| IBM Corporation: Targeting the LGBT Segment |  | 
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 Case Details:
 
 Case Code : MKTG217
 Case Length : 26 Pages
 Period : 1997-2009
 Pub Date : 2009
 Teaching Note :Not Available
 Organization : IBM Corporation
 Industry : Computers, IT and ITeS
 Countries : USA
 
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<< Previous ExcerptsBackground Note
	
		| The origins of IBM can be traced back to the end of the 19th century, when Herman Hollerith (Hollerith), a German-American statistician, founded the Tabulating Machine Company  (TMC) in 1896. In 1910, Hollerith 
suffered some health problems... Targeting the LGBT MarketIBM's usual marketing efforts were targeted at business-to-business markets and customers, using mainstream advertising channels. However, for marketing to the fast emerging LGBT segment, it launched ads that explicitly targeted them... |   
 |  ADVERTISINGIn 1997, IBM marketed its products by publishing its ads in gay publications including gay magazines and gay journals. It started its LGBT marketing with the gay community since there was enormous potential to be tapped in that segment...
 
 ONLINE MARKETING
 IBM published its ads targeted at the LGBT market by posting ads on gay sites like Gay.com, Planetout.com, etc. It used the Internet as a marketing channel since gay Americans were 1.5 times more likely to have an Internet connection with high speed, according to Witeck-Combs Communications Inc.  (Witeck) and Harris Interactive  (Harris), in 2002...
 
 LGBT SALES TEAM
 The LGBT-focused sales team headed by Siegel and Bertolotti was set up in 2000. By setting up this team, they planned to leverage on IBM's strength of supporting LGBT employees and the customers...
 
 SPONSORSHIPS
 To increase its visibility in the LGBT community, IBM started sponsoring several LGBT Networking organizations. With this, IBM aimed to make the LGBT customers predisposed toward IBM and to buy its products...
 
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