazine, and many others. These media partners contributed their survey participants into Community Marketing's own proprietary survey panel developed since 1994, which includes respondents from many other leading event and media companies such as Advocate Magazine, Gay.com, PlanetOut.com, GayWired.com, and Passport.

"The Gay Consumer Index™ and Lesbian Consumer Index™ provide valuable guidance regarding the perceptions and opinions of 'out' lesbian and gay consumers; those who can be reached by marketers through gay and lesbian media channels. This unique, community-based methodology polls LGBT consumers who can be reached using print publications, direct mail and internet media," said Tom Roth, President of Community Marketing. "It should be kept in mind, however, that the study's findings profile those who read lesbian and gay publications and websites. These results should not necessarily be extrapolated to the entire gay and lesbian population, which we feel is impossible to do with surveys due to social, employment and political pressures," added Roth.

Because of the unprecedented size of this study, Community Marketing will be covering important new ground by publishing statistically significant cross-tab data reports on these and other LGBT demographic segments: seniors, young adults, gay and lesbian families, ethnicity, and household income.

The wonderful thing about this breakthrough survey is that CMI's Gay & Lesbian Consumer Index™ presents the first statistically significant information on the lesbian market, a market that is truly untapped, largely due to lack of specific segmented information," said Todd Evans, President and CEO of Rivendell Media, co-producer of the study. "Additionally, specific market segment cross-tabs are available so that agencies, clients and publications can get exactly what they need," added Evans.

In addition to the Community Marketing's analysis and interpretation, several independent community leaders will also offer their unique perspectives on the Gay & Lesbian Consumer Index™, which will be included in the full report.

CMI, through its Gay Market Research + Development Lab® division, initiated the practice of collecting and analyzing data on gay and lesbian consumers through annual online surveys, field and customer satisfaction studies, advisory boards, and focus groups. In the past year alone, Community Marketing has produced and analyzed over 50,000 survey responses, and facilitated more than 75 focus groups and advisory boards on gay and lesbian issues. Industry leaders turn to CMI's research to better understand gay and lesbian consumers, and to measure the effectiveness of their dedicated marketing efforts.

To order one of the Gay and Lesbian Consumer Index reports or request custom research based on the Consumer Survey, please click here. For an overview of the type of information in the report, please click here to review the table of contents.

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To request complimentary 2-page abstracts on CMI’s Gay Consumer Index™ and/or Lesbian Consumer Index™ please email your request and include your name, company and contact info. We will reply with the download links. Please put “Research Abstracts” in the subject line.

Gay & Lesbian Consumer Index™ - Methodology.