The results are in. Here is a quick overview of some of the key findings of CMI's 12th Annual LGBTQ Community Survey:
• 76% of LGBTQ community members fear there will be a roll back of recent LGBTQ equality gains in the coming year. • 85% of LGBTQ community members agree that corporations that support LGBTQ equality are more important than ever. • 78% of LGBTQ community members agree that they tend to support companies that market to and support the LGBTQ community. • 76% of LGBTQ community members agree that companies that support LGBTQ equality will get more of their business this year. • The report found that corporations can not sit back and assume that the LGBTQ community will notice their support. They need to actively let the community know through advertising, public relations, and social media. • LGBTQ Pride events remain very popular within the LGBTQ community across all generations. Over half (52%) of all LGBTQ community members reported attending a Pride event in the past 12 months, which is impressive because so many LGBTQ community members live in locations without local Pride celebrations. • There is also wide support for companies that support the transgender / gender-expansive* community. 75% of all LGBTQ community members feel more positive towards companies that include transgender / gender-expansive community imagery in their outreach communications. However only 6% of LGBTQ community members think that corporations are currently doing a good job at outreaching to the transgender / gender-expansive community. • When presented with a list of 19 health concerns, depression / mental health was the overall #1 concern within the LGBTQ community. The top 5 concerns were mental health, body weight, fear of losing or not having access to health insurance, cancer and heart disease. • When asked if they live in an LGBTQ-friendly country, 5% of LGBTQ American strongly agreed that the United States was LGBTQ-friendly; 52% somewhat agreed; 43% somewhat or strongly disagreed. This is in strong contrast to Canadians, where 62% strongly agreed they live in an LGBTQ-friendly country; 36% somewhat agreed, and only 2% somewhat or strongly disagreed. • The terms used to describe the community are changing. Both LGBTQ and LGBT are now widely used and favorably rated across all genders and generations. Also of note: The term LGBT+ has significantly risen in popularity over the past year. • 67% of LGBTQ community members indicated caring for a pet at home, which is a similar percentage as the general population. • The LGBTQ’s economic outlook remains positive at 54% indicating that their personal economic situation was very positive or positive. That was a 3% gain since 2017, but the same as 2016. • In the annual write-in ranking of the companies most supportive of LGBTQ community, Target, Amazon, Starbucks and Apple remain the leading brands that LGBTQ community members have made a conscious decision to purchase from because of their pro-LGBTQ policies or practices. • The also report contains buying percentages for dozens of consumer products and services. * The survey’s Gender-Expansive category includes participants who identify as transgender, trans men, trans women, genderqueer, gender fluid, non-binary (gender), and/or intersex.
The Community Marketing & Insights team has been conducting LGBTQ consumer research for over 25 years. Our methodologies include online surveys, focus groups (in person and virtual), in-depth interviews and advisory boards across the USA and globally. Industry leaders, non-profits, universities and government institutions around the world depend on CMI’s LGBTQ research and analysis as a basis for feasibility evaluations, positioning, economic impact, ad creative and brand testing, informed forecasting, measurable marketing planning and assessment of return on investment.
