By Maddy Gowers, Consultant
“Really, in Pride Month?”
Every day is Pride Month. Or at least it should be, in my eyes, and in the eyes of any comms team looking to campaign to or about the LGBTQ community.
But we’re now a couple of months on from the official allocated month – June – and we’ve once again seen brands appearing to only care about Pride at one specific time of year.
What is the purpose?
Campaigning at Pride is something that brands rarely get right, and for many, it’s not entirely clear why they’re doing it.
Is it for their customers?
This would certainly be one consideration. Consumer choice, increasingly, is driven by a desire to use brands that are doing good as well as selling decent products (The Harris Poll) – and this is something we’ve seen across a variety of social and environmental causes.
Or, is it for employees?
Businesses that do not champion inclusivity both in public and within their own organisation are businesses that will not be able to retain their employees for long (Out Leadership). This is a major factor in corporate affairs planning.
Or, more cynically – is it for commercial purposes?
The so-called ‘pink pound’ represents a significant amount in spending power, making LGBTQ audiences an attractive market (Springfair). If a rainbow product makes money, there’s a clear commercial incentive to join in.
None of these motivations are inherently wrong.
But, without knowing why they’re campaigning and what they’re campaigning about at Pride, many brands – however well-intentioned – fall flat and end up appearing as though they are rainbow-washing for nothing more than profits.
We’ve seen this with the likes of M&S and its much-ridiculed LGBT sandwich (a BLT that added Guacamole for ‘Gay’), or Shell and BP’s controversial sponsorship of the British LGBT Awards.
In both cases, campaigns intended to demonstrate support for LGBTQ customers and employees backfired and attracted criticism – ultimately distracting from the message they were trying to convey.
It’s why any comms team that wants to campaign around the LGBTQ community should consider the THINK framework, made famous by anti-bullying campaigns in the early 2000s.
First, is it True?
If Pride only exists for a brand in June, any campaign risks being perceived as insincere.
Before launching a campaign, do the work internally. Does your public affairs lobbying match what you’re saying in your brand work? Do employees genuinely experience an inclusive culture? Is your campaign linked to meaningful action, or is it simply another moment in the marketing calendar?
If the answers to any of these questions don’t align, it could be clocked as inauthentic – and that’s what erodes trust and creates notions of rainbow-washing.
Second, is it Helpful?
The strongest Pride campaigns contribute something of value to the conversation and uplift the community they claim to represent.
Many brands would answer this question by including a donation to LGBTQ causes in their initiative, which, while a positive move, is not always the exact right answer.
For a start, not all charities want to be tied to big brand donations, and secondly, throwing money at something isn’t always moving the dial in a way that resonates.
Consider the actual impacts of your campaign. Not cut-through, not the number of media headlines, but real impacts in driving a conversation or creating meaningful progress for the community.
Is it Inspiring?
Pride campaigns should tell LGBTQ stories that audiences actually want to engage with.
People respond to human stories and experiences. If your brand has no credibility within this territory, it needs to earn that by centring LGBTQ narratives – ideally in a way that still has brand relevance.
And when thinking about storytelling, I’d caution against any instinct to try and always address a ‘problem’ or focus only on adversity.
A brand can absolutely inspire with positive stories – take Gillette’s #MyFirstShave documentary with a trans man. Simple, but inspiring, with a clear link to the brand.
LGBTQ PR storytelling is, after all, still storytelling. The same principles apply.
Is it Necessary?
To put it simply, not every brand needs a Pride campaign.
Comms teams should think carefully about their license to operate in this space. If LGBTQ audiences have little reason to engage with a brand at other times of the year, they won’t want to engage during Pride – unless there’s a worthwhile initiative behind it.
Brand value comes from both sides. When deciding whether to do a Pride campaign, the considerations around employee culture, corporate affairs, and consumer choice all still apply – but none necessarily merit an outwards-facing campaign.
Finally, is it Kind?
Every Pride campaign should begin with the community, not just the deliverables.
The very best PR campaigns are built in collaboration with the queer people they are representing.
Whether that’s employing LGBTQ artists to front the campaign, working with LGBTQ creators to make products, or partnering with an LGBTQ charity – authenticity and sensitivity are essential. And this authenticity is earned through collaboration.
Consider how your campaign is portraying the community, and scrutinise the effect to which it is self-serving – or genuinely worthwhile.
Pride in 2027
We are living in a more divided world than ever.
There is significant anger being directed at certain communities, particularly queer and trans people. And brands are, increasingly, walking a fine line between managing these political headwinds and running social purpose campaigns that are authentic and valuable.
Fearing that they can’t get the comms right, or facing DEI cuts from the wider policy environment, many brands are now choosing to draw back and say nothing at all.
This is a mistake.
All businesses have a role to play in showing up for society. Silence is not neutrality.
Indeed, remaining silent doesn’t mean that a brand will fall into some middle ground, hated by none.
It means a brand will be forgotten, or worse: face reputational damage.
The challenge is not whether to engage with Pride at all, but to do so in a way that reflects genuine values rather than a seasonal marketing moment.
So, when it comes to Pride 2027, THINK. Do the work and show up authentically. Doing so will earn trust, enabling your brand to deliver work with depth that drives genuine impact – for your customers, for your employees, and society.
Photo by Mercedes Mehling on Unsplash