Need For Gay Market Media To Adapt To Survive

The Hague, Netherlands (OUTNOW) November 25, 2009 -- A leading global marketing specialist says that gay and lesbian media must adapt if it is to survive both the recession and changing social attitudes in the gay and lesbian market.

Ian Johnson, Founder and CEO of the specialist LGBT marketing agency Out Now Global, made the remarks when commenting on the news that Spain’s leading gay lifestyle magazine - Zero - is to close its doors after publishing its next issue.

Publishing in his company’s blog GayMarketNews.com, Johnson says the closure of Zero magazine in Spain is part of a worldwide trend of realignment in the publishing business.

“This is not a phenomenon particular to gay and lesbian media,” Johnson said. “Many print products in the general media market are finding their revenues under attack from the combined effects of the recession and the migration of readers to online media product. But it is hitting particularly hard in the gay market as many gays and lesbians no longer feel so strongly ’personally connected’ to the need for a gay and lesbian community print media product. In some ways this is a byproduct of an improving acceptance of gays and lesbians in many parts of the world”.

Johnson spoke this month to the global travel industry at London’s WTM World Travel Market industry trade show on the critical importance to gay market success of keeping in close touch with the latest moves taking place in the lesbian and gay market.

The closure of ’Zero’ gay magazine in Spain’s media market follows the news that Window Media - publishers of some of the leading US gay and lesbian print media newspapers - closed for business last week.

Even ’The Advocate’ - one of America’s gay news print media ’hero’ mastheads is being spun into the pages of its more lifestyle-oriented glossy sister publication ’Out’ magazine.

“In business as in life, everything changes,” Johnson said. “Nothing stays the same. It is really sad to lose publications that many of us have grown up with. They often form part of people’s own gay life history. Yet it is the case that it is those gay media publishers that recognize changing LGBT market community media habits, and adapt accordingly, that stand the best chance to make it successfully through the recession. Those that do this most effectively will not only survive, they should prosper in the evolving gay and lesbian media business landscape”.

“Those that don’t adapt to changes in the market may join the ranks of gay print media that no longer publish. We hope that the numbers in that category can remain small”.

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ian Johnson, CEO, Out Now Global
Tel: +1-310-878 4878
http://www.OutNowConsulting.com
http://www.GayMarketNews.com

ABOUT OUT NOW

Out Now Global is a leading lesbian and gay marketing specialist agency, founded in 1992. ’AdWeek’ referred to one of Out Now’s gay advertising campaigns as “the year’s most talked about tourism ads”. Clients include many leading brands including Barclays, IBM, Toyota, Citibank, German National Tourist Office, Visit Britain, Lufthansa and Time Inc. Magazines.

Contact Information

Ian Johnson

CEO

Out Now Global

Contact via E-mail