'Pink dollar' a tempting lure for marketers

The advertisement is not particularly unique. A stunningly sculpted male body stands in a swimming pool at a luxury apartment complex, accompanied by a tagline which reads, 'City living has never been so tempting'. Rather, it is the ad's subtle positioning that makes it so distinctive. Singapore property consultancy Hampton International may be aiming the ad for upmarket property development, The Arris, at "affluent, cosmopolitan professionals", but it also serves as a clear example of the Lion City's increasingly upfront attempts to woo the so-called 'pink dollar'. Dr Stuart Koe, chief executive officer of Fridae, Asia's premier gay and lesbian network, believes that the pink dollar is of crucial importance to marketers in the region. At the top of his list is the excellent return on investment it can offer. "The pink dollar offers significantly higher ROIs than other traditional groups," he notes. The facts certainly bear out Koe's argument. At a party held late last year in Singapore, organised by Fridae and comfortably Asia's largest gay event outside Australia, tourism officials were on hand to poll the spending power and habits of the more than 5,000 local and overseas attendees. According to Fridae's own research, over half of its 100,000 regional members earn more than USS$26,500 a year. In the US, where the pink dollar is a staple of any marketing campaign, gay spending power was estimated at US$340 billion in 1999. "Not only will marketers be targeting a high-yield group of potential customers, they also have the potential of nurturing an extremely loyal group of future consumers." says Koe. "Secondly, gays and lesbians are widely regarded as arbiters of what's hot, new and trendy. This can be attributed to the community being far more adventurous and risk-friendly in picking their brands, products and services." While Asia's attempts to court the pink dollar lag some way behind both the US and Britain, where brands such as Subaru have been forging strong relationships with the gay community since the early-'90s, the region's marketing community is becoming aware of the potential upside the pink dollar represents. As Koe points out, the pink dollar should be ignored at marketer's peril, given the exceptional brand loyalty displayed by the gay community. "Perhaps (as) a result of having been discriminated against for so long, they are naturally more drawn to brands who now court them specifically," he says. In Singapore, an increasing number of blue-chip brands such as Subaru, IBM, Citibank, Standard Chartered, Mini Cooper, Qantas/British Airways, Zuji, and L'Oreal have started to actively target gay consumers. One publication that has taken advantage of the new-found focus on the pink dollar is Singapore-based Manazine, the region's most openly gay print publication. Its editor-in-chief, Arjan Nijen Twilhaar, believes that mainstream brands are becoming more comfortable in marketing to the gay community. Twilhaar estimates that 65 per cent of Manazine's readership is gay, a profile that has attracted big-name advertisers such as British Airways, Levi Strauss and Calvin Klein. While Manazine caters to the more 'balanced lifestyle' niche, as Twilhaar puts it, its target audience has a high disposable income. "For the bigger brands, it's obviously good positioning, as they are globally focused on the pink dollar," Twilhaar says. And while some brands are clearly reaping the benefits of a more proactive stance towards the gay community, others continue to play it safe, wary of a potential backlash from mainstream consumers. Koe, however, expects this fear to eventually dissipate, as brand strategies become more sophisticated. Says Koe:"Many marketers are becoming savvy enough to realise that simply marketing to the gay and lesbian community is not going to alienate their brands from their mainstream customers."