Talk:Gay marketing

I started this article from scratch here at Citizendium.--Ian Johnson 15:19, 25 July 2007 (CDT)

Original author notes

I created the Gay marketing article without outgoing hyperlinks to start. There are obvious opportunities to source various parts of the article, and to create new CZ articles for related topics: Gay community, gay media and so on. I will get to these if someone else does not first.

It is also worth considering including links to external sites related to gay marketing.

As the company I run (Out Now) is in this article's topic area I refrained from doing this, but perhaps some other author or editor may consider the inclusion of links to organizations referenced in the article.

Gay Market News is an update service on gay marketing http://www.gaymarketnews.com that I think is also of interest to the article's topic - but it is not yet included as I write content for it.

Perhaps another author can look into this and decide whether to include these links.

This is the very first article I have created for CZ and so am looking forward to receiving any feedback, either here or on my talkpage, about ideas for improvements.

In addition, I did not yet know how to add the checklist, so if you do know, please add it, or else I will learn more and return to do it. --Ian Johnson 17:39, 24 July 2007 (CDT)

Hi Ian, I added the checklist! I also left the 'legend' at the bottom so you can see how the answers were figured. Once you got the idea, please delete that part. For your first article, you are off to a fast start and seem to be learning fast. Keep going! --Matt Innis (Talk) 19:53, 24 July 2007 (CDT)

Syntax of title

I'd like to suggest that the syntax of this article title is problematic.

To illustrate, consider the many demographics marketers target. A few off the top of my head are Marketing to teens, Marketing to children, Marketing to parents, Marketing to homeowners, Marketing to singles, Marketing to the obese, Marketing to the retired, Marketing to farmers, etc. Following the syntax of this title--well, the results are actually quite humorous. We get Retired marketing, Obese marketing, etc. And here is one potentially very confusing: Farmers marketing, rather than Marketing to farmers.

I am suggesting with author hat on that all article titles on marketing to certain demographics be consistent, in the form Marketing to demographic X.

I'd also wonder if articles on marketing to individual sociological populations segments is Maintainabile. Articles on marketing targeted to society's seemingly countless populations segments--that cannot be anything other than exceedingly numerous, unless a handful of articles on Marketing to X are combined, and X is an umbrella term for the major population segments, e.g., an Marketing to children would be about marketing to all people under 18.

 —Stephen Ewen (Talk) 05:06, 26 July 2007 (CDT)

I would plump for the current title Gay marketing as being preferable. The suggested alternative possible titles Marketing to gays or similar might possibly be construed as being disrespectful by GLBT people - "gays" being a form of expression that is sometimes used by people not fond of the gay community. Also, the term "Gay marketing" has gained a currency of usage for over a decade that, rightly or wrongly, seems to have traction in the marketplace. It is similar to the terms Niche marketing or Internet marketing or many others of similar syntax whereby usage has created acceptance of the term. I am quite open to others' thoughts on the issue. For example, I could quite comfortably support Marketing to gay consumers with a redirect from Gay marketing as a potentially strong solution in line with your suggestion. Thoughts? --Ian Johnson 05:19, 26 July 2007 (CDT)

Well, Internet marketing is a venue (medium) for marketing (the Internet) and most if not all marketing targets certain population demographics, don't you think? (Note how, for example, TIME Magazine publishes 20+ editions targeted for certain demographics--ads differ between versions while the articles are nearly constant). "Gay", or whatever sociologically acceptable term used for the population, remains just that, a population demographic, not a venue (medium). It certainly makes sense that the syntax of venue marketing should be X marketing. But "Gay" is not a venue but a population demographic. Also, brains work, knowing occurs, by referencing their contrasts. If "Gay marketing" exists, per se, then "Straight marketing" exists. Neither seem neutral terms, and the two certainly do not seem to be meta-categories within the general population or the overall field of marketing. See my thinking here? As for Marketing to gay consumers, I think that is acceptable.  —Stephen Ewen (Talk)

I would say that we should use whatever name is most common. Ian, being one of the most knowledgeable persons there is about this topic, ought to be able to say whether "gay marketing" (the name) enjoys respect and currency. If so, that's what we should use. --Larry Sanger 06:07, 26 July 2007 (CDT)

Stephen, I can most certainly see your logic but am also feeling an instinct that at this time the term Gay marketing having gained parlance may make it a preferable article title. The contrast to "Gay marketing" is perhaps "Mainstream marketing", but as with much in life, basic concepts are often intertwined as well as unique. I guess due to my professional life it seems a clear concept to me. I think of Seniors Marketing (or "Marketing to seniors") and "Marketing to women" and "Youth marketing" (or "Marketing to youth") as being unique topics in themselves - as each grouping comes with a unique set of parameters and involves a distinct tailored application of the same basic marketing principles. Perhaps to my thinking it is like the way that "Science" is a global topic that comprises "Chemistry", "Biology", "Physics" where the basic scientific methods are applied to completely different subjects such that the outcomes become unique to the subjects in question. "Gay marketing" exists in relation to "Marketing" in the same way that "Biology" exists in relation to "Science". I digress though. In relation to the name of the article, I remain open to consensus. Perhaps we should see how other marketing articles develop in their nomenclature, and in the meantime I will give it further thought and look forward to any other comments on the topic. Larry, my instinct is to name it in line with both common usage but also with an eye on ensuring users of CZ can find the information most logically too. Stephen's comments have given me food for thought. A definite work in progress! --Ian Johnson 06:17, 26 July 2007 (CDT)

I don't know if this matters, but it might help to notice that I have the abc order for this article under 'Marketing, gay'. It will show up that way on any lists we might have. --Matt Innis (Talk) 07:58, 26 July 2007 (CDT)