Pulse Check on Health in America: LGBTQ+ Consumers

Health and wellness are a major aspect of consumers’ daily lives. Americans spend a significant amount of time – and money – tending to their health. All brands, both within and outside of the health and wellness space, must understand consumers’ attitudes and behaviors in this key area of their lives.

Collage Group’s 2023 Pulse Check on LGBTQ+ Health and Wellness provides insights that will help your brand to:

1. Navigate health barriers LGBTQ+ people face,
2. Champion mental health awareness and solutions,
3. Empower LGBTQ+ Americans’ health through community ties.

What surprised us:

Despite real physical and mental health issues, LGBTQ+ Americans often hesitate to consult medical experts. Instead, they prioritize personal trust and turn to their community for health advice first. Distrust in the healthcare system, reinforced by negative medical encounters and fear of discrimination, leads many to postpone or even avoid needed care.

Why it matters:

Culturally competent and affirming care is key to earning LGBTQ+ people’s trust and, ultimately, meeting their nuanced health needs. Providers and insurers must consistently demonstrate commitment to equal and comprehensive treatment of LGBTQ+ patients while equipping them with convenient and efficient self-serve tools.

The Big Picture: 

• Mental health is an urgent crisis for many LGBTQ+ Americans. Brands can help LGBTQ+ people overcome the complex intersectional challenges that exacerbate other obstacles to wellbeing.
• Interpersonal trust matters more than medical expertise. LGBTQ+ Americans rely on community to navigate a hostile healthcare landscape. Providers can build trust by treating LGBTQ+ patients with individual dignity and empathy.

Key Insight #1: Navigate LGBTQ+ Health Barriers

Know This:

Inherently complex, intersectional identities coupled with systemic discriminatory barriers, hinder LGBTQ+ Americans’ ability to achieve their best health and wellness.

Do This:

• Advertise your services geared toward the LGBTQ+ community as well as women, Multicultural people, and young people to appeal to LGBTQ+ Americans’ multifaceted needs and generate Halo Effects with broader audiences.
• Seek out LGBTQ+ voices to help your organization evaluate care provided to the community and then work to dismantle any systemic barriers existing within products and services.

Key Insight #2: Champion Mental Health Awareness and Solutions

Know This:

LGBTQ+ Americans are disproportionately afflicted by mental health struggles. As a result, mental health is their top health priority. They welcome brands that destigmatize mental health issues and offer practical, culturally-specific solutions.

Do This:

• Partner with LGBTQ+ influencers and celebrities to advocate and support open dialogue about mental health.
• Create culturally-specific resources that address the segment’s unique mental health needs.

Key Insight #3: Empower LGBTQ+ Health Through Community Ties

Know This:

The LGBTQ+ community leans on their Found Family — online and IRL — to source information and advice on community-specific health topics, resources, accepting providers, and more.

Do This:

• Showcase the importance of peer-to-peer relationships in your messaging on wellness and caretaking networks.
• Partner with and promote community-led organizations to leverage their in-culture expertise on the best ways to serve LGBTQ+ people.

Contact us today learn how you can partner with us on the journey to cultural fluency and engaging diverse America.

Brands increasingly try to embrace and reflect America’s diversity, yet many tread carefully when supporting the LGBTQ+ community, wary of potential backlash. In the July 2023 CultureRate:Ad study, Collage Group tested nine high-profile commercials and brand activations to gauge their appeal to LGBTQ+ viewers and other consumer groups. These ads span different industries and cover a breadth of LGBTQ+ topics: from broad representation to specific areas like transgender athletes’ rights and mental health concerns in LGBTQ+ youth.

Using Collage Group’s proprietary CultureRate:Ad methodology, we evaluate the impact of each activation by gauging both positive and negative reactions from LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+  consumers, as well as those who express Liberal and Conservative political views. We also compare these ads’ effectiveness to the CultureRate norms, derived from the analysis of 126 ads tested between February 2022 and July 2023.

What surprised us:

There wasn’t one, homogenous response to LGBTQ+-inclusive ads from self-described Conservative consumers. While some expressed strong reservations or even backlash, many agreed that some of the ads conveyed messages that were important to tell.  

Why it matters:

Mental health coverage is top-of-mind for Americans when considering health insurance, so creating easily accessible and straightforward resources that explain your brand’s mental health coverage is crucial to bridge the knowledge gap.

The Big Picture: Ground Your LGBTQ+ Advertising in Culturally Nuanced Insights to Drive Resonance and Mitigate Backlash

• Real backlash against LGBTQ-focused ads is limited — even among the greatest critics. However, consumer annoyance, which gets further amplified in public discourse, warrants a proactive mitigation strategy.
• Many LGBTQ+ Americans suspect brands’ attempts to appeal to them through ads are insincere. Executions that lack depth, practical impact, or brand fit are deemed performative and fail to resonate even with the intended audience.

Key Takeaways from Highly Resonant Ads

• PetSmart’s “You Are Loved” is a safer bet that wins over the intended audience and minimizes backlash. The ad uses the language of universal bonds between pets and humans to make its pointed message of true unconditional love more relatable and palatable to broader audiences. The ad boosts brand performance with the LGBTQ+ segment and maintains pre-ad levels for everyone else. Notably, more than half of Conservatives believe in the importance of the ad’s Message.
• Adidas’s “Impossible Is Nothing” is a strong message of intersectional inclusion that creates cascading Halo Effects. It celebrates the power and poise of women, including transgender athletes, and fluently reinterprets its renowned tagline to win over diverse women while retaining men’s favor. Backlash levels approach but don’t cross the level of significance above the norm.
• LEGO’s “A to Z of Awesome” speaks boldly on gender and sexual identity to appeal to the LGBTQ+ segment and beyond. Staying true to the brand’s core values of joy, creativity, and caring lends further legitimacy to the ad. The ad boosts LGBTQ+ people’s Brand Favorability and Purchase Intent and only causes minor dips for others, a remarkable feat given the polarizing topic.

A Cautionary Tale of an Activation that Fell Short

• Bud Light’s partnership with Dylan Mulvaney lacks brand fit and is deemed performative, especially by its intended audience. It weaves the right themes that typically resonate with LGBTQ+ consumers, but the brand lacks permission to play. The activation didn’t meaningfully affect Brand Favorability or Purchase Intent, which were already relatively low.

Contact us today learn how you can partner with us on the journey to cultural fluency and engaging diverse America.

Target Boycott: What Is Going On With Target?

The Target boycott began in May 2023. That is, Target became embroiled in a significant controversy as consumers chose to sever their commercial and social connections with the retailer in protest.

What were consumers protesting?

The catalyst for this boycott was Target’s presentation of products related to Pride Month, an annual celebration honoring the LGBTQ+ community. This boycott movement was primarily spearheaded by a small-but-vocal contingent of conservative influencers, often using misinformation, but the knock-on effects endangered Target’s long-standing relationship with the LGBTQ+ community, plus liberal segments.

In response to the escalating pressures exerted through social media, boycott movements, and threats of violence, Target opted to downplay their Pride Month campaigns and in some cases remove or relocate its Pride merchandise from highly visible front displays to less conspicuous areas within their stores.

However, this seemingly innocuous adjustment had unintended consequences. It created the perception that Target was opportunistic, insincere, and lacking in conviction. Consequently, the brand found itself subject to criticism from both sides of the debate.

How Much Has Target Lost as a Result of This Backlash?

During the second quarter of 2023, Target’s in-store sales dropped by 5.4%, with a more substantial decline of 10.9% for online sales. This downturn is likely a direct consequence of the boycott against Target.

The Story That Uncovers Distinctive Insights Around the Target Controversy

In 2022 Target Was a Top Brand for the LGBTQ+ Community

Research conducted by Collage Group has identified Target as an exceptionally resonant brand within the LGBTQ+ community, a distinction highlighted in our 2022 report, “The Top 10 Brands for LGBTQ+ Consumers.” 

Our research shows that Target’s support for LGBTQ+ merchants, creators, and community organizations has had a positive effect on how such consumers view the brand. As a result, in 2022, this positioning enhanced favorability and purchase intent with the LGBTQ+ demographic.

• Brand Favorability: An impressive 69% of the LGBTQ+ community reports that they ‘like’ or ‘love’ the Target brand, surpassing Collage Group’s average of 50% for the LGBTQ+ segment.
• Purchase Intent: A substantial 69% of the LGBTQ+ community indicates that they are ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to purchase Target’s products or services in the future, compared to the average of 46% for the LGBTQ+ segment.

What Steps Has Target Taken to Garner Support From the LGBTQ+ Community?

Target consistently demonstrates its commitment to the LGBTQ+ consumer group by actively showcasing its support during Pride Month. For example, every June, Target prominently features a range of Pride-themed merchandise, including rainbow t-shirts, and greeting cards.

However, Target’s dedication extends well beyond these annual symbolic gestures. The retailer takes meaningful steps by offering affordable options for gender-affirming clothing all year round. The brand creates a safe and inclusive space for individuals to express their authentic selves. This aligns Target’s brand fit closely with the LGBTQ+ community and fosters a strong level of connection.

Moreover, Target has formed partnerships with TomboyX and Humankind, both queer-owned and woman-founded brands, to launch limited-edition lines of affordable, gender-affirming clothing.

Additionally, Target actively supports organizations and initiatives that provide life-saving services to LGBTQ+ youth, both online and in schools. Given that 60% of LGBTQ+ Americans express concerns about the proliferation of anti-LGBTQ+ ideas on social media (compared to 39% of non-LGBTQ+ individuals), Target’s efforts to combat this issue are particularly impactful. For instance, the retailer’s ongoing support for GLSEN aligns with its mission to establish welcoming, accessible, and anti-racist environments for LGBTQ+ students.

These findings underscore Target’s commendable efforts to create a welcoming and supportive environment for this consumer group, ultimately creating a strong consumer-brand bond.

Considering this context, what led to Target angering consumers within the LGBTQ+ community?

Understand the Factors Behind the Target Backlash

At Collage Group, we’ve developed a product that measures advertising effectiveness. An important metric for these measurements is ‘backlash.’ In essence, backlash measures the change in how consumers perceive a brand after watching an advertisement. That is, does the consumer’s perception of a brand shift from a positive to a negative view when they are exposed to an ad? 

This article reveals our standout data and findings, along with the requests, feedback, and interests expressed by our members. 

Collage Group’s insights are a trusted resource for iconic brands aiming to effectively engage with and succeed in diverse America. Today, we are excited to share our most sought-after and diverse consumer insights with you.

Furthermore, we delve into what lies ahead by pinpointing emerging trends that are poised to shape the consumer market in the upcoming months. With these insights, you’ll remain at the forefront of industry developments, ensuring you consistently meet the evolving needs of your consumers.

Check out our most popular consumer insights from 2022.

Top Consumer Insight Trends of 2023

Below, we detail our most recently unveiled insights for brand growth among diverse consumer audiences.

We explore:

• The impact of generative AI on the consumer market,
• LGBTQ+ sentiment and backlash,
• Top brands for parents,
• Top brands of Generation X.

By comprehending these trends, your brand will be well-positioned to address the emerging needs of your target consumer segment.

Consumer Insights Research #1: The Impact of Generative AI on the Consumer Market

Consumer concerns and engagement with Artificial Intelligence (AI) are currently shaping, and will continue to shape, the consumer landscape.

Collage Group remains at the forefront, analyzing trends in generative AI to precisely understand how such developments are being embraced and utilized by the American population.

According to our most recent findings to be featured in the upcoming release of our America Now report on Oct. 30, a significant 62% of consumers express concern over AI causing an increase in online misinformation. Another 66% of consumers were alarmed about the potential misuse of personal information due to AI. Furthermore, AI’s impact on employment is a source of apprehension for 62% of consumers. Therefore, our results indicate widespread anxiety regarding the influence of AI on various aspects of society.

Consumer Insights Research #2: The LGBTQ+ Backlash

Despite vocal backlash, a significant majority of Americans stand with and support the LGBTQ+ community and Pride Month activations. Our research indicates that 88% of non-LGBTQ+ people remain positive or neutral about Pride Month marketing. With this in mind, brands should not be swayed by the activities of a minority but should instead create campaigns based on our insights.

At Collage Group, we recognize the challenges brands face when navigating an increasingly polarized cultural environment, where supporting one group could potentially provoke backlash from others. By leveraging Collage Group’s deep insights into the values, passion points, and affiliations of consumers across race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, you can express brand support for causes that resonate with your consumer majority while minimizing potential backlash.

Collage Group’s 2023 Media Habits and Preferences Study provides insights for consumers across sexual identities on where people are consuming media, and why they’re going there. The data dives deep into platform usage and drivers, content preferences, and engagement with influencers and brands on social media.

Here’s the Big Picture:

Your Brand Must Invest in Digital Media and Content and Nurture the Ties within the LGBTQ+ Community’s Inner Circles.

1. LGBTQ+ people are digital media power users, but their attention and excitement are fragmented across a multitude of platforms and channels.
2. For LGBTQ+ consumers, media consumption is a communal activity.Their Found Family Group Trait fuels their choices and provides brands an opportunity to engage.

Key LGBTQ+ Consumer Insight: Visual Media Platforms

Know This:

When it comes to LGBTQ+ Americans’ viewing preferences, on-demand, mobile-enabled, and ad-free streaming options beat linear TV programming. But while they watch TV or movies, they are much more likely than everyone else to multitask — digitally and in real life — making it hard for brands to truly get their ads in front of these elusive viewers.

Do This:

• Capture LGBTQ+ people’s attention with catchy soundtracks, captivating images, and nuanced stories that would compel them to put down their phones (and forks) and focus.
• Create interactive activations that encourage LGBTQ+ viewers to make their own content and participate in the social media conversation.

Our studies are designed to help your brand navigate to the media properties that matter most to your diverse consumers through insights into diverse consumers’ behaviors, preferences, and habits.

Contact us to learn how you can turn insight into impact and gain access to these diverse consumer insights and much more in our Cultural Intelligence Engine.

Read on and fill out the form for an excerpt from our Engage LGBTQ+ Health presentation.

Collage Group’s 2023 LGBTQ+ Health and Wellness Pulse Check provides insights across sexuality on:

1. Perceptions of health and wellness: Definitions, satisfaction, health habits, caregiving, and more.
2. Barriers to achieving health: Pain points, negative doctor experiences, and reasons for delaying or avoiding care.
3. Support and improvements that will help move the needle towards achieving health: Sources of trust, the role of technology, and the community.

Key Finding: Perceptions of Health

LGBTQ+ people feel that their mental health requires urgent action.

Context

Continued discrimination and anti-LGBTQ+ violence exacerbate mental health issues. This is especially challenging for LGBTQ+ youth as they’ve yet to discover their full, adult identities.

Action Steps

• Openly address mental health challenges specific to the LGBTQ+ experience.
• Connect the community with easy-to-access mental health resources. Create a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community and address issues specific to them.

Key Finding: Barriers

LGBTQ+ patients’ encounters with healthcare providers are riddled with negative experiences that further intensify preexisting emotional barriers to care.

Context

Anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination by medical providers is, unfortunately, common. The fear of mistreatment may compel the members of the community to withhold relevant information from doctors they do not trust.

Action Steps

• Normalize and advertise existing non-discrimination policies.
• Connect patients to advocacy services to help address potential concerns and coordinate care.

Key Finding: Support & Improvements

LGBTQ+ people highly value doctors who understand and validate their unique perspectives, challenges, and experiences.

Context

Even providers who don’t discriminate against LGBTQ+ people might not fully understand their nuanced needs or be experienced in serving the community.

Action Steps

• Train your providers in the health challenges faced by this community to better equip them with knowledge and tools needed for providing affirmative care.

Media is a major aspect of consumers’ everyday lives. Americans spend a significant amount of their time and attention consuming social media, visual entertainment, and audio streaming content. For brands and advertisers across industries to succeed, they need to understand where people are going to consume media content, and why they’re going there.

Collage Group’s 2022 Media Habits and Channels Study provides insights on the specific platforms LGBTQ+ Americans go to, their media habits, and their preferences for media content. The data dives deep into content and platform drivers—spanning categories, passion points, and identity attributes.

Key Findings: Music

• LGBTQ+ consumers are music super fans. From soundtracking mundane daily tasks to spontaneous dance parties or organized music events and festivals — LGBTQ+ listeners are there for it all.
• Streaming audio services and social media are the key sources of music discovery for LGBTQ+ consumers.

Context:

Social media, including YouTube and audio streaming services, provide easy (and often free) access to a vast variety of music to today’s consumers. LGBTQ+ listeners, who are generally younger than other Americans, are especially well-positioned to take advantage of everything that the musical world has to offer.

Action Step:

• To better connect with LGBTQ+ consumers through music, find the synergy between their favorite music and video content genres and extend the reach through social media.

Key Findings: Reading

• Reading may not be Americans’ favorite pastime, but more than a third of LGBTQ+ consumers read at least a few times a week. They are also more likely than their non-LGBTQ+ peers to listen to audiobooks.
• LGBTQ+ readers pick up a book in search of relaxation, escape from reality, or a chance to use their imagination.

Context:

LGBTQ+ consumers are partial to digital, on-demand content delivery systems, and this preference extends to books and other reading materials. But that doesn’t render print obsolete. Independently owned bookstores that serve the community as spaces for free-spirited living, connection, collaboration, and creativity continue to nurture these readers’ appreciation for physical books.

LGBTQ+ readers’ desire to shelter from reality with a book in hand is akin to their drive toward more escapist content in movies and TV. In the realm of books and graphic novels, this consumer segment can exercise their Proud Group Trait more freely and authentically.

Action Steps:

• Examine your print ad placement and prioritize print publications specifically targeted at the LGBTQ+ community.
• Find inspiration for your creative campaigns in popular, trending books as well as LGBTQ+ consumers’ preferred genres.
• Leverage the power of smaller influencers and online book fandoms to better connect with this consumer group.

This blog includes a small sample of the deep cultural intelligence available to our members. Contact us to learn how you can unlock full access to our cultural intelligence engine.

 This key consumer segment includes at least 12 million American adults, a number likely to grow rapidly as American culture becomes more accepting of diverse sexual and gender identities. To capture the growth and influence of these consumers, brands and marketers must deepen their understanding of the LGBTQ+ consumer segment.

Across the last several years, Collage Group has been developing powerful new tools to help brands become more Culturally Fluent.  Our Cultural Traits are central to this effort. These data-driven tools provide measures of cultural variation that reveal insights into the similarities and differences across consumer segments.  Collage Group members use these tools to build more efficient general market campaigns, as well as more effective dedicated activations.

You can learn more about the Cultural Traits for the LGBTQ+ segment, as well as in-market examples of brands activating on these insights by filling out the form above.

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