PRide Month 2025: How Brands Can Navigate Today’s Landscape

Hi, I’m Kendall — an Account Executive here at Praytell and the new lead of Prism, our company’s LGBTQIA+ employee resource group (ERG). This work is deeply personal to me. I’ve had the privilege of being in a lesbian relationship since I was 17. Now, eight years later, my girlfriend is on the brink of earning her doctorate in psychology, and I’m navigating a career I love in PR. Our relationship—and the community around us—has taught me what it means to challenge norms and advocate for equity.

Let’s not sugar coat it: this year’s Pride Month is arriving during a fraught political moment. Over 800 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills have been introduced in state legislatures this year alone—many targeting trans youth, drag artists, and gender-affirming care. At the same time, brands are navigating a new era of performative activism fatigue, consumer skepticism, and budgetary pressure.

So what does it look like to show up meaningfully?

‍Embracing Intersectionality 

If we want to build communications that actually work, not just go viral or pass a DEI audit, we need to start with intersectionality. That means acknowledging that LGBTQIA+ folks aren’t a monolith. The queer community holds a wide range of lived experiences—across race, class, gender expression, religion, ability, neurodiversity, and more. Brands with a desire to connect and engage with the community can’t ignore the multifaceted nature of this group.

These overlapping identities shape how individuals experience their day-to-day life, including how they interact with brands, products, platforms, and messages that are put into the world. When we approach strategy with this in mind, we move past one-dimensional storytelling and toward authentic messaging, inclusive solutions, and more meaningful engagement.

In short, intersectionality isn’t just a lens, it’s a requirement for work that resonates. It’s a clear win-win for us all.

Marketing During Pride

In today’s polarized environment, Pride marketing is no longer a low-risk, high-reward opportunity. For many brands, launching a Pride campaign invites scrutiny—both from those who view LGBTQIA+ inclusion as “too political” and those within the community who are rightfully skeptical of surface-level gestures. But opting out entirely can speak volumes, too. Silence in the face of rising anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiment can appear just as performative as a rainbow logo with no substance behind it. The real differentiator is consistency. Pride marketing should be a reflection of a brand’s long-standing values, not a seasonal switch flipped on in June.

Authenticity shows when LGBTQIA+ support is not confined to one month or one tweet, but is embedded in how a brand shows up year-round.

In a landscape where performative allyship is increasingly scrutinized, several brands are demonstrating genuine commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community through meaningful actions and initiatives this Pride season.

• Dr. Martens continues its tradition of supporting queer voices by commissioning three LGBTQIA+ artists—Wednesday Holmes, Loveis Wise, and Fuyuki Kanai—to design limited-edition boots that celebrate community and self-expression. These collaborations are part of the brand's year-round efforts to platform, support, and advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community.
• The North Face is reinforcing its dedication to inclusivity by expanding its Explore Fund. This initiative supports the construction of free, public climbing boulders in urban parks, making outdoor activities more accessible to all, including LGBTQIA+ youth. Their first project in Denver was designed in partnership with local youth and organizations, reflecting a commitment to community engagement.
• LEGO is building upon its "Everyone is Awesome" campaign by partnering with organizations like Workplace Pride and Open for Business. These collaborations aim to develop strategies and programs that support LGBTQIA+ employees across the company, fostering a more inclusive workplace environment.

These brands exemplify how companies can move beyond symbolic gestures to enact tangible change, supporting the queer community not just during Pride Month but throughout the year.

For Our Fellow Comms Pros: Tips for Getting it Right

As June approaches, consider this a gut-check moment for your marketing and communications teams. What does real allyship look like for your brand, and how are your teams preparing to act with courage even if there’s risk involved?

Here are a few recommendations to help guide the way:

• Start Inside: Before launching an external campaign, take inventory of internal policies. Do your LGBTQIA+ employees feel represented and supported? That starts with inclusive benefits—like mental health care, fertility coverage, and gender-affirming care—and extends to workplace culture, safety, and leadership visibility.
• Reinvest Locally: Support queer-owned businesses, partner with grassroots organizations, and hire local LGBTQIA+ talent. These are the people already doing the work. Elevate them! 
• Think Beyond the ‘Rainbow’: Visibility matters, but only when it reflects real lived experiences. Pride is about joy, struggle, history, and the future. Challenge your brand to tell nuanced stories that reflect queerness across intersections of identities. 
• Put a Plan Together: The unfortunate reality is that queer-inclusive campaigns may spark criticism. Don’t let that deter your brand and the values it stands behind. Build an integrated communication plan that includes:
  
  • Clear internal alignment with executives and DEI leads
  • Reactive messaging frameworks for social and media relations
  • Values-based positioning that allows the brand to respond with confidence