Marketing: Is consumer brand advertising and PR reaching real men? 

published 2005

While women have driven much of the change that has occurred around them in recent decades, it can be argued that men have had less control over their environment. A US survey from advertising agency Leo Burnett looked at how men feel about themselves and how they relate to the ways marketers depict them, and throws up a couple of surprising results.

The Survey, Metros vs Retros asks “are marketers missing real men?” and supports this challenge with statistics including:

The majority of men surveyed don’t care about being “Metro.”

Sixty percent of men aren’t concerned with defining themselves as “Metros” or “Retros”. Instead, they live by a more traditional set of standards for assessing their masculinity. The larger group of men is more focused on defining themselves in the eyes of other men, largely by seeking respect and admiration for success either in their professional life or their family life. The study dubs these men as Power Seekers and Patriarchs, respectively, and contends they are largely overlooked by popular culture, the media and marketers.

The survey identified and examined four male segments:

• Metros. More likely to agree that men should share domestic chores and believe it’s OK to show their feelings and a more feminine side of their personality.
• Retros. Believe it’s important to be the breadwinner and the boss of the household.  They don’t see their wives as equals and don’t tend to share parenting duties.
• Patriarchs. Struggle to find a good work/life balance.  They believe that having children and being a father are the most important things in a man’s life.
• Power Seekers. Play to win and chase career advancement.  They share a view of the world that is distinctly masculine and hate to show signs of weakness.

The survey suggests that there is some ambiguity within men, with many not coping well with the changes around them and half of them unclear of what is expected of men in today’s society.  For marketers however, one thing seems certain - most of them (74 per cent) feel that images of men in advertising are out of touch with reality. 

Under a heading “World Gone Pretty”, Leo Burnett shares in insight into some of men’s thoughts about appearance that were extracted from the survey findings.

• 56% consider themselves handsome
• 36% enjoy shopping for new clothes
• 40% say they want to enhance their physical appearance
• 50% happily use hair and skincare products
• 15% enjoy manicures
• 70% would rather look good in a business suit than a swimsuit

What are the implications then for marketers and their advertising and PR agencies? 

Firstly, it must be acknowledged that men are changing and the way that you appeal to them has to change as well. The old stereotypes just won’t work any more, but for most, neither will a Metro appeal. Whilst men are obviously concerned about their appearance, their values are what matter most to them. The defining by Leo Burnett of the Patriarchs and Power Sharers segments is evidence of the importance of values to these two groups. 

Two other recent surveys, one by MSN and another by Forrester Research show a number of interesting differences between men and women when it comes to where they go for information that have some implication for marketers.

The Forrester Research survey found that:

• Men spend more time reading newspapers than women and women spend more time reading magazines
• Men also watch more TV, more movies on video or DVD and listen to more radio than women
• They also spend more time using a computer than women including time spent on the internet.

The MSN poll found that search engines are the first port of call for men seeking advice. Women on the other hand go to friends and families first. Families were the fourth choice for advice with men. The poll also found that when using search engines:

• Women are happy to look at six or seven results before moving on or refining their search, and men look at only two or three before moving on.
• Of survey respondents, men devoted an average of three minutes to each of their 42 weekly searches, compared to the five minutes the women spent on 30 searches a week.

This certainly shows the importance of search engine optimization if your organisation has a web strategy aimed at men.