dot429 Connects GLBT Professionals

Today OGM features dot429, a social networking site that provides GLBT professionals a place to network and share professional experiences.  In the words of the website itself:

“Welcome to dot429 – a professional network for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and our allies. We are dedicated to connecting LGBTA professionals online and in person. Join us as we build our community and continue to improve our website. Start connecting with some of the most influential and successful among the LGBTA community where together we can achieve even more.”

Community Marketing Announces Completion Of Two Gay Business Related Studies

Community Marketing, Inc., a GLBT market research and communications firm based in San Francisco, has announced the completion of two studies, one focusing on GLBT consumers and the other on gay commerce.

The 4th LGBT Community Survey yields historic 40,000 respondents from 100+ countries; provides marketing and communications insights, tracks motivations and trends.  Sample findings include:

• When asked which major purchases they’d put off due to the economy but intend to make in the upcoming year, one-third said they plan to take a major vacation. Furniture and automobiles are next most popular major intended purchases.
• When asked to rank the LGBT-friendliness of their employer on a 10-point scale, only half rated their employer LGBT-friendly. About 14% ranked their employer not at all LGBT-friendly.
• While more than half of respondents check Facebook daily, the difference between young and old was significant. 81% of younger gay men (age 18-29) check Facebook daily, compared with only 37% of older gay men (age 45-59).

The first-ever survey of GLBT-owned companies and gay-friendly corporations yields a trove of findings and a roadmap for increasing GLBT-related business-to-business commerce.  The survey of over 1,400 gay and lesbian business decision-makers was conducted by Community Marketing, in partnership with the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), and supported by Hyatt Hotels, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies and Wells Fargo Bank.  The study helps to quantify and qualify the purchasing habits, motivations, and behaviors of GLBT-owned companies and gay-friendly corporations, and explore opportunities for increasing GLBT-related B2B commerce.

Full survey results will be presented at the NGLCC Conference, November 18-20 in Washington, D.C.

Echelon Set To Launch Gay Business Directory

Online business publication Echelon Magazine (www.echelonmagazine.com) has announced plans to launch a state of the art directory to list gay-owned and gay-friendly businesses in a format that reaches both online and mobile customers.

The online component, Echelon’s 2011 Gay Business Directory, is set to launch in January and will incorporate a host of advertising media options including videos, widgets, and flash ads.  Following shortly thereafter, Echelon will release a new iPhone app, “Go Gay Biz” that utilizes GPS technology to allow users to locate gay-owned and gay-friendly businesses on the go.

Companies listed in the Echelon 2011 Gay Business Directory will automatically be included in the “Go Gay Biz” app for a low flat annual rate initially.  Business owners can list their companies by visiting: www.echelonmagazine.com/index.php?topmenuitem=Directory

Witeck-Combs Communications: The Nation’s Leading GLBT Marketing And Communications Firm

One reason I started this blog was to connect marketers and advertisers with first class agencies with the knowledge and  know-how to effectively reach the GLBT community.  Too often it seems, when organizations want to target gay and lesbian consumers, they turn to the large mega-agencies that handle the rest of their advertising programs.  While the big boys certainly afford advertisers some efficiencies in scale, I believe smaller, GLBT-focused (and often GLBT-owned) firms are vastly more qualified and effective at marketing to our community.

One such agency is Witeck-Combs Communications based in Washington D.C.  Witeck-Combs has emerged as the country’s preeminent public relations and marketing communications firm specializing in the GLBT consumer segment.  With an impressive client list that includes an array of Fortune 500 firms, there are few agencies that can match their experience with and knowledge of the gay community.

Business partners Bob Witeck and Wes Combs founded the agency in 1993 because they saw a disconnect between the gay community and the business community and decided their firm would be a bridge to connect these two worlds.  In addition to consulting services that include business plan assessments, media relations, management education, and strategic business partnerships and sponsorships, Witeck-Combs has been instrumental in bringing meaningful GLBT market research to the fingertips of U.S. marketing professionals through partnerships with organizations like Harris Interactive and MarketResearch.com.

To learn more about or to contact Witeck-Combs Communications, you can visit their website.  If you don’t have an immediate need for the agency’s services but are interested in learning more about GLBT marketing and communications, you’re in luck.  Witeck and Combs also penned Business Inside Out - hands down the best book on the subject of best practices in GLBT business.