Community Marketing, Inc. to release Gay and Lesbian Consumer Index.

Community Marketing, Inc., (CMI) the San Francisco-based gay and lesbian research, marketing and communications firm, will release the most comprehensive LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) market research report ever conducted, the Gay Consumer Index and the Lesbian Consumer Index, on July 15, 2007. The study was co-produced by Rivendell Media, and sponsored by Absolut.

“Never before has an LGBT research study been based on a sample size of such proportion, and from such a broad spectrum of consumers,” said Jerry McHugh, Senior Research Director at Community Marketing, and the survey’s architect. “The study included more than 10,000 responses from lesbian consumers, and over 12,000 from gay male consumers. The resulting Gay Consumer Index and Lesbian Consumer Index reports include ground-breaking quantitative data and deep insights on demographics, psychographics, purchase behavior and motivations, and social and political perspectives. These indices will guide LGBT development and effective outreach communications for years to come,” McHugh added.

From April 15 to May 15, 2007, Community Marketing, Inc. conducted an online survey of lesbian and gay adults. As an incentive, respondents were offered a chance to win one of four airline vouchers valid for a roundtrip flight in North America. This survey comprehensively and effectively represents a broad spectrum of LGBT consumers in all parts of the USA. With a sample size of more than 10,000 for each Index, the margin of error is plus or minus 1% with a 95% confidence interval.

Survey participants were solicited through over 50 widely distributed internet and print publications, including: Instinct Magazine, Curve Magazine, Windy City Times, Jane and Jane, OutSmart Magazine, Bay Windows, Genre, HX Magazine, Dallas Voice, Just Out, Gay People’s Chronicle, Outlook Magazine, Bay Area Reporter, Out And About Newspaper, Out Front Colorado, Washington Blade, Metro Weekly, Edge, Next Magazine, Chicago Free Press, Watermark, Outlook Weekly, Q Notes, Between The Lines, The Ozark Star, here! Interactive, Olivia, and many others. These media partners contributed their survey participants into Community Marketing’s own proprietary survey panel developed since 1994, which includes respondents from many other leading event and media companies such as Advocate Magazine, Gay.com, PlanetOut.com, GayWired.com, and Passport.

“The Gay Consumer Index and Lesbian Consumer Index provide valuable guidance regarding the perceptions and opinions of ‘out’ lesbian and gay consumers; those who can be reached by marketers through gay and lesbian media channels. This unique, community-based methodology polls LGBT consumers who can be reached using print publications, direct mail and internet media,” said Tom Roth, President of Community Marketing. “It should be kept in mind, however, that the study’s findings profile those who read lesbian and gay publications and websites. These results should not necessarily be extrapolated to the entire gay and lesbian population, which we feel is impossible to do with surveys due to social, employment and political pressures,” added Roth.

Because of the unprecedented size of this study, Community Marketing will be covering important new ground by publishing statistically significant cross-tab data reports on these and other LGBT demographic segments: seniors, young adults, gay and lesbian families, ethnicity, and household income.

The wonderful thing about this breakthrough survey is that CMI’s Gay & Lesbian Consumer Index presents the first statistically significant information on the lesbian market, a market that is truly untapped, largely due to lack of specific segmented information,” said Todd Evans, President and CEO of Rivendell Media, co-producer of the study. “Additionally, specific market segment cross-tabs are available so that agencies, clients and publications can get exactly what they need,” added Evans.

In addition to the Community Marketing’s analysis and interpretation, several independent community leaders will also offer their unique perspectives on the Gay & Lesbian Consumer Index, which will be included in the full report.

For more information < http://www.GayConsumerIndex.com