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Left to Right: Instructor Kevin Hauswirth, Anne Dakota Coughlin ( student ) , Julie Atty ( student ) , Amanda Brockway ( student ) , General Motors Corporation Assistant Regional Manager Communications Kristin Rogers and Angela Booker ( student ) . Photo by Robyn Martin, courtesy of Columbia College Chicago

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Although some big brands, such as General Motors ( GM ) , have been doing their homework on the LGBT consumer since the early 1990s, when the company began advertising the Saab and Saturn to the community through LGBT media, many companies are still just beginning to consider the segment or in the early stages of understanding the community as consumers.

Hauswirth sees the need in the public relations realm for greater understanding of this important niche community as well as the opportunity for young PR hopefuls to gain valuable insight and set themselves apart as future employees in the field, which is why he began offering the class 'Public Relations and the Rainbow Dollar' at Columbia this spring.

The class teaches students to assess the complex communication landscape and understand what goes into developing a high-impact campaign as well as equipping them with the resources and understanding of how to develop those principles for practical application using the LGBT community specifically as a model.

His class focuses on discovering and dismantling stereotypes as well as recognizing the differences between the different subgroups within the community in order to really target the segment the company intends to appeal to and affectively identify the media channels necessary to reach this particular consumer demographic.

Hauswirth explained his interest in developing the class: 'The gay and lesbian market is something that I've always been interested in. ... We're studying how to communicate to a very segmented, niche market. Whether it's the African-American community, the LGBT community, baby boomers, or soccer moms, knowing how to look into a community, get deep into the media they're using, and figure out how to communicate with them is a skill that they can use regardless of the market.'

'We're going to do that in the context of the gay and lesbian community, but you can take these skills and transfer them over to anything. At it's core, it's channel development, it's strategy, it's working out planning, it's pitching,' he said.

Hauswirth brought in several speakers from the media to help the class understand the media channels available and the best ways to affectively reach the LGBT community. He also partnered with GM who volunteered to be the case study for the class giving students a real world critique of their presentations.

Travis Parman, GM LGBT media relations manager, said, 'GM accepted the opportunity to participate because it offered us a unique perspective on how students may view our brands, including Saturn. It also gave us invaluable insight into how to reach the LGBT market from within the community.'

GM has a solid reputation of focusing on the LGBT segment, both externally, through advertising campaigns, and internally, through it's LGBT affinity group and proven track record on the HRC Index, where the company has earned a 100 score for its LGBT friendly employment policies, which Hauswirth says is vital for any company going after the LGBT consumer.

He advised, 'An LGBT communication program needs to go from the inside out and the outside in. What I mean by that is that you can't go out and flash your logo on a float at the Pride Parade and then not offer your own employees domestic partner benefits. You have to live it. That comes to the point I really want to be clear on, companies need to be authentic in their communications program, so you have to be supporting your LGBT employees internally if you expect to get the community externally. ... I think the three key things brands need to be aware of when going after this community is being authentic, consistent and compelling.'

The LGBT consumer is savvy, Hauswirth points out, which means companies must be legitimate in their efforts. Besides being authentic internally, businesses also must understand the intricacies of the market. Hauswirth explained that just like any other niche market, there are subgroups, regional differences and of course a generation gap with drastic changes from one generation to the next that companies must understand.

'If you were to do and LGBT campaign for any brand in the 90s, ten years later, that's not relevant. If you were going after 25-year-olds in the '90s, those 25-year-olds now in 2000 were 15 at the time and, as a 15 year old, you're not consuming LGBT media, which speaks to the generation gap.'

He added, 'The younger demographic, gay or straight, [ is ] not consuming as much traditional media ... not to mention the LGBT community has always been on the front end of technology. They're early adapters to technology, so when you're looking at marketing to a young LGBT demographic, there has to be a strong social media component.'

Hauswirth also pointed out that an important segment of the LGBT community today is the ally: 'When you look at the younger segment, I'm talking 18 to 35 year old LGBT folks, you're also targeting their friends; that ally needs to fall into that bracket as well. ... Allies are becoming a closer part of our community.'

These drastic changes from one generation to the next as well as the growing influence of the LGBT community will likely cause more business and communications departments across the country to institute either LGBT-specific business and communications classes like this one in their programs or, at the very least, add an LGBT component to already existing class offerings. With the success of his class, Hauswirth is already gearing up to do it again this fall.