FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES SEE MONEY IN GAY FAMILIES: From FoxNews.com

Now that gay marriage has taken center stage as a hot-button issue and has been legalized in Massachusetts, Fortune 500 companies are eyeing its business potential--and seeing dollar signs.

Recognizing same-sex couples and families as an emerging market, large corporations have begun targeting the demographic in their ads.

Companies including International Business Machines (IBM), Volvo and JP Morgan (JPM) have featured gay couples or parents, mostly in print or online ads. And Subaru has been marketing to the gay population as a whole for years. ...

Still, for practical purposes, most marketing and advertising experts put gays and lesbians at 4 percent or more of the total American population--an enormous market given that, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Americans spent $3.8 trillion on retail sales including auto and restaurants in 2003. ...

According to Witeck Combs Communications and MarketResearch.com, gay and lesbian parents spent $22 billion on their kids in 2002; that number was expected to go up to $28 billion by the end of this year, according to Witeck Combs.

Most of the gay couple and family ads are in print or online media specifically aimed at the gay community. Car companies have taken out ads featuring same-sex families, the most notable being Ford Motor Co.'s high-profile Volvo ad, which ran in gay magazines like The Advocate and Out.

The spread depicted one gay couple with a baby and a pregnant lesbian with her partner, and the slogan "Whether you're starting a family or creating one as you go... Volvo. For life."

IBM ran a print ad in publications like the same-sex parenting magazine And Baby that shows several of its own gay employees, including a pregnant woman.

The travel, financial services and wedding industries have also marketed to same-sex couples and families. Some cruise lines and resorts advertise gay-family-friendly vacations. Financial companies like John Hancock Financial Services and JP Morgan Brown Co., a brokerage service of JP Morgan, have taken out ads featuring gay and lesbian couples. And the bridal business has also started going after gay couples who want to tie the knot. ...

Though few ads have appeared in mainstream publications or on network TV, Johnson said it's smarter and more cost-effective to target the demographic in media specifically for them.

"The logical first step is not to buy 30 seconds on NBC. The logical first step is to put your ad in The Advocate," Johnson said. "It's a more efficient starting point. If that works, then who knows? Maybe you take things more broadly."

Though some corporations are gingerly reaching out to gay couples and families, the number of Fortune 500s targeting the demographic is still fairly slim. Those that are doing it only have a toe in the water so far.

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posted by Eve at 2:52 PM | link

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