Apple perceived as gay-friendly, Samsung not so much

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?