FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Jeff Garber, President
                OpusComm Group, Inc.
                315 Highland Ave.
                Syracuse, NY 13203
www.opuscommgroup.com
jeff@opuscommgroup.com

Gay Voices Make Consumer History!

As of Monday the 2001 Gay/Lesbian Consumer Online Census, has collected the largest EVER of a panel of participants for a GLBT consumer behavior study.  "Not only do we have the largest response participants, but considering the average survey requires 40 minutes to complete, we have the most exhaustive data as well", stated Jeff Garber- president of OpusComm Group an advertising/PR firm, and founder of the research partnership with Syracuse University and GSociety.

July 9, 2001 kick-off the 2001 Gay/Lesbian Consumer Online Census via the Internet at www.glcensus.org and concluded on August 20 at midnight PST. The study is the first grand-scale in-depth research into the consumer habits of the worldwide Gay/Lesbian community that is conducted by a leading university (Syracuse University) as part of partnership formed with founding partner OpusComm Group and GSociety. The chief goal of the study is to become one of the best tools to educate mainstream advertisers who do not have a clear handle on the power of the Gay/Lesbian consumer, a unique niche market.

Gays and Lesbians were encouraged anonymously to not only "Stand Up and Be Counted", but spread the word through the rest of Community - one whose consumer clout has widely been ignored in the past - and share the opportunity to get pertinent information to advertisers and marketers but most of all to the society at large.

The study highlights will be released publicly in September and the full study addresses in great detail:

- Demographic Profile
- Parenting and Children
- Economic status
- Ethnicity
- Geographic Representation of U.S and worldwide
- Politics and Religion
- Media usage
- Print
- Radio
- Television
- Internet
- Evaluation of effectiveness of Marketing tools toward Gay/Lesbian Consumers
- Importance of Gay-Friendly Companies/Advertisers
- Gay/Internet Purchasing/User

Consumer Categories:
Automotive, Retail Movies & Media, Financial, Telecommunications, Food, Restaurants & Fast Food, Airline & Ship Travel, Hotel & Resorts Computer & Software, Apparel, Cosmetic & Toiletries (men & women), Beverages, Personal Hygiene & Health, Government & Political Organizations, Beer & Wine, Audio & Video Equipment, Cigarettes & Tobacco, Household Appliance, Equipment & Utensils, Sporting Good, Household Furnishings & Accessories, Liquor and Fitness.

"Our study is unique for several reasons explains", Dr. Beth Barnes, assistant Dean of S.I. Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University.  "Reviews of other similar, smaller scale surveys directed towards the Gay/Lesbian community indicated that seeking out participants to take the surveys produced only small numbers of qualified responses.  While many Gays and Lesbians can be accessed through the purchased of mailing lists provided by Gay/Lesbian publications, there is also a large portion of the Community that is not "out" and therefore would be overlooked in these lists.  The same challenge would be presented if volunteer focus groups or panels were assembled.  The 2001 Gay/Lesbian Consumer Online Census was completed anonymous which assisted in garnering the largest response for the most extensive Consumer behavior study."

Cary Gilbert of GSociety, one of three partners of the study makes this point; "GSociety recognizes the tremendous need for academic research on Gay and Lesbian consumer habits.  Many studies have been conducted with a bias towards their outcome.  With Syracuse University, we can be assured that the results will be clinical and objective.  Society at large wants and needs to know this information, and we are excited to be a part of this groundbreaking effort.

Garber, concludes, "We have received much feedback and here is how one anonymous participant best sums it up, …Thanks for giving our community the opportunity to voice our opinions.  This will really help strengthen our community's influence and scope in the mainstream advertising community".

The Census is the combined effort of three partners:

OpusComm Group, Inc., an award winning advertising/PR agency with over 16 years of services the Fortune 500, specializes in consultation of sensitivity issues and market plan development for all types of advertisers to target the gay/lesbian community in the mainstream media.

The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University -  As one of the world’s leading academic and research institutions in the field of communications, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University is leading the development of the Census. Professor Amy Falkner and Dr. Beth E. Barnes lead the team.

GSociety, Inc. is a media/entertainment company whose reach and distribution channels target gays and lesbians around the world, featuring powerful e-commerce and travel services, and the company’s Internet portals featuring GayWired.com and LesbianNation.com, the most comprehensive, targeted and interactive sites available in the community.

Media Sponsors: Advocate, Axess Promotions, Curve Magazine, Express, Gay Crawler, Instinct, Joey Magazine, Metro, Proud Parenting, and She Magazine

Highlights of the study will be available to media in September via www.glcensus.org. For information on how to obtain a  full analysis of the study, please contact OpusComm Group, Inc. at (315) 422-6250 or via email info@opuscommgroup.com

###