From canceled Pride parades and slashed LGBTQ+ program funding to bureaucratic bickering over LGBTQ+ content labels, the current political climate has caused shrinking corporate interest in connecting with LGBTQ+ people, including during Pride month.
It seems “Heated Rivalry” was more the exception than the rule.
This year, the Trump administration is threatening funding for LGBTQ+ organizations and the community’s access to health care. Meanwhile, advocacy groups are busy protesting the FCC chairman’s recent push to slap warning labels on LGBTQ+-related programming.
Simply put, many brands nowadays do not think the benefits of speaking to LGBTQ+ audiences are worth drawing the ire of the current administration amid its attacks against DEI, said Mark Tevis, EVP of sales and partnerships at Revry, a free ad-supported streaming platform that specializes in queer storytelling. Revry is one of many companies and organizations seeing a drop in direct brand dollars as a direct result of political tension and intimidation.
Besides, marketers are more interested in chasing performance. (The advertising kind.)
