7. Men, masculinity and male grooming
What’s changed?
- Global market worth $40bn
- Google trends report 2017
- Growth of middle classes e.g. Asia
- 2.8% growth of prestige ‘male beauty’
…However, mass market in decline
14. Masculinity redefined
“We need to think of masculinity like
a piece of equipment. Some men,
like soldiers, need it all the time,
others might need it at
the weekend and others
not at all”
Grayson Perry, artist and author
17. Changing Behaviours
- 42% of men in Uk have visited a spa
- 39% of 25-34 yr old men share selfies
- Mintel: 17% of men use body hair removal
(from 6%)
20. Opportunity - #1 Active beauty
- ‘Wellness’ industry growing: worth $44 billion
globally
- Specific pursuits e.g. yoga, cycling, gym
- Food & diet e.g. vegan
21. Opportunity - #2 Personalisation
- Subscription service / bespoke
- Warby Parker model
- Wearable tech
- Specific skin issues
22. Opportunity - #3 Enhancement
“Two things are happening – men know
how they can use make-up and they
know what it does when they use it”
Vismay Sharma, L’Oréal
26. Summary
- Mass marketing is no longer enough
- Men (and masculinity) have evolved
- Break down barriers to engaging men
- Self care, self confidence, self worth
= gender free
Good afternoon everyone – I hope you’ve enjoyed this morning’s excellent Marketing Trends talks.
I’m going to explore two areas to answer this question and ask is it time to rethink the description ‘for men’ . Firstly looking at Men and Masculinity: what’s changed and what’s changing AND then ...and are beauty brands doing enough to engage men?
If men (and women) have moved on, where are the opportunities for brands to meet the changing expectations, needs and attitudes of male consumers?
So what has changed and what is changing? And what are the real opportunities for brands to become more meaningful to different age, attitude and generational groups of men?
In this presentation
I’ll discuss this from three angles:
Gender and Masculinity - exploring shifting attitudes, cultural influences, beliefs etc
Changing behaviours - identifying the underlying challenges and what men are looking for and expect
Opportunities - identifying the areas where brands can innovate and looking at some disruptive brands who are already there
About us
Two by Two is a brand and design consultancy based in London, specialising in strategy, brand development, brand communications and design within the beauty and wellbeing sectors. We’ve been in business for over 20 years so have experienced a lot of the changes you face in the industry – from digital innovation to sustainable packaging.
Two by Two’s report written in collaboration with Imogen Matthews (who is here today in the audience, Hi Imogen) ‘Male Grooming: Beauty’s Final Frontier’ examines the category from a brand and communications perspective. It came out of a conversation amongst our creative team about the likelihood of men wearing cosmetics everyday by 2020.
We’ve updated this for 2018 so if you’d like a copy please get in touch and we’ll send it to you. My colleague Ashwin Shaw is also here – Hi Ashwin (in audience)
Market Context
Male Grooming Market Worth is estimated value of $40bn
Google Trends Report 2017 US, France, Japan ‘sustained growth’ of men’s skincare
Growth of middle classes in South Asian cities - e.g. Pakistan metrosexual men
However, mass market is in decline with Mintel predicting that this category could in fact diminish by up to 7%
From ancient Egyptians (who wore make up to fend off disease and to communicate wealth and status, wearing green eye shadow to evoke gods Horus and Ra) to ancient Romans who painted their heads to hide bald spots to rock stars of the 1980s men have consistently used make up. Nowadays, we’re moving towards a more expressive cultural norms and diversity of the ‘ideal man’
When we think of Male Grooming, it’s easy to slip into cliches of uber stylish role models, celebrities and high performance athletes, models and footballers. Male Grooming is superficial - finishing touches, shaving and haircare - rather than a more meaningful ritual or ‘self care’ routine.
Isn’t this just reinforcing the same pressure as women have experienced for decades? Maybe it’s time for a new way of looking at masculinity and so-called ‘perfectly groomed’ men.
In 2015, an experiment called ‘Perceptions of Perfection’ by Superdrug invited a group of 19 designers( 11 women and 8 men) in different countries to photoshop a man’s image to reflect the idea of the ‘ideal’ body shape and face to their part of the world. The results were intriguing – from skin tone and facial features to body shape and hair -art; in the U.K., he got a slimmed-down body; and in the U.S., he got a chiselled physique. The designer in Egypt made him swarthy, the Spanish artist maintained his light skin tone, and in Hong Kong, the designer narrowed his face. Some touches are intriguing: The Russian designer gave him a golden mane, while our American artist added a well-gelled coiffe. The Serbian designer even drew a half-sleeve tattoo (and the Bangladesh Photoshop artist conjured a lungi).
However, just like the new series of Queer Eye (formerly Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) looking good and reinventing yourself as a modern man is much more than external experience – it’s more to do with self worth, self care and self confidence. It’s more Oprah than mere wardrobe makeover!
Mental health and men (suicide rate statistics image)
Status: less ownership, more social visibility and social media ‘stories’/experiences
Changing expectations: less linear, more life stages / From 1989 to 2012, stay-at-home dads increased from 1.1 million to 2 million according to the U.S. Census Bureau
#MeToo - questioning traditional male roles, masculinity is changing
Lynx / Axe and L’Oreal Men Expert repositioning [
A recent example is the repositioning of Unilever’s leading male fragrance brand, Lynx / Axe. The brand realised that its communications were mainly based on ‘winning’ the mating game and its brand was centred around somewhat predatory behaviour by young men which, however ‘tongue in cheek’ wasn’t resonating with its wider audience or female consumers. So the brand team and its agencies carried out more detailed research and realised that the most attractive thing was being yourself – not just ‘performing’ masculinity or conforming to a type.
Global Brand Director Fernando Desouches describes the essence of the campaign as individuality. He explains: "We wanted to empower men to be the most attractive man they could be – themselves.”
Influencer marketing was key to the strategy, which was activated through the Instagroom platform. It used data to create content to answer questions consumers were asking about male-grooming on Google.
Great results: purchase consideration among men in the US has risen from 16% to 20% and growth of the brand has tripled globally.
Artist Grayson Perry maybe has a point:
“We need to think of masculinity like a piece of equipment. Some men, like soldiers, need it all the time, others might need it at the weekend and others not at all.”
Masculinity is evolving
New Narrative - mass ‘for men’ label is not enough. Arguably male grooming has stemmed from brands that originate in female category, rather than ‘pure’ male formulations
‘Toxic’ Masculinity no longer valid
Less superficial, more emotional
As brands, we need to address not just the symptoms (suicide rate, sexual harassment,trolling) but engage men on a more empathetic, emotional level.
If masculinity is changing - and society’s expectations of men - then what are the signs that men’s needs and expectations have changed?
Changing Behaviours
42% of men in UK have visited a spa in last 12 months (Mintel 2017)
Almost one in five - 18% men enjoy taking selfies, rising to 35% of 16-24s.
39% of 25-34-year-old men post pictures of themselves on social media
Mintel reports 17% of men have had body hair removal (up from 6%)
If we look at trends in the US, e.g. the manicure and pedicure specialists Hammer and Nails and Mr. in LA, these services are no longer the preserve of female consumers and these brands are creating cool, edgy experiences in environments where men feel comfortable.
Similarly , in the UK Barbers are evolving and becoming hubs for ‘Bro Culture’ that used to live and breathe in the local pub.
Ex-homeless fundraiser
A place to confide, talk and feel good (not just look good)
Christian values: as Matt says regarding his empathetic approach to male grooming and his ethos ‘Jesus washed feet, I wash hair’
We see opportunities for brands to innovate and align to the new masculinity in 3 main areas
Subs services such as Dollar Shave Club Harrys’ etc have shown that male consumers engage with a more bespoke service, delivered to the home and as a cost-effective means of buying shaving products.
Warby Parker’s brand is based on great customer experience both online and in-store – with the aim of making fashion eyewear more accessible, bespoke and user friendly
Where are the apps that guide us through skincare analysis and make looking good more intuitive?
Brands such as Bevel in the US stemmed from the founder’s personal experience of skin issues after shaving, addressing ‘bumps’ and irritation common amongst guys with afro caribbean skin.
As Vismay Sharma mentioned in an interview in the UK last year, men are aware of make up and although men in Europe may not achieve the same level of use as in Korea (Korean men spend more money on cosmetics than the male population of any other country) products that help conceal and enhance are arguably already here – such as concealers, self tan products and even beard filler pencils. The issue is mindset and subtlety – men
The fact that Daniel Kaluuya was openly stating that he used the range founded by Rhianna – Fenty Beauty – on the red carpet is surely a signal that times have changed.
We see opportunities for brands to innovate and align to the new masculinity in 3 main areas
Gillette Body video
Summary
End of mass growth - more diverse category
Male Grooming [cross out word] - to Male Beauty/Feelgood category?
Fenty Beauty - Red Carpet male make up https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/daniel-kaluuya-fenty-beauty-foundation-oscars-red-carpet-get-out-a8243651.html
Break down barriers - we need a Carpool Karaoke for male skincare
Real men moisturise, cover up, make up, look and feel good... The modern man is ready for his close up
Summary
End of mass growth - more diverse category
Male Grooming [cross out word] - to Male Beauty/Feelgood category?
Fenty Beauty - Red Carpet male make up https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/daniel-kaluuya-fenty-beauty-foundation-oscars-red-carpet-get-out-a8243651.html
Break down barriers - we need a Carpool Karaoke for male skincare
Real men moisturise, cover up, make up, look and feel good... The modern man is ready for his close up