• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, December 16, 2012

The Gay Ad Network is introducing new audience targeting features to its online ad network which allow advertisers to reach gay and lesbian consumers outside LGBT Web sites, expanding its existing LGBT-focused network, the company announced last week.

The new audience targeting service uses demographic, behavioral, purchase, and social data to identify and deliver relevant advertising to gay and lesbian consumers across a variety of online media, including mainstream Web sites and mobile apps.

A number of clients are already using the new audience targeting service, including Lexus, AT&T and Subaru.

GAN CEO Mark Elderkin stated: “By combining our proprietary data with third-party data and the distribution power of demand-side platforms and ad exchanges, we are able to offer national advertisers a more efficient way to reach their ideal gay consumer targets.”

Earlier this month GAN announced the addition of Gwist, “TV With a Gay Twist,” to its network. In addition to LGBT publishers, GAN has partnerships with Google DoubleClick, Microsoft Ad Exchange, Yahoo! Right Media, YouTube, and Facebook.

In March Witeck Communications estimated the combined spending power of LGBT consumers at $790 billion in 2012; that’s up from (separate) estimates of $732 billion in 2009 and $743 billion in 2010. In the 2012 elections roughly 5% of U.S. voters polled openly identified themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, according to data compiled by the Williams Institute. Applying the same proportion to the U.S. general population, this suggests a total U.S. LGBT population of around 16 million people.