Hot Take: We're Here, We're Queer, And We Find Your Values Unclear
In the U.S., June is designated as LGTBQ+ Pride Month (usually shortened to Pride Month), a time to celebrate queer people and culture as well as work toward acceptance and justice. But if you didn’t already know that, then this blog post is probably not for you, friend.
As an expert in both marketing and being queer, I’ve worked with tons of brands over the years to create and execute Pride Month marketing campaigns. At best, it’s fun and validating, and at worst—which is when the client or brand doesn’t understand what Pride is at all—it’s excruciating.
What a lot of businesses don’t get is that, while Pride Month is a good time to celebrate people, it’s about much, much more than that; it’s a necessary time to celebrate values. And that’s where I see the biggest disconnect between queer consumers and the brands who purport to support them.
What Customers Want for Pride Month
This will likely come as a surprise to many corporations, but queer people don’t want more rainbow-colored merchandise. LGTBQ-owned businesses with LGBTQ-themed products exist and sell shit all year long—and most queer people already know this—so all big businesses are doing by making their monochromatic hand mixers look like prisms for 30 days are exposing themselves as rainbow washing bandwagon enthusiasts.
And the most annoying part is that this strategy persists year to year despite not aligning with what the actual community wants. Which illuminates the disconnect: as long as companies continue to profit off of Pride Month, the wishes of the communities they claim to love aren’t much of a factor at all. But I digress. (For now!)
There are numerous studies out there that show what queer consumers truly want, and it’s not orange-white-and-pink pet collars for Clarke, Lexa and Mrs. Whiskerdoodle. One survey by Bazaarvoice showed that “81% of consumers want year-round inclusivity.” Some of the ways they recommended brands do that were by supporting LGBTQ+ employees, partnering with queer organizations and leaders, and donating to relevant causes—all things you can do without making manufacturing changes. (Which isn’t great for the environment either, by the way.)
Here’s what it comes down to: if your “friend” only texts you once a year on your birthday, then they don’t really care about you. Likewise, if a company considers your identity a “limited edition” value, then they do not really value you.
At a time when homophobia and transphobia are on the rise, it’s especially important that any Pride Month marketing strategies you employ are authentic, accurate and mindful.
How Brands Succeed and Fail at Pride
Listen, businesses are gonna business. At the end of the day, every company has a bottom line that it has to watch. Ç'est le capitalisme. The great challenge for every business during Pride Month is how to ensure they’re meeting their marketing goals without sacrificing or obfuscating their values—assuming their values are consistent with LGBTQ+ Pride, which is... another matter entirely.
Some brands do really well at marketing during pride month, but even those that have a gay ol’ time with their content can (and should) still strive to improve. So, no matter where you are on the “spectrum” of support, here are some tips on what not to do, what to do and what to do better.
Update Social Media
It’s almost a rite of passage: social media managers stay up late on May 31, waiting for the clock to strike midnight so they can change the company logo on LinkedIn to its rainbow variant. Then, for 30 days, they watch as scrutinously approved posts start to publish little by little until, somewhere in the first week of July, they take down the multicolored profile photo and put it back in the closet until next year. And, well, I guess that’s fine? As long as it isn’t the only thing the brand does.
- Bad: As a non-queer brand, don’t “educate” your queer consumers about LGBTQ+ issues. You are not the authority.
- Good: Elevate your queer consumers, employees and initiatives. If you’re going to educate us about anything, it should be about what you’re really doing for us.
- Better: Use the opportunity to investigate how you’re doing all year long when it comes to inclusion and LGBTQ+ justice.
Launch New Products
As much as I love to shit on companies who sell rainbow-washed products or services in June, some of those products and services are great. (It hurts to admit that.) What makes those offerings so great is that they provide value while also espousing values. I have no need to make my home decor more gay; it’s gay by simply being in my gay-ass home. What I need is a regularly colored couch cushion where 10% of the proceeds go to support a local LGBTQ+ organization.
- Bad: Don’t simply change the colors on your normal products and say Pride Month was a success. Pride is as much about colors as Easter is about eggs.
- Good: Partner with an LGBTQ+ business to show their products. There’s no need for you to recreate something if it already exists. In that case, you’re actually hurting a queer business by taking away their revenue.
- Better: Honestly, avoid creating Pride Month merch altogether. It decidedly says that the only way you know to support your queer customers is by selling us something. If you are going to launch a new product, please ensure it’s novel and useful, not more of the same.
Create More Queer Content
No one is necessarily requesting that brands make being queer a core pillar of their content. And please don’t set some arbitrary standards, like one “obvious” gay guy per month on LinkedIn and Instagram. If you’re having to remind yourself to “be inclusive,” then you should re-evaluate your values, not your marketing.
- Bad: Don’t tell us “love is love” or whatever. We know. It sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself, not us. Also, don’t reuse the same cis white Adobe Stock twunk.
- Good: Represent queer people in your visuals, in your product testing, etc. Give LGBTQ+ consumers equal and appropriate time in the process and in the spotlight.
- Better: Not only should you try to financially support queer creators in your creation process, but you should engage Pride Month with a sense of humility and honesty. If you’re only sharing how great you are but not how you can improve, you’re missing the mark.
Engage the Community
When I say “engage the community,” I don’t simply mean responding to comments on Threads with “yass queen.” I mean true engagement: hosting public events, getting the team together for Pride Month celebrations, partnering with LGBTQ+ organizations, etc. If you talk a big, gay game but you don’t have any real-world interactions with the queer community, then your support is only theoretical.
- Bad: Don’t put the burden to advance the company’s LGBTQ+ initiatives all on the shoulders of your LGBTQ+ employees. And if things get tough, don’t back down.
- Good: Talk to people in social media comments, in email, at events, etc.—even (and especially) when what they have to say is negative. LGBTQ+ advocacy is not easy.
- Better: Engage not only your external community but your internal community as well. Conduct trainings, promote queer team members, host a volunteer day, etc.
Partner Up and Provide Support
One of the best and most direct ways to show you really believe in the values in the footer of your About page is to partner with nonprofits and other organizations that live out those values directly.
- Bad: Don’t post about a (woefully lowballed) donation without any context or clear support. Giving money is not giving effort. It says, “Someone else should support the community with this money.”
- Good: Highlight organizations or leaders who are doing great work, and share why you support their work. Try to say something specific that’s tied to your brand.
- Better: Use Pride Month to establish long-term partnerships. Sell their items in your store, provide continuous financial support, feature them on your website and, most importantly, ask them how you can be a good partner—don’t simply support how you want to support.
When and Where to Get Pride Month Marketing Support
The most important question to ask yourself first is: should we celebrate Pride Month? I can assure you that not every business needs to do or say something. The best case scenario is that your queer consumers are so confident that you’re in their court that you don’t need to rainbow-wash your brand in June. Sometimes—maybe even most times—it’s way better to do nothing than to do the wrong thing. (Anyone remember the U.S. Marines’ Pride tweet in 2022? Eek.)
If you’ve thought about it and are 100% sure that you can create and defend a values-based Pride Month marketing campaign, then good for you! When March 2025 rolls around and you need a diverse, culturally sensitive marketing agency to post to social media, launch new products, create queer content, engage the community and/or partner with LGBTQ+ nonprofits, we’re here.
Cody H. Owens,
Content Director