Rokk The Closet: Inclusive Pride Niche

The month of June marks a nationwide celebration of diversity and freedom of sexual choice for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LBGT) community in the form of “Gay Pride.”  According to market research firm Witeck-Combs Communications, the LBGT community’s purchasing power was estimated at $732 Billion in 2010. This community has been neglected by major brands for decades, and only recently have forward-thinking brands begun to overtly support and sponsor LBGT community events and develop key relationships with this market segment.

Beyond purchasing power, the LBGT market is amongst the top influencers and tastemakers in the nation- where LBGT leaders are in top positions of power in media, entertainment, fashion, and marketing agencies. Brands are now beginning to explore the best balance of directly catering to this market while still maintaining their mainstream appeal. The Swedish vodka distillery Rokk Vodka has made headlines for becoming the official 2011 GLAAD Media Awards sponsor, with a year long agreement for working on multiple projects with GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) as a part of their inclusive “Filtering Out Inequality” marketing efforts.

This bold move further extends Rokk Vodka’s unique value proposition; where in a very crowded market, their differentiator is that their vodka is made from cleanest glacial water sources, then after distillation, the vodka is brought to sub-zero temperature and filtered through frozen charcoal to remove impurities. Launching the Rokk Vodka brand in the US with such a focused niche is a smart move. It speaks volumes to the open minded nature of the brand as well as a strategically sound move to have the LBGT choose Rokk Vodka as their preferred beverage- more for their collective influence on mainstream consumption habits than just their spending power alone.

In a marketing environment that is beginning to see the uprising of massive cause-marketing campaigns, as inspired by Pespi’s Refresh Project, those brands that look to further the cause of promoting inequality and freedom of choice as it relates to the LBGT community will be rewarded. Case in point, is Rokk Vodka’s parent company, Diageo, who is the world’s leading holding company of premium beverage alcohol brands (Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Baileys, Crown Royal, etc.) received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Corporate Equality Index in 2010. Focusing on the niches and embracing inclusive marketing is a winning combination for new brands to gain significant momentum in today’s information overload marketing arena.