British Tourist Authority Comes Out in the U.S.

THE BRITISH TOURIST Authority has begun a campaign in the United States-to a very targeted audience.

It mailed 75,000 brochures to gay and lesbian households in January, generating an average of 1,500 inquiries a week (compared with 300 from the same audience before the campaign).

Why gays and lesbians? They are part of one of four groups identified by the BTA as good target markets, the others being seniors, boomers, students and sinks and dinks (single-income, no kids and double-income, no kids). Gays are seen as the ultimate sinks and dinks.

Either way, it’s the first time the BTA has targeted this audience.

The BTA sent approximately 60,000 copies of the brochure to a list of self-identified gay and lesbian households by Direct Male, whose parent company, WinMark Concepts Inc., Washington, DC, helped develop the package.

The remaining 15,000 pieces went to names on a house file maintained by the BTA.

The brochure refers recipients to either a toll-free number or to a Web site (www.usagate way.visitbritain.com), which was about to be launched at deadline.

The Web site includes a rainbow icon for visitors to click to read the brochure and request further information. Data capture is primarily limited to names, addresses and some general questions about travel plans and interests in Britain.

The campaign also includes direct response space ads in Out and The Advocate, two gay and lesbian publications with a combined distribution of over 1 million copies. Two different ads have run in the magazines, one featuring a lesbian couple, one a gay male couple.

The space ads alone have generated 2,000 leads.

Though it has not yet quantified them, the BTA expects the results to be consistent with the lesbian and gay travel market, which is 85% male.

Using Focus Groups Before targeting this market, the BTA ran focus groups and found that gays don’t necessarily seek gay-friendly places-they want places that are not gay-hostile. The agency also tried to make sure that a sufficient lesbian-and-gay infrastructure existed before beginning the campaign.

“We don’t want to get them here under false pretenses,” a BTA spokesperson says. “We want them to come back every year.”

The brochure highlights gay-friendly pubs, shops, nightlife, and accommodations in Brighton and Manchester as well as in London.