Apple perceived as gay-friendly, Samsung not so much

Tue May 20, 2008 5:57AM EDT

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I'm still not entirely sure what makes a company gay-friendly, but a recent survey by Planet Out and Prime Access found that more than two-thirds of gays and lesbians are more likely to purchase from gay-friendly companies. According to the survey, companies perceived to be the most gay-friendly include Apple, Bravo, Levi's, Absolut, Starbucks, and American Express, while Samsung, Cracker Barrel, Exxon Mobil, and Wal-Mart were the least gay-friendly.

Confused about what makes a company gay-friendly? You're not alone. Sixty-four percent of the respondents didn't know how to determine if a company were gay-friendly either, but those who managed to discern the gay-friendly vibe said they did so from the company's advertising, the media, and their friends' input.

I can see how Bravo, American Express, and Apple can be perceived as gay-friendly, but American Airlines, Target and Saturn also ranked high on the list which adds to the confusion. Kevyn Aiken, Vice President of Marketing at PlanetOut, says gays and lesbians are powerful consumers, more so than straight consumers, so it would be in a company's best interest to be perceived as gay-friendly, but how do they do that?

One thing's for sure, the companies that ranked high do have sexier advertising campaigns and products than say Cracker Barrel, Dunkin' Donuts, or Exxon Mobil, so maybe that's the secret of their success among the gay community. What do you think?

Do you think it's fair to say one company is more gay-friendly than another based on marketing alone?

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Comments on Apple perceived as gay-friendly, Samsung not so much

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  • 1 Posted by kola10002000 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    Why waste money advertising to such a small market turning off the very large market?

  • 2 Posted by dlammel on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    Not sure why the last half of my post got cut off, but here it is. There is one point in Gina%

  • 3 Posted by danotes2000 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:35PM EDT Report Abuse

    Almost like staynput, Wouldn't it be great if companies were more human aware? This sounds as much of a 'bandwagon' marketing concept as the green thing.

  • 4 Posted by pinkcherriesmimi on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:12PM EDT Report Abuse

    Im a lesbain and find this annoying. The only people that care are the activist. They should just get some starbucks and let the ----- go.

  • 5 Posted by jbooneyachts on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:30PM EDT Report Abuse

    As I said, I know there are reasons. And I did not intend to compare the two organizations. One went about effecting change peacefully, while the other used violence. So no, they're not close to the same. It was a bad comparison. My point was that I think it's wrong that one group of people have an organization that promotes their members and is generally accepted by society, while the other does not. I wouldn't support an organization that promotes and tries to gain advantage for white people any more than I support the NAACP. I do not support any organization that trys to promote a particular segment of society. Organizations that support a specific cause, yes. But not those promoting specific segments of the population. Again, I think all people should be treated with respect and dignity.

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