Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 8, 1994                   TAG: 9410100075
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GREG DALTON ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                 LENGTH: Medium

CORPORATE VENDORS FIND IT PAYS TO BE GAY-FRIENDLY

\ Corporate America is reaching into the closet.

Recognizing the potential for profits, companies such as AT&T, American Express, Ikea and Saab are tailoring their advertising to gay men and lesbians.

``Our research tells us that these are affluent, well-educated, brand-loyal consumers who want high-quality products,'' said Dick Martin, vice president of advertising at AT&T.

Last spring, AT&T mailed brochures depicting three smiling couples in affectionate poses - two men, two women, and a man and a woman. The slogan was ``Let Your True Voice Be Heard.''

Other companies such as Saab, the first national auto marketer to pitch ads to homosexuals, have started running their usual ads in gay publications.

``These companies are `coming out' because they see payoffs going to their competitors,'' lesbian activist Susan Horowitz said. ``Very often we march down Fifth Avenue in a protest, but now Madison Avenue is marching down to Greenwich Village to find us.''

Horowitz helped organize OutLoud, a gay cultural and business expo that opened Friday in New York. The event, described as the first large-scale business expo to target the gay market, includes 250 gay goods and services. Sponsors say it reflects homosexual purchasing power and will show people which companies are gay-friendly.

One sponsor is Progressive Asset Management of Oakland, Calif., advisers who help gay investors steer their money to companies with a good track record on homosexual issues.

Howard Tharsing, a Progressive portfolio manager, said he evaluates stocks through a ``lavender screen.'' Apple Computer and Time Warner, for example, rank high on his list because both offer medical insurance to same-sex couples. Another company that has targeted gays via images other than that of the all-American heterosexuals pictured in their mainstream ads is American Express, which has advertised travelers checks with th signature of two men or two women.

While companies base the decision to run such ads on market research, few surveys of gay consumers have been made public. One recent study, conducted by the Westport, Conn.-based market research firm of Yankelovich Partners, found that people who identify themselves as gay - approximately 6 percent of the U.S. population, by one measure - are twice as likely as heterosexuals to hold a graduate degree, and their income is roughly equivalent to that of heterosexuals. The latter finding contradicts studies that suggest gays are wealthier than average.

Although AT&T, Ikea and American Express have used openly gay people in ads, companies trying to reach these consumers don't necessarily have to do that to be effective, said the study's director, Rex Briggs.

Marketers who push the ``hot buttons'' will get their message across no matter what image accompanies it, Briggs said.