Music video network Vevo is helping brands better target the LGBTQ+ community, launching today Out Loud – a platform that combines advertising with Vevo’s collection of LGBTQ+ music programming.
Leveraging curated Vevo content and a machine learning based planning tool, Out Loud allows marketers to target audiences who consume music and video content from LGBTQ+ artists.
Julie Duhen, director of media and distribution marketing at Vevo and the creator of Out Loud, stated the product “blends Vevo’s editorial curation with the power of data science, and ultimately gives brands the ability to elevate and engage with the LGBTQ+ community by shining a light on the influence, success and importance of queer artists and fans all year long.”
Rob Vélez, Vevo’s VP of multicultural sales, added, “Out Loud gives brands the opportunity to surround themselves within impactful, culturally relevant content by these artists, making campaigns even more effective and memorable.”
Out Loud is the latest of Vevo’s multicultural-focused advertising solutions. The company last year unveiled Afro Pulse, a product enabling brands to advertise within programming featuring Black artists. Similarly, Vevo’s API Amplified allows advertisers to better reach Asian and Pacific Islander audiences.
Vevo’s advances in targeted advertising are indicative of the growing LGBTQ+ population. Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey suggests at least 20 million U.S. adults identify themselves as LGBTQ+ – nearly double prior estimates for the LGBTQ+ community’s size.
Revry, a streaming service focused on LGBTQ+ content, partnered with McDonald’s this year to host a “House of Pride” livestream celebration – featuring live music and dance performances and other entertainment.
As digital media capabilities improve, companies can offer more personalized experiences for LGBTQ+ people and other diverse groups, according to Adriana Waterston, chief revenue officer and insights and strategy lead at Horowitz Research.
“LGBTQIA+ audiences have long been overlooked and underserved because targeting this audience with resonant content and ads was not deemed ‘efficient’ or worthwhile before,” she told Fierce Video. “In the digital media environment, targeted advertising is not only feasible, it will be critical for brands to stand out and be effective in an incredibly fragmented environment.”
There is also overlap between the LGBTQ+ community and young people belonging to the Gen Z and Gen Alpha age groups, Waterston went on to say, as they are more likely than other generations to identify as LGBTQ+ as well as have a different understanding of gender identities.
“This translates to different conceptions of what inclusive media and advertising is and what it looks like than other generations,” she said, noting advertising and media containing binary gender stereotypes – such as a mom in the kitchen or the dad working at the office – are less likely to resonate with younger audiences.
“While having gender-neutral, LGBTQIA+ representation included in advertising and media will feel more organic and natural as they are already seeing these things in the user-generated media they consume, in their friend groups, and even in their own personal and family lives,” Waterston said.
She added advertising creatives that are inclusive of LGBTQ+ identities will likely deliver audiences beyond the specific LGBTQ+ audience target.
Gen Z is also a demographic that’s familiar with interactive live video features, according to recent findings from Agora. The study indicated roughly 75% of Gen Z consumers gravitate towards entertainment apps like YouTube or TikTok, as they typically deliver the most interactive live video features.