“PinkNews has been and continues to be committed to supporting and amplifying trans and non-binary voices. We’ve invested significantly in doing so over the past decade, publishing over 20,000 pieces of trans-inclusive content, representing an investment of well over £2m ($2.6m).”
So says PinkNews, following a tough few weeks for the publisher in which it has faced unsubstantiated claims on social media about its advertisers’ views on trans-focused content.
The allegations don't seem to reflect reality. Importantly, a source at PinkNews told me they haven’t ever experienced pressure in editorial or content meetings to avoid running trans and non-binary related stories. As founder of Trans+ History Week, I can speak to my experience with the publisher. This year we benefitted hugely from PinkNews providing extensive coverage of our completely Trans+ focused project – with multiple pieces and a homepage carousel.
The debate around this has now taken on a life of its own – within the LGBTQIA+ community and the advertising industry. It raises questions about the health of our media ecosystem, which require further investigation. Are queer publications actually nervous about losing advertising revenue just by virtue of running trans and non-binary positive campaigns? Are brands and media planners reluctant to run ad campaigns and partner queer publications? Is the very notion of trans and non-binary people’s existence now seen as too controversial? Or is the whole thing being massively overblown? Let’s take a look.
Is there nervousness from brands to support queer media?
I spoke with four queer media outlets, EssenceMediacom UK and ISBA, to find out.
Managing director and publishing editor of Attitude, Darren Styles, tells me theirs is a “broad church” platform and that their content advocates for the whole community.
He tells me that the many brands who have worked with them, many for years, “do not see trans inclusion as contentious and are not remotely nervous about being aligned with such things”.
Diva is a media brand that focuses on LGBTQIA+ women and non-binary people with high quality journalism; Nancy Kelley, executive director of Diva, tells me that “including stories that focus on the human rights of trans+ people is at the heart of our mission".
A spokesperson for GayTimes said they “whole-heartedly advocate for the rights, freedoms and autonomy of all identities within the LGBTQIA+ community, which includes trans and non-binary folks”. They further add that GayTimes is careful to ensure they are “not propagating harmful narratives in [their] media output” and view it as “a duty” to dedicate “resources to creating informed and inspiring content”, concluding that this is in fact the reason why brands continue to want to work with them.
Speaking with the biggest media agency in the UK, EssenceMediacom UK, joint chief strategy officer Geoff de Burca told me he hadn't heard of clients being nervous to spend with media advocating for trans and non-binary people or asking to block such content in their media plans. He says that this year, their clients have, in fact, spent “more money in LGBTQIA+ owned and targeted media than last year”. Significant, as EssenceMedicacom UK handled a total of more than £1.6bn in advertising spend last year.
Queer media certainly isn’t a cash-rich business to be in – but I haven’t been able to find evidence of brand nervousness when it comes to including queer media in media plans.
Why should we support queer media?
We mustn’t be complacent about the health of queer media, though, nor the risk of pressure to alter editorial stances. De Burca, tells me: “Without advertising income those titles will be at risk.” Seeing Gal-dem close last year highlights the tough reality for queer-owned and focused media.
I want to see media planners and brand owners showing more active support, reviewing their plans and increasing their investment. There is an urgent need for better, fairer coverage of the entire LGBTQIA+ community as much of the media continue to produce sensationalised negative coverage about us or ignore us completely. Leading to low accountability of our politicians on serious failings of our community by both the previous and current governments in education, healthcare, hate crime and other areas. Last month, the action network, Trans Kids Deserve Better, occupied the Department for Education building and they were there for a week, yet it was difficult to find any coverage of this outside of queer media.
The IPSOS Global Trends Report in 2021, across 25 countries, found that more than two-thirds of consumers said that they buy from brands they believe reflect their own principles. And we also see from the IPSOS Pride Survey in 2023 that two-thirds of the British population agreed that trans people experience discrimination in Britain today.
The majority want to see better support for Trans+ people. Brands supporting our community do so with the majority of consumers supporting them.
We must get creative with our investment
Many of our biggest queer media brands today began life as magazine-only offerings and have since broadened the ways in which they reach audiences and maintain revenue. Attitude, Diva and Gay Times have developed multiple income streams, print sales, advertising, event sponsorship and brand partnerships.
Styles tells me that brands working with them do so because they want to “find consumers” and “demonstrate their values of kindness, decency and inclusivity”.
EssenceMediacom’s De Burca says that the current level of support isn’t enough for a “community that continues to grow in size and spending power” and that “when advertisers target diverse communities directly, that those communities strongly welcome the support and feel warmer about brands who do so”.
De Burca says he would also be “more likely to encourage investment in queer media that support trans causes, rather than one that is misguidedly pandering to transphobia”.
Kelley notes that the limiting factor Diva faces is the “misogynistic and transphobic idea” that they’re perceived as “niche.” She remarks that the brand “represents the fastest-growing segments of that community”. In 2021, the ONS found that those between the ages of 16 and 24 were more than twice as likely to identify as LGB+ if they were female than male – that’s one in 10 females under 25. Something she explored powerfully in Campaign earlier this year. There’s clearly an overlooked opportunity for brands here.
There is the opportunity for new ways to collaborate, too. Young indie outfit QueerAF, with which I worked closely to launch Trans+ History Week, calls itself “the UK's only non-profit and regulated LGBTQIA+ publisher”. It supports emerging queer creatives through its platforms, newsletters and podcasts and its primary revenue source is through a membership model.
QueerAF takes a different approach to brand collaboration. It keeps its core news offering free from ads and sponsors, which it says is to avoid “chasing clicks” that can bring about “the worst instincts of the media, exploiting sources, damaging trust in journalism – and, therefore, ultimately our brands”. Impressively, the majority of QueerAF writers are Trans+.
QueerAF works with brands on specific projects where values align. In May, Publicis Groupe sponsored the QueerAF Trans+ History Week podcast to deliver “clear social impact” and “they wanted to invest in new talent”. The series commissioned and mentored six budding Trans+ audio producers to create documentary episodes celebrating Trans+ history stories.
Speaking with Bobi Carley, who is the head of media and inclusion co-lead at ISBA, the industry body that represents brand owners in advertising, I'm heartened to hear that ISBA has made “inclusive media planning and buying one of their 2024 priorities”. The obstacles it identifies are “scale and measurement” – something it hopes to tackle with its “responsible media framework”, which is being developed to offer guidance in this area.
It’s clear the case for investing in queer media is there. We’ve been making it and building it into our plans – and brand owners are buying it.
But, dear media planner, queer media needs you to do more. We now need to light a fire under our efforts and get more creative with where we direct our spend. This is how we improve the health of the queer media sector and improve society for all.
Marty Davies (she/they) is a cultural strategist, activist and writer. She founded creative strategy consultancy Smarty Pants Consultancy which helps brands to connect meaningfully with queer culture. She also founded Trans+ History Week CIC and co-founded community group Trans+ Adland, which both support the Trans+ community to thrive in the creative industries. In 2024 her column was shortlisted for PPA Columnist of the Year.