Marketing with Pride: A Guide to Authentic Brand Campaigns

Pride isn’t a campaign. It’s a commitment.

Too often, brands show up for Pride in ways that feel hollow: rainbow logos, one-off campaigns, and statements that don’t reflect their actions the rest of the year. Consumers can tell when allyship is just for show. And when brands get it wrong, the consequences go beyond wasted marketing spend - they fuel distrust, skepticism, and backlash.

The problem isn’t that brands want to engage. It’s how they do it. Authenticity isn’t about saying the right things; it’s about doing the right things and doing them consistently.

That’s why we went straight to the source. As a market research agency, we believe the key to getting it right starts with listening. So, we spoke directly with the LGBTQ+ community at Pride events across the UK to understand what meaningful brand involvement actually looks like. This guide isn’t about what we think makes great Pride marketing - it’s about what real people told us truly matters. And, spoiler alert: it’s not just about marketing. It’s about long-term commitment, action, and showing up beyond a campaign.

Brands that get it right don’t just turn up for Pride month, they integrate LGBTQ+ advocacy into their business year-round, align their messaging with real action, and ensure their support is more than symbolic. But authenticity isn’t just about intention. It requires understanding, accountability, and follow-through. That means listening, testing messaging, gathering real feedback, and embedding allyship into the fabric of a business. It means making long-term commitments, standing firm in the face of backlash, and ensuring internal policies and culture match external campaigns.