New & exciting Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras from across the globe | Marketing Mag

Snapchat X ReachOut – helping the LGBTQIA+ community in identity and allyship

Benay Ozdemir — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 22:55:19 +0000

Snapchat has partnered with ReachOut in a battle to combat youth mental health by bringing allyship front and centre on the social media platform.

WorldPride Sydney 2023 is just around the corner, with the social media giant creating a loud presence on its app to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community.

As Pride celebrations begin kicking-off this Sunday, Snapchat and ReachOut are launching an in-app augmented reality (AR) experience. The feature will focus on allyship and educate users about how to be a better ally to the LGBTQIA+ community.

Users will be able to access a ‘Face Lens’ called ‘Under One Sky as an Ally’, where Snapchatters will be able to utilise the power of AR to share with their closest friends and family in a bid to show they are a proud LGBTQIA+ ally.

Snapchatters will be able to access vital information through ReachOut’s Allyship information hub. The social media platform reaches a community of more than seven million Australians, including 75 percent aged between 13 – 34. The company outlines the importance of showcasing an allyship between Gen Z and young Millennial users.

Snapchat’s APAC head of policy, Henry Turnbull commented on their excitement of bringing forward this campaign.

Turnbull says, “At Snap we believe it’s really important to promote the safety and wellbeing of LGBTQIA+ people and the wider community. It’s great to be able to support ReachOut, who are doing critical work in this space, to share meaningful resources with young people.”

As Pride celebrations begin around the world, ReachOut director of marketing and fundraising, Tracey Campbell comments on the importance of this campaign with Snapchat.

“ReachOut is excited to be partnering with Snap during Pride to encourage young people to be good LGBTQIA+ allies. Around 35 percent of young people accessing ReachOut’s youth mental health and wellbeing services identify as LGBTQIA+.”

Campbell continues, “Being a good ally and doing what you can to call out discrimination can help young people in the community feel supported. We are proud to be working alongside Snapchat to help spread this message and encourage strong allyship.”

Local brands in bed together for WorldPride and V-Day lube collabs

Sophie Berrill — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 06:22:20 +0000

Partnerships have been aplenty this week, with Valentine’s Day on Tuesday and Sydney WorldPride and the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras starting Friday 17 February.

Local Aussie brands have bonded over one particular product more than once during the week’s festivities.

The first frictionless collaboration was between Archie Rose Distillery Co. and sexual wellness company LBDO for a personal lubricant in celebration of WorldPride.

Meanwhile, Gelato Messina and sun and skin care brand Standard Procedure released a limited edition Finger Bun Gelato Lube for Valentine’s Day.

Gelato Messina x Standard Procedure lube

Standard Procedure is a family business with a factory on the Sunshine Coast, while Gelato Messina has locations across Australia and one in Hong Kong.

Self-described as “two Australian brands with a love for fun, sun, and high-quality ingredients”, Messina and Standard Procedure have created a raspberry-scented, coconut and brioche water-based lube to “bring Australiana nostalgia down under for a memorably happy ending”.

On Valentine’s Day, the lube was bundled with a tub of Messina’s Finger Bun gelato in an adults only ‘Lover’s Pack’ via Uber Eats.

The package didn’t stop there – nor did the puns. The brands also curated a Spotify playlist of “saucy bedroom bangers to get everyone in the mood”.

Archie Rose x LBDO lube

Founded in Sydney, Archie Rose enlisted Melbourne-based LBDO to contribute to its WorldPride collection.

Archie Rose had been named the official gin partner of Sydney WorldPride, while LBDO was already seasoned in slinging its ‘Essensual’ lube. Together, they created a new, special edition lubricant to offer as a complimentary gift with some of the Archie Rose WorldPride-edition cocktails and gins.

According to a statement from Archie Rose, the brands shared an ethos “all because we both believe everyone deserves to experience pleasure in a way that’s uniquely our own, whether through the joy of an impeccably crafted cocktail or in the exploration of safe, inclusive sexual wellness”.

“We both strive to create safe spaces for everyone and have a mutual love of heightened experiences. Plus, their approach to sex education is, well, sexy as. Open-minded, knowledge-centred and all about creating safe and inclusive conversations.”

Smooth collaborator

In a sea of questionable partnerships, these fun and colourful collaborations are made meaningful by clever products and copywriting that promote an important practice: safe sex.

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First openly gay male soccer star Josh Cavallo partners with VÖOST for WorldPride

Sophie Berrill — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 22:39:15 +0000

Aussie vitamin company VÖOST has released a short film featuring Adelaide United player Josh Cavallo, the world’s first openly gay top-flight men’s soccer player, to encourage inclusivity in sport. The clip kicks off a three-year partnership between VÖOST, Sydney WorldPride and Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Released on 13 February, the film sees Cavallo revisit his childhood soccer club in Melbourne. Here, he reflects on the path that led him to post his viral coming out video on Twitter in 2021, making sporting history.

Out on the field

VÖOST’s five-minute video references the first international study on homophobia in sport, which found around 70 percent of participants believe youth sport is not safe and welcoming for LGB people. (The study focussed on sexuality rather than gender-based discrimination faced by trans and intersex athletes.)

“VÖOST firmly believes this exclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in sport is unacceptable and wants to proactively work to change that,” the Melbourne-based company says in a press release.

While discrimination continues on the field and in the stands, some brands are doing their bit to right past wrongs in the realm of sports sponsorships – and of course earn some cash in the process.

Partnerships continue for Cavallo

Coming out as gay might have once negatively affected sponsorship deals for sporting champions like Martina Navratilova and Greg Louganis, but Cavallo’s announcement seems to have opened the door to his deals. Before he came out, he had no sponsorships in the pipeline. Since his announcement made global headlines, Cavallo has partnered with Ralph Lauren, Cupra, Gymshark and now VÖOST.

In August 2022, Cavallo told Marketing that he is selective about the brands with which he works.

“Yes, it’s great having these companies come to me and want to work with me, but they have to align with my brand and my messaging behind it,” he said at the time.

It seems that VÖOST has made the cut. Alongside working with Cavallo, the Melbourne-based company owned by Procter & Gamble (P&G) will activate across WorldPride and Mardi Gras. P&G is also supporting rainbow youth charity Minus18 to create Anti-Bullying Resource Kits for students across Australia.

For more on Cavallo’s experience in the public eye as the world’s first openly gay top-flight men’s soccer player, read our full interview with him last year.

TikTok advances to major partner for Sydney Mardi Gras and WorldPride

Sophie Berrill — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 00:02:24 +0000

The annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is a chance for the LGBTQIA+ community to gather in a “colourful explosion of self-expression, celebration and protest”, according to its organisers.

While the event was built on community activism, brands are now coming to the party to demonstrate support for – and capitalise on – the rainbow community.

TikTok is one such brand. After two years as a partner for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, the video-sharing social platform is stepping up to Major Partner status in 2023.

Running from 17 February until 5 March, this year’s Mardi Gras offers an especially lucrative opportunity for amplification across the world stage. Sydney won the bid to host WorldPride in 2023 – a first for the Southern Hemisphere – and it will run concurrently with Mardi Gras.

In total, organisers expect over 200 events will be staged as part of the broader Sydney WorldPride Festival, to be enjoyed by over 500,000 people.

TikTok livestreams WorldPride

As a Major Partner for both the Sydney Mardi Gras and WorldPride, TikTok will be livestreaming the event to the world, as well as offering the in-app hub #ForYourPride. The platform has also announced a string of Pride Ambassadors. These include Sugar and Spice, of RuPaul’s Drag Race and TikTok fame, and Rainbow History Class, which aims to educate the TikTok community about queer and trans history they didn’t learn in school.

“We are proud that TikTok is an open and inclusive platform, and it’s a privilege to be able to shine a light on the amazing creators across who are at the heart of the LGBTQIA+ community on TikTok,” says TikTok Australia and New Zealand’s general manager Lee Hunter.

“This partnership with Sydney WorldPride will allow us to take this incredible celebration to a global audience, who will be able to tune in to catch all the action on TikTok.”

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras CEO Albert Kruger says he is proud of the partnership as TikTok is a “hub for creativity and self-expression”.

“As we move into Sydney WorldPride, we’re excited to see the colour and energy of TikTok come to life throughout the festival, bringing representation and visibility to audiences across the globe,” he says.