Dive Brief:
- Skyy Vodka is the launch brand for global media agency Mindshare USA's new LGBTQ-specific media buying platform, according to details shared with Marketing Dive.
- Brands will be able to support LGBTQ publications and content by buying ads through the private marketplace, which aggregates relevant publishers such as Pride Media into one negotiated inclusion list.
- Throughout 2020 and 2021, Mindshare USA plans to roll out a series of "inclusion PMPs," with the LGBTQ the first step, so that more media dollars can be funneled to minority and marginalized groups.
Dive Insight:
WPP-owned Mindshare's LGBTQ PMP comes in response to concerns that brand safety tools like keyword exclusion lists are hurting support for the community by funneling ad dollars elsewhere. Advertisers avoid thousands of words when buying ads so their ads don't appear alongside controversial and political news. In doing so, as many as 73% of neutral or positive LGBTQ online news items may be flagged as unattractive content for advertisers, according to sources reviewed by Mindshare.
By signing on as the launch partner of this new inclusive ad buying platform, Skyy Vodka is taking a stand to support LGBTQ publishers and the community interested in this content. The positioning supports the brand's history of including LGBTQ voices in its marketing, like its "Proudly American" marketing campaign. The ongoing effort features a diverse group of personalities in its creative including Dusty Ray Bottoms from "RuPaul's Drag Race."
Mindshare's LGBTQ PMP has been added to the media plan for the "Proudly American" campaign, giving the brand an opportunity to consistently support the LGBTQ community and extend the effort beyond key events.
"As a brand, we believe that Pride should not be the only time of year to show support for the LGBTQ community," said Bernadette Knight, senior marketing director of Skyy Vodka, in a statement. "Skyy Vodka is dedicated to supporting LGBTQ voices 365 days a year, and this PMP provides yet another avenue for us to do that."
Mindshare's private ad marketplace approach fits into a broader movement among some brands to support more diverse messaging. Starbucks, for instance, identified that many transgender people test out their new names on a coffee cup and incorporated this into an ad in the U.K. illustrating the story of a transgender person's transition.