MSLGROUP unveils report on marketing to LGBT community

Key leaders from India's Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender groups give crucial insights as main resource persons and collaborators for the report

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | December 26, 2012

MSLGROUP India, Publicis Groupe's flagship strategic communications and engagement company and the largest public relations and social media network in India, has launched its executive report, 'Out of the Closet and into the Marketplace: The Birth of India's Pink Economy'.

The report shares insights about the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) movement in India, its evolution, and the community's potential as a consumer segment. The report details the opportunities and challenges before marketers, as well as the sectors that have tapped this market. It also examines the lessons this holds for other businesses.

It chronicles the fight for LGBT rights in India over the years, the economic potential unleashed by the decriminalisation of homosexuality and how businesses can benefit from it. It analyses the 'pink' market that now encompasses several services and products, from apparel to travel.

The report offers insights into the sectors that have recognised the LGBT market's potential and have made the first inroads into it. It also details how marketers can tap this potential and how they can use new-age tools such as social media.

In the report, MSLGROUP India has focused on the following opportunities:

• The size of the market: Estimated to be anywhere between 2 million and 130 million people, with a potential of several billion dollars, this is not a market that can be ignored. Many traditional businesses – such as banks – are launching LGBT-specific services and products.
• Spending power: The LGBT community tends to be educated and big on discretionary spending.
• The social imperative: LGBT-friendly businesses are better accepted and tend to be more successful.

Among the things to keep in mind while marketing to the LGBT community are:

• Not all LGBT people are out of the closet. You need to understand their sensibilities before you can market to them.
• Social media and the mobile phone are the best tools to reach out to this community.

Commenting on the report, Jaideep Shergill, CEO, MSL India, said, “The LGBT community in India is making its presence felt in the societal and political contexts. Naturally, it is asserting its consumerist aspirations and unleashing its economic potential too. The report analyses the birth of India's 'pink economy' and the opportunity it holds for marketers.”

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