The Pink Pound: More Bang For Your Buck

Isn't it good to see the pink pound and pink dollar are still holding up in these hard times?
"The total buying power of the U.S. lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adult population in 2010 is projected to be $743 billion, according to the recently updated analysis by Witeck-Combs Communications and Packaged Facts," claims a press release from Witeck-Combs Communications - available here.
Really?
Witeck-Combs Communications are specialists in "GLBT market research"
They are also "the nation's premier strategic marketing communications firm, specializing in reaching the gay and lesbian consumer".
That means they help companies sell stuff to "the gays", and sell it better.
Or, if you prefer, they provide "innovative insights into how companies can benefit from entering, or expanding their presence, in the gay and lesbian market."
CEO's Robert Witeck and Wesley Combs are the authors of Business Inside Out: Capturing Millions of Brand Loyal Gay Consumers - "the first business book on marketing to gay men and lesbian consumers."
Their list of clients includes; American Airlines, Bacardi, Citigroup, Coors, Ford, IBM, MTV, Motorola, Sears, Walt Disney and Wal-Mart.
Nice work if you can get it.
If your business involved trying to convince big businesses that they needed to target lesbians and gay men, do you think it would make your job easier if you could convince potential clients that the gay market is worth zillions?
Surprisingly Witeck-Combs can be quite candid; "We have seen research from academic researchers that strongly suggests gay men may earn slightly less than their heterosexual counterparts...”
"No one should infer that same-sex households are more affluent than others – this is little more than a stereotype, considering the economic evidence available.”
Other surveys conducted for gay marketeers "concluded" that gay men as a group are fabulously wealthy - which is serendipitous, don't you think?
Witeck-Combs were also working on the assumption that there are "between 6 percent to 7 percent of the adult U.S. population who self-identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual, or between 15 and 16 million adults."
These surveys usually operate on the magic - but completely made-up - figure of 10% - well, it sounds good, doesn't it?
It's most likely between 3-5% (email Fagburn if you want to know the maths).
But their "methodology" for working out their figure of $743 billion appears to be nothing more sophisticated than working out what is 6 to 7 percent of the total estimate of Americans' disposable income ("This methodology uses national aggregate disposable income data that are compiled by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the US Department of Commerce").
They've also worked out what they call "buying power" - but what's that exactly?
“In our analysis, we are clear to define buying power as another term for ‘disposable personal income,’ which is the total after-tax income available to an individual to spend on personal consumption, personal interest payments or savings. According to economists, today this roughly equals 86 percent of income.”
Someone's "disposable income" or "buying power" is their total income after tax - but this is not what most people understand by "disposable income"; the money left after you've paid the rent or mortgage, and often also including transport, utility bills, debts, pension, insurance and basic groceries (this is properly called "discretionary income").
So is $743 billion a ballpark figure - or more of a back-of-a-fag packet figure?
You can download the full report, The Gay and Lesbian Market in the US: Trends and Opportunities in LGBT Community here.
I should warn you it costs $3,995.
Why?
Because you're worth it!