Atlanta Constitution Journal explores the city’s niche marketing efforts.
City boosters are taking the journalists — who write for the nation’s gay and lesbian newspapers, magazines and Web sites — to dinner at gay-owned and gay-friendly restaurants; to meetings with gay and lesbian entrepreneurs; and to visit neighborhoods where openly gay residents can live without harassment.
It is the latest in a string of efforts by Atlanta’s marketers to attract more tourist dollars by fine-tuning their message for a variety of groups — gays, families, sports enthusiasts, women, African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians and others.
Gay travelers spend about $500 million annually in metro Atlanta, said Gregory Pierce, chief financial officer for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, which is leading Atlanta’s effort to attract gay travelers.
“Today it is important for marketers to speak to specific audiences rather than generic ones,” said Ken Bernhardt, a marketing professor at Georgia State University and a member of the ACVB board of directors.
