Rainbow Connection

by Ellen Fruchtman, President

Pride Month is celebrated in June. Specifically, Pride Day is celebrated on June 28, marking the date in history when the first Pride march was held in New York City in 1970. Suffice to say, a lot has happened in between and since that date. Same-sex marriage became legal in 2015.  According to a report by Statista in 2020, 9.1 percent of Millennials in the United States identify as LGBT, compared to research conducted in 2017 when 8.2 percent of respondents from the same generation said the same. According to a study by Gallup, Gen Z is reporting 15.9 percent. To provide you some additional clarity on that stat, this represents 1 in 6 adults. Note, this can also be higher. Gallup acknowledges there are some individuals who will simply not want to identify at all.

So what does this mean to you? Perhaps it’s time to don the colors of the rainbow as many other jewelry retailers are doing. Tiffany has this currently running on their website:

https://www.tiffany.com/sustainability/community/pride-month/

Many other significant brands within the jewelry industry and within the fashion and luxury industries are not only taking notice, but they are also proactive in their messaging of inclusion.  You would almost have to be blind to not notice how same-sex couples are included in a significant amount of commercials and mainstream TV shows. In the jewelry biz, there are companies with “rainbow” collections with percentages going to support charities within the LGBTQ community.  It is sad to say in the year 2021, but the LGBTQ community is no different than any other community. And your store should be welcoming to anyone coming through that door. They are a significant target market that should not be ignored. How do you communicate your support? Well, you don’t have to have some specific bridal collection targeted to this group. I have personally always found that to be, quite frankly, offensive. How are their needs, likes, or dislikes different in any way? They’re not. 

The bottom line is, if you don’t begin to reach out, you are missing a significant opportunity. You can start off by including a simple, tasteful rainbow flag on your website. You can support community events. You can target them on your social media.  You can also target people who have expressed an interest in or like pages related to the LGBT community; LGBT culture; Pride parade; people who have expressed interest or like pages in Gay pride, Lesbian pride, or people in domestic partnerships or civil unions. 

“Someday we’ll find it, The Rainbow Connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me.”

Who knew 42 years ago, Kermit the Frog would be so insightful?

Want to find your marketing connection? Contact suits@fruchtman.com.