Next Stop Madrid! TD invited Pride attendees to travel Rainbow Class for the chance to win a trip to the upcoming World Pride celebration.
For the past eight years, Diamond Integrated Marketing has been developing unique ways to connect consumers with brands. Experiential programs have been a big part of that, including another successful season of Pride initiatives across Canada for TD Bank, Trojan and for the first year, Lucky Charms Cereal.
According to Diamond, the LGBT market is one that brands should be paying special attention to. It is currently bigger than any ethnic market in Canada with an unofficial estimate pegged at 10% of Canadian consumers. In addition, 76% of LGBT households report income above the national average.
Pride celebrations are seeing an increase in attendance and the attendee characteristics are evolving. More families and allies are joining the celebration and there is widespread support beyond the LGBT community.
Opportunities go beyond consumer engagement and can transition into the heart of organizational culture. Consumers are also employees and they look deeper than a commercial message of support; they also look for action. From health benefits to internal initiatives that drive awareness and support, LGBT targeted programs can help tell the larger brand story inside and outside of the organization.
Programs that invite the LGBT community to be a part of the brand and celebrate together, create a loyal following. Finding unique ways to engage and relate LGBT consumers to the brand is key, but don’t forget about the allies, friends and family throughout the process. For TD Bank, Trojan and Lucky Charms, they welcomed consumers to celebrate with them in the streets and enhanced their experience and enjoyment while attending the festivals. Above all, they created memorable and unique moments of pride worth sharing with friends and family.
Trojan “Rocked Hard” at WorldPride with consumers along the parade route with their “Rock Safe” messaging.
TD, a long time Pride supporter, continued its “forever proud” theme to garner excitement about its newly launched travel rewards credit card product. Consumers were invited to take a seat in Rainbow Class for a keepsake photo and a chance to win the experience of a lifetime, a trip to World Pride in Madrid in 2015, as part of their participation.
Trojan used its 12th year of participation in Pride celebrations to bring awareness to its Lubricant and Vibrations product lines and to also throw a dance party under the creative umbrella of “Rock Hard. Rock Safe. Rock Pride.”
Lucky Charms invited consumers to share ‘why they are lucky to be’ during Pride in Vancouver.
For its first foray into the Canadian LGBT market, Lucky Charms leveraged the success of the umbrella theme launched in the US last year. It had one simple message –”tell us why you are #LuckyToBe you”. Consumers chose the charm and message that best reflected what they were lucky to be in front of a colourful backdrop. Social media quickly took over with over 70% of content originating in Canada and 30% originating in the US.
Across all programs, there was one consistent theme: authenticity.
David Diamond, agency president, says, “It was all about how to be as authentic as possible with the people we’re trying to reach. For a brand to advertise and say ‘we support Pride’, that’s great. But to actually be in the heart of Pride and for attendees to celebrate with the brand makes it more special. That’s ultimately worth more to the demographic than any ad.”
