How Do Culturally Fluent Brands Approach Pride Month Today?

In our proprietary research of almost 4000 consumers from May this year, just one month ago, we asked consumers:

If you know about Pride Month, how do you feel about brands/companies celebrating or including Pride Month in their marketing or advertising?

In fact, only a tiny minority of LGBTQ+ consumers say brands should not celebrate Pride. And, almost 88% of consumers outside of the LGBTQ+ community, are positive or neutral about Pride Month activations.

Of course, there are a lot of hard questions to answer:

• • Is inclusion of different races perceived the same way as inclusion of different sexualities?
  • Are gay rights and trans rights perceived the same way?
  • Is support for Pride Month the same as support for LGBTQ+ rights?

In short: it’s complicated. But the overall message is clear, and hundreds of brands using our data are discovering an important truth: Being inclusive is not an excuse to create another monolithic mainstream.

So, what are the best brands doing to solve this problem? They are building Cultural Fluency – the ability to use cultural intelligence to efficiently and effectively connect across different segments. The first thing the best brands do is redefine the mainstream with diverse consumers at the center.

However, this is just the beginning. Being inclusive is not a free for all – every brand begins their journey to cultural fluency from a different place. Ask yourself these four questions:

1. 1. Who are my consumers now?
   2. Who will my consumers need to be for me to grow?
   3. How do these groups compare on their values, attitudes and behaviors?
   4. Where do they both give my brand permission to play?

Each brand needs a unique roadmap toward Cultural Fluency. Embracing America’s cultural transformation is challenging, but it is essential for growth.