Understanding the Differences Between the Country that Kills the Most LGBT (Brazil) and the Safest Country for LGBTs (Iceland) from a Marketing Perspective

Let's start with the Brazilian market.

In Brazil, 8.35% of its population, approximately 20 million people, identify as being part of the LGBT community. Usually the largest cities in Brazil are considered gay-friendly and contain many gay-oriented establishments including bars, clubs, and restaurants. São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, also has the largest LGBT population.

However, Brazil is considered to be one of the countries where most LGBT people get killed. Per Grupo Gay da Bahia (GGB), a gay, lesbian, or transgender is killed every two days due to homophobia. Nonetheless, that number is grossly underestimated, because it is believed that most of the homophobia-related crimes are not reported. According to Sexualidade e Crimes de Ódio (Sexuality and Hate Crimes), the first documentary produced about violence against the LGBT population in Brazil, those hate crimes comes from different segments of the Brazilian society. Brazil is a very religious country, and the Catholic Church and the radical evangelical groups are partly responsible for influencing it’s public to be highly intolerant and fight against the LGBT people’s rights. Even if Brazil is considered a secular state, many religious leaders get involved with politics and use homophobic and hate speeches to gain votes. Homophobia in Brazil is also motivated by ignorance, conservatism, and traditional media.

Since the Brazilian military dictatorship ended in 1985 and the new Constitution of Brazil was created in 1988, the rights of LGBT people have expanded in a slow but optimistic pace*. In May 2013, they conquered their right to marriage despite the protest of religious and homophobic people, and they now hold most of the same rights as the non-LGBT people.

Nowadays, São Paulo hosts one of the most significant LGBT events of the world, The LGBT Pride Parade, reuniting more than 3 million people per year. The event is officially supported by the state government, and it’s been happening since 1999. Its primary goal is to bring visibility to the LGBT rights, elevate their self-esteem and provide an exchange of different experiences between different people, sensitizing the society towards tolerance and acceptance.

Surveys show that the Brazilian LGBT population tends to have more money than heterosexuals. They also spend more on leisure: about 40% more than non-LGBTs. Approximately 80% of them live in the largest cities and, because most of them don’t have kids, they have more money available to spend. 48% of gay people are more connected to new technologies and spend more time on the Internet.

Marketing that Segment

Despite their high consumption power, the LGBT population still have to face prejudice and unpreparedness of companies to understand and attend their needs. However, some brands are now beginning to develop consciousness regarding that market, and for the last few years, they are starting to position themselves as gay-friendly, creating advertisement directed to them. Big Brazilian companies such as “O Boticário,” “Skol,” “Avon” and others have been focusing on transmitting an acceptance message to their consumers.

Rio de Janeiro, one of the most gay-friendly cities of the world, is investing in publicity to attract and attend the LGBT tourist. Some brands also use their social network pages to talk to LGBT consumers in a natural and welcoming way. During the Brazilian Valentine’s Day, for example, some companies like “O Boticário” also included LGBT couples in their campaigns as a form of honoring “all kinds of love.” On Brazilian LGBT Pride Day, some brands also used online campaigns—always online, rarely offline—to endorse pride and respect, utilizing famous people who belong to the community to transmit the message. Although those are all promising news, the number of brands positioning themselves or even mentioning it is still minimum. It is optimistic, though, that some big companies are the ones doing so. However, it can always be a tough decision to make, considering that on social media especially many of the non-LGBT consumers can reject and even protest that type of content, which may be something that makes companies avoid doing it.

Even though campaigns to that public can face many barriers in Brazil, the tendency is that companies will adapt eventually to this potential consumer. But more than just “putting up the colorful flag,” the companies still need to understand those customers and learn how to communicate effectively with them.

Iceland's Market

Currently, Iceland is the best place to live if you are LGBT. Gay marriage was legalized in 2010, but since 2006 LGBT people have the same rights as heterosexuals when it comes to adopting and having access to artificial insemination. Acceptance is standard in the country, and the healthcare department offers excellent support to transgenders who wants to have the surgery of sex changing, providing free surgical support and treatment.

In Iceland, LGBT people are regular members of society, being openly accepted for their orientation. Therefore, there are openly LGBT people in all sectors of the community. They usually mix with heterosexuals, sharing the same space, and being respected for who they are.

It all started in the 1970s when Hordur Torfason became the first Icelander to declare his homosexuality publicly. He was then harassed and felt the urge to leave the country. However, a few years later, in 1978, he became one of the leading advocates of “The association ’78,” one of the most prominent gay rights organization in Iceland. Since then, LGBTs started conquering their space in society, and in 2009 prime minister Johanna Sigurdardottir became the first openly gay head of a government in the world. She was also one of the firsts to marry under the new law that legalized gay marriage in 2010.

There are no safety concerns for LGBTs in Iceland, which turns it into a great destination for LGBT tourists. As in nowadays, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, and all people with different sexual orientation are well accepted by the country’s law and by their neighbors. They belong to different profiles of consumers and have different behaviors when it comes to purchasing, profiles that are influenced by other characteristics other than their sexual orientation, including income, age, and ethnicity. Being LGBT is strongly related to their identity, but it is not what motivates them to purchase since they don’t consider themselves different from the other people who live and were born in Iceland.

Marketing that Segment

As mentioned, Iceland is the place for LGBTs to live, which turns it into a great destination for traveling. For example, there is a company called Pink Iceland that is gay-owned and targets LGBT tourists, offering their expertise about the country to provide touristic services. They offer tours, trips, group travels and other services that go beyond tourism, like weddings, international events, and festivals. That company is a perfect example of how accepting Iceland’s market is with LGBTs and how the country has become one of the favorite destinations for them.

With such a strong identity and safety for LGBTs, Iceland’s companies tend to target foreigners who want to have a good time in the country, since their population doesn’t see any differentiation between heterosexuals and LGBTs. Those differences come up when you make a comparison between the LGBT situation in Iceland with other countries, and that's where the marketers saw an opportunity of targeting that segment. Therefore, the country also promotes events and parties, similar to LGBT Parades, and celebrates pride mixing heterosexuals and LGBTs.

Brazil vs Iceland

While Brazil still has a long way to go when it comes to LGBT rights and acceptance, in Iceland that’s no longer an issue. That clearly affects not only the LGBTs lives but also the way they behave in society. In Iceland, the acceptance is so natural that LGBTs are not treated as different people. They are all part of the same nation and share equal rights with non-LGBTs, so they don’t behave like being different. Therefore, when it comes to marketing, there’s not much that companies can do with advertisement—after all, “gay pride” is a natural movement among the country’s population. The only thing that is left to target is tourism, considering that most LGBTs would prefer to choose a gay-friendly place to travel. Thus, Iceland’s LGBT marketing targets not their locals, but the foreigners, attracting them to a country with promises of good time, acceptance, and safety. If you Google “Marketing LGBT in Iceland,” for example, all you can find is about gay tourism. That’s the big deal there.

On the other hand, in Brazil, we can see that LGBTs not only still suffer from prejudice, but are excluded when it comes to being considered consumers. Although they are part of the society, must companies “forget” their existence and end up losing a significant market opportunity—after all, Brazil is a big country, with a large LGBT population that possesses a high income. Even though some companies are already beginning to position themselves, they still face many barriers, because overall acceptance of non-LGBTs may be considered a problem for their brand images—which wasn’t supposed to be.

Brazil and Iceland are in entirely different stages when it comes to the same subculture, and that is reflected in the population's behavior, culture, and communication. While the brands in Brazil are afraid of positioning themselves—or even don’t want to do it because they also have prejudice—we have a great company in Iceland directed to LGBT people that is all about the gay consumers. Also, when it comes to communicating with them and about them, there’s a big difference—in Brazil, we still have to talk about acceptance, tolerance, and respect. In Iceland, that is not only not necessary, but it’s not even an issue to consider.

Comparing the safest country for LGBTs with one that most kills them, it is possible to analyze how society behaves in general when it comes to the LGBT matter. It is reflected in the media, online or offline, and of course in marketing and advertisement campaigns. What we can expect is, while Brazilian LGBTs who can afford it spend their money traveling to safer places like Iceland to be respected and have a good time, the companies in Brazil can start realizing the marketing opportunity in that segment and positioning themselves in favor of respect and tolerance to support a more significant social change. More than advertising and looking to "get their money," companies hold power to make a positive impact—after all, advertisements are part of the media, and that also influences the population's opinion. Therefore, it would be good to see brands using their “power” for good and, on top of that, understanding and conquering that new potential market, like a few brands are already doing, and helping, in their way, the LGBT community feel part of the society. Maybe, if they weren't so marginalized, and if there was more diversity in what the media shows, there would be less hate and more acceptance. Either way, using their power for good would be the right thing to do.

OBS:*

I understand the currently political situation in Brazil and how the election of the new president, Jair Bolsonaro, is threatening to LGBT rights. However, I believe that one of the main objectives of this article is to show how controversial Brazil can be—it's one of the most dangerous countries in the world for LGBTs, but also hosts the largest LGBT Pride Parade in the world. It is super conservative and religious, but sells an image as a fun, outgoing, and promiscuous country to the rest of the world. That, I believe, didn't change (unfortunately), but I am open for discussions.

OBS2: Pink Money

When I did my research, the concept of "pink money" was still unknown, or at least I didn't come across it during that time and had no knowledge of it. Nowadays, we can see more and more companies and artists, at least in Brazil, being accused of doing campaigns looking for "pink money," which means that they are targeting that market, but just for the profit, without taking any actions to help the community. Fortunately, the LGBT community is learning to recognize that and getting educated about who they should be spending their money with.

Since that term was not part of the research, I decided not to add it to the content above.

References

LGBT people in Brazil. (n.d.). From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_people_in_Brazil

LGBT history in Brazil. (n.d.). From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_history_in_Brazil

LGBT rights in Brazil. (n.d.). From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Brazil

Grupo Gay da Bahia - GGB. (n.d.). From http://www.ggb.org.br/

Oito razões para valorizar o Mercado LGBT - Ideia de Marketing. (2013). From http://www.ideiademarketing.com.br/2012/11/07/oito-razoes-para-valorizar-o-mercado-lgbt-lesbicas-gays-bissexuais-e-transgeneros/

Potencial do mercado homossexual. (n.d.). From https://www.mundodomarketing.com.br/inteligencia/estudos/298/potencial-do-mercado-homossexual-no-brasil.html

Roberta Scrivano e João Sorima Neto. (2015). Potencial de compras LGBT é estimado em R$ 419 bilhões no Brasil. From http://oglobo.globo.com/economia/potencial-de-compras-lgbt-estimado-em-419-bilhoes-no-brasil-15785227

Sousa, I. (2012). Mercado é cego para potencial de consumo do público LGBT. Retrieved October 26, 2016, from http://www.administradores.com.br/noticias/marketing/mercado-e-cego-para-potencial-de-consumo-do-publico-lgbt/58290/

Avon: No digital podemos dialogar. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://geekpublicitario.com.br/14521/avon-diversidade-entrevista/

#RespeitoIsON: Skol lança comercial para Dia do Orgulho LGBT. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://geekpublicitario.com.br/13464/skol-orgulho-lgbt/

H. (n.d.). 10 melhores lugares do mundo para ser gay – Superlistas. From http://super.abril.com.br/blogs/superlistas/10-melhores-lugares-do-mundo-para-ser-gay/

LGBT rights in Iceland. (n.d.). From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Iceland

Valgarðsson, E. S. (2012). A bit about gay Iceland | Guide to Iceland. From https://guidetoiceland.is/history-culture/a-bit-about-gay-iceland

Gíslason, E. (2012). In Iceland, EVERYONE is gay! | Guide to Iceland. From https://guidetoiceland.is/connect-with-locals/eyjo12/in-iceland-everyone-is-gay