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A lot of money is spent on renovation, furnishing and remodelling of houses. LGBT people participate exuberantly in this: getting a foot in the door with them would mean an interesting extra market share. A number of brands have found this door and put their foot in it. However, not always successfully.

Background

A few years ago, a journalist reported: “Many large companies such as IKEA are inundated with complaints when they try to target their advertising campaigns on the gay market. In 2006, IKEA launched a TV ad in the US in which two men sat on the floor with their daughter. Response from the American Family Association (AFA): “IKEA produces dozens of pro-gay ads that they broadcast on Swedish TV. If they’re going to run their ads in this country, let them at least make sure those ads reflect the values ​​of our society.” Granted, things have changed dramatically since “gay marriage” became legal in 2015, but conservative watchdogs (read: certified hate groups) like the AFA and its affiliate One Million Moms still speak out against anything that doesn’t suit their extremely conservative and often strictly religious image of society. Fortunately, their boycotts never really worked, and less and less so. Times are changing and they don’t speak (anymore) on behalf of ‘our society’.

In my articles about IKEA I showed how this company has come to function as a role model, starting with the groundbreaking 1994 Dining room table commercial – despite those One Million Moms (in fact only 15,000 hateful faces). Others followed: California Closets and European brands such as Leolux, Heylen furniture and Matelson. Household appliances also played a role: coffee makers, washing machines and smart devices.

Research

A U.S. consumer survey conducted by the online research firm Socratic Technologies and Target 10, a rainbow marketing agency, showed that gay couples planned to spend 50% more on home improvement projects over the next 12 months than non-gay couples: 2,077 vs. 1,384 dollars. Two-thirds of gay homeowners planned to start remodeling their homes in the next 12 months, more than half planned to purchase more new appliances or furniture (the kitchen was high on their list).

“Renovating and refurbishing houses is in many ways a part of gay culture. Even in bad economic times, they don’t stop,” said Matt Tumminello, president of Target 10. Part of the higher spending can be attributed to the fact that they move significantly more often than straight people: in the past 10 years, 21% of LGBT homeowners had moved three or more times, compared to 12% of the rest. This of course also makes them an interesting target group for real estate agents.

Other reasons for spending more are the fact that they have higher disposable incomes and the trend that gays and lesbians enjoy in-home entertainment more than the average consumer.

Characteristics

The research also showed: what they want is high-end. As in other categories, (many) gay consumers are looking for premium brand names such as Viking, Sub Zero, Jenn-Air and Miele.

Crisis? Which crisis? While straight homeowners were willing to use less expensive materials during the economic downturn, this was something most gay consumers were unwilling to do.

Finally, one of the main arguments for brands to throw themselves at the feet of this target group is their brand loyalty. Tumminello notes: “Gays and lesbians are known for their brand loyalty and there is an opportunity to jump on that. In recent years, we have noticed that few home appliance and DIY brands are taking steps to win over gay consumers but none have emerged as a market leader.”

“Stereotypical” as USP

There is a widespread belief that gay men have impeccable taste when it comes to art, furniture, style and decor. True or not, an online boutique emerged that confirmed that stereotype – for the benefit of all: Previously Owned By A Gay Man. This website was founded in 2015, but in the meantime it is – unfortunately? – defunct. It offered new and second-hand items that were suitable for both the ‘picky seller and buyer’. The tagline was “Openly Good Furniture” – but you didn’t have to be gay to do business with them.

They had a really nice commercial in 2014.

Fixing jobs around the house

It starts with real estate, of course, but then come the Odd Jobs. The macho German DIY brand Hornbach simply shows their soft side – in Germany of all places. The payoff “You can be anything, but not unsuitable” is striking, and open to various interpretations.

British DIY chain Robert Dyas shoots a 2015 Christmas video that has become legendary for its clumsiness and bizarre lines.

The website Angi (formerly Angie’s List, the American version of Werkspot) recently brought us a video in which – just like that – two gay fathers appear. And that’s exactly what always works well for me!

The big American guys like Home Depot (where my American colleague Mike Wilke added: “despite the fact that they are also called Homo Depot”) and Lowe’s have kept quiet – with Home Depot contradictingly celebrating Pride now and then, but also donating heavily to anti-LGBT politicians.

Design

Dutch DIY chain Kwantum did a nice job with This is your house in which it is clear that the ladies are wearing the pants (well, 1 of the two then).

The Belgian Impermo sells all kinds of floors. In their clip from 2015 Every day happy with your choice we see a male couple frolicking  with shaving cream and two fiercely kissing ladies among all those happy people.

Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, the American interior and furnishing chain, has featured LGBT customers in their advertisements for years, and in 2015 they celebrated “gay marriage” with a thematic ad.

To sleep

Where IKEA did it all playfully and with fun in whole series of inclusive and diverse commercials (such as with the two mothers in “Wake up Recharged” or the collaboration with National Geographic “Bedroom Habitats”), Hästens advertised in the Gay glossies with an ad in which a naked lady is floating above a bed: “The bed of your dreams”. Of course, something like that would still appeal to a female readership, but that aesthetic was lost to the all-male subscriber base.

Then Auping did better: in their (online) catalog it also showed several images of two ladies who were clearly more than friends. Speaking of mattresses, the HEMA was clearly very diverse.

The vintage advertisement from 1939 in which two apparently slept well ladies together (?) on their Karpen mattress, we will see as “of that time” – but gay vague. The series of videos Muun made with RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Jinx Monsoon were, uh… special but stylish.

And that naked, muscular gentleman on the 1-800 mattress could also be straight, of course, but this was an ad – back in 1995 – in the gay press titled “Who You Sleep With Is Your Business”. Avocado Green Mattress had a nice commercial last year with the telling title “Natural as love” in which two intimate gentlemen appeared.

Devices

In this Dutch commercial for the i-DOS washing machines, Bosch shows a male household, with no other purpose than… to show a male household. There’s no functionality, no punch line, no joke – it’s just a gay couple doing the laundry.

Kudos to Bosch for normalizing ‘alternative households’.

The competitor AEG had a nice print ad in France with two devices where men’s clothing – very original – reached out to each other, and the company celebrated Pride with the campaign “Better as One”.

An advertisement for Senseo in Germany showed an exuberant drag queen, with the payoff “I like them small, black and strong” – wink, wink.

In addition, we saw two cheerful gentlemen in Italy who were happy with their Merloni oven, Kitchenaid thought variety was important, and Maytag had some funny visuals about legalizing ‘gay marriage’ in the US.

Trinkets and decorations

And then you also have to furnish your house with chic details, of course. The remarkably beautiful video “Il Palazzo” was made for John Saint-Denis, American supplier of “Home, Vintage & Candle”. This commercial is almost a miniseries (there is also a sequel). “After a difficult day, Paolo hurried from the Turin office and climbed the hills to Montgenevre, just over the French border. Phone dead, car stopped, started – navigating roadworks: he would be late for the anniversary dinner at their palazzo.”

Watch the second part here: “The Paris Flat”, in which the fashionable gentlemen have now emigrated.

However, the Etsy website has made fun commercials with LGBT diversity in both the US and Germany.

And if LGBT households don’t feel safe in their own house, palazzo or flat, you still have the security options of Slomin’s Shield.

Conclusion

The message to businesses is now clearer than ever: embrace the sheer size of the pink dollar/euro or risk being shunned by a highly influential sector of society. Opportunities abound, I think!

Representation –> visibility –> normalization –> tolerance –> acceptance –> respect.