MARKETING—Beverly Hills Auto Dealership Reserving Lot for Gay Clients

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A Beverly Hills automobile dealership is setting aside one of its five sales lots to cater specifically to the gay community, believed one of the first such marketing efforts in the country.

Beverly Hills Ford owner Peter Blacksberg said the move, which will include staffing the lot with gay managers and sales people, is an attempt to drum up sales in an under-marketed segment of the community.

“When you look at the demographics, there are a lot of gay people in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills is an excellent place for them to shop for cars,” said Blacksberg, whose dealership extends across five separate lots on Olympic Boulevard. “It’s a part of the market we don’t feel other dealers are paying attention to.”

The idea, he said, is to provide a comfortable and respectful atmosphere for gays that will make Beverly Hills Ford the dealership of choice for the area’s gay population.

“It’s sending a signal that you’re going to be treated with respect no matter who you are,” said Paul Poux, owner of The Poux Co. a gay-oriented New York marketing firm. Poux said that auto dealerships have become major advertisers in the gay press, with many listing the name of a gay or lesbian salesperson in their ads. Still, he had not heard of a sales lot targeted directly to gay customers.

“I think its smart. If you have a choice, all things being equal, and you know that there’s one dealership that is gay-friendly, you’re going to chose that one,” he said.

“It’s definitely unique. I think it will probably work for them,” said Steve Sosebee, sales manager for Santa Monica Ford. “With the competition in the L.A. area among Ford dealerships what it is, you’ve got to do anything you can to get an edge.”

Blacksberg, who purchased the dealership last year, said Ford has been supportive of the idea. His dealership had sales of $31.8 million in 2000 and he expects that number to rise this year, in part because of an anticipated increase in gay customers.

To promote the lot, Blacksberg has purchased ad space in gay publications like West Hollywood-based Frontiers Newsmagazine. The ads have a decidedly different feel than the spots he runs on cable television and in mainstream newspapers.

“It’s eye-catching, it’s sexy. It has rainbows in it which are meaningful for the gay community,” said Frontiers Associate Publisher David Gardner.

As the controversy over homosexual lifestyles wanes in urban America, an increasing number of retailers including such heavyweights as Anheuser Busch Companies Inc., Levi-Strauss & Co. and even IBM Corp. have initiated ad campaigns in recent years to target gay consumers. Nevertheless many advertisers are still loathe to run ads in the mainstream media that would appear to condone homosexuality.

“There’s still a lot of misunderstanding,” Poux said.

Although Blacksberg, who is not gay, acknowledged that promoting the car lot might not be well received by some of his customers, he emphasized that everyone is welcome and is convinced that the gains he will make will more than compensate for any lost sales.

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