5 Brands launching Pride Collections with a Difference

June is the month of Pride and some brands are doing more than lip service and making inclusivity a priority. For the past several years, a plethora of brands from high street to sportswear to luxury, have unveiled collections and collaborations that directly benefit the LGBTQIA+ community, either through awareness or donating to relevant charities. Here are five brands who are making a difference in 2021:

Balenciaga

Back in February, when Balenciaga debuted its autumn winter 2021 collection on the catwalk, one of its stand-out pieces was an oversized hoodie boldly emblazoned with the text gay. In support of this month’s Pride, Balenciaga is partnering with The Trevor Project in its mission to prevent LGBTQ youth suicide. The Kering-owned maison is donating 15 percent of all sales from the collection to the Project, an American nonprofit that focuses on suicide prevention amongst LGBTQIA+ youth. Other items in the collection include t-shirts, baseball caps and jockstraps.

Coach

The New York brand is highlighting Pride Month through a 29 piece capsule collection featuring its signature monogram. Coach is partnering with charities that create empowering spaces, both online and IRL, to the LGBTQIA+ community. The Coach Foundation will make donations to the Hetrick-Martin Institute, Albert Kennedy Trust, the Point Foundation and CenterLink Community of LGBTQ Centers.

Versace

Donnatella Versace has partnered with Lady Gaga to auction a replica of the singer’s iconic “Born This Way” motorcycle jacket. All proceeds will be donated to the singer’s Born This Way Foundation. Along with the auction, Versace has launched a limited-edition “Born This Way” T-shirt and beret to celebrate Pride month and raise funds for the singer’s charity.

Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany’s new “Stand for Love” campaign spotlights New Yorkers from the LBGTQIA+ community in a short video where each share what they stand for. The raw and emotional video reveals that it all comes down to love.

Tiffany, through its LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group, is making charitable donations to the New York-based Ali Forney Center and SAGE, and will continue to be a resource for this community. The company said its unwavering support is not limited to one month, and is ongoing.

Disney

Perhaps the brand with the most far-reaching message is Disney, who’s Pride collection features items such as a Mickey Mouse pin with an enamelled lesbian flag design. In a statement on its website, Disney said: “In celebration of Pride Month 2021 and the company’s Pride collection, The Walt Disney Company is giving funds as part of our ongoing commitment to organizations around the world that support LGBTQ+ communities.”

Why inclusive marketing can boost sales

The value of the pink pound/euro/dollar should go far beyond the purpose of tapping into a community with a disposal income. Inclusive marketing can have a positive effect on sales and be very effective for resonating with new audiences. Figures from Adobe Research in 2019 showed 66 percent of African-Americans, and 53 percent of Latino and Hispanic Americans feel their ethnicity is portrayed stereotypically in advertisements. 38 percent of consumers are more likely to trust brands that do well with showing diversity in their ads.

69 percent of brands with representative ads saw an average stock gain of 44 percent in 2020, according to the Digital Marketing Institute. An Ipsos/Google study in 2020 showed 64 people of the sample group took some sort of action after seeing an ad that they considered to be diverse or inclusive. This percentage was higher among specific groups: Latinx+ (85 percent), Black (79 percent), Asian/Pacific Islander (79 percent), LGBTQ (85 percent), millennial (77 percent), and teen (76 percent) consumers.

The first Pride was a riot

Back to Pride, let’s not forget the first Gay Pride was not a parade, but a riot. We now march to commemorate the Stonewall Riots that changed the course of the Gay Liberation Movement back in 1969.

Article source: Digital Marketing Institute, Dublin