Teacup

In a world where women are filled with such diverse needs, one of the biggest challenges faced by marketers it to try understand their target market. From there, trying to understand the needs of the modern man seems almost near impossible. Gone are the days where men were considered simple. Men’s marketing in today’s world is as intricate and complex as women’s as men become increasingly concerned with their personal image.

Male grooming industry is estimated to grow up to $84.9 billion by 2014

Research by Reportlinker.com found that the market for men’s grooming products valued at $US19.7 billion worldwide in 2009, expected to grow up to $US28 billion by 2014. The report also notes that men tend to use grooming products that are ‘non-male-specific’ as well estimating their total consumption to skyrocket to somewhere between $61.3-$84.9 billion in the next five years.

Men wearing makeup? Evolution or unnatural?

One sector that is surprisingly showing growth is the men’s make up sector. While traditionally the make up cabinet has solely been reserved for women, both business and consumers are showing a fashionable rise in men embracing the world of makeup. From Johnny Depp’s captivating looks from Pirates of the Carribean to the decadently seductive Russell Brand, you only have to look to our celebrities to see the rise in men’s make up and beauty market.

Grooming not just for metrosexuals

This trend is not just for the appearance conscious metrosexuals, says make-up artist Nathan Johnson. With more of the Average Joe men ready to cross the gender divide, brands are happy to fill their needs with products specifically designed to meet men’s demands and make them feel comfortable while doing so.

Emasculation of men or a Liberal conspiracy?

UK Guardian’s Paul MacInnes compares men wearing makeup to the likes of ‘a toddler having a mortgage’. “It’s unnatural and likely to end in disaster,” he says.

But why is this change taking place? Some may see this as the eminent emasculation of men. However, Paul suggests that this is due to the liberal and consumerism movement of Labour governments.

“By presiding over an unprecedented period of economic growth which put money in people’s pockets and encouraged them to believe the good times would just keep on rolling, men took their eyes off the ball. They were encouraged to spend, to live, to dream – and when people start dreaming funny things happen. They start joining gyms, they start eating healthily, they start mentally reconstituting 1950s cigarette adverts showing beaming nuclear families, only it’s their mug on the poster. Only their mug looks a bit blotchy. So they reach for the blusher.”

The men’s market in an unsaturated niche

Whether this is actually true or not, the niche does exist, says Caroline Wilde, head of retail at brand consultancy Live & Breathe. “It’s an unfulfilled market. Nivea had some success so the market is there but it is not saturated like the female market.” Shower gels and deodorants tend to be a safe entry point to the men’s market to test your products, she adds. Although there is a market for face creams and other beauty products, it is more difficult to penetrate the market with those product lines.

Men don’t want to be associated with the ‘f-word’

“The problem with the word fashion is that most guys associate it with girls,” says Jay Fielden, editor of Men’s Vogue, who reportedly calls fashion the “f-word” to his staffers. “Here we talk about style, personal style.”

“The idea of fashion triggers off a response of ‘change,’ and men don’t like change,” says menswear designer John Varvatos for article in theBigMoney.com. “So menswear has to be about evolution, not revolution.”

“Modern men are much more sophisticated than some brands think they are and will ultimately see through this superficial approach” says Aniko Hill from The Kitchen Collaborative.

Making men feel comfortable

New Zealand based  men’s only spa and salon Manscape is trying a different approach as they try to push men to feel more comfortable with looking after themselves, claiming that is not just for girls.

Service Options

Haircut – A Manscape haircut is an experience you’ll look forward to every month! Sit back and enjoy a complimentary beer, O.J or coffee while your stylist works their magic. Your hair will be washed at the start and end to get rid of those annoying hairs. Your cut & style also includes a scalp and shoulder massage.

Eyebrows - Shape & tidy – there’s nothing girly about this! Stray hairs removed, hairs trimmed to leave your brows looking and sitting tidy.

Massage – Relax with a half or full hour Swedish (relaxation) style massage. Don’t knock it till you’ve had one and when you’ve had one you’ll want another!

Handy Work – (Man I cure) Nail soak & shape, cuticle removal, hand & arm massage and buff to a high shine. Finishing off with cuticle oil and hydrating hand cream.

Foot Maintenance - (Manly pedicure) Peppermint foot spa exfoliation. Toenails clipped & shaped, cuticles removed, foot & leg massage, finishing with cuticle oil to nourish and protect.

Groom Grooming – For you and your mates to relax, look and feel your best for the big day

Does this trend change what it means to be a man in todays society?

Like the female market, the men’s market is growing increasingly more complex and segmented. But does this era in appearance-awareness showing the beginning of the end of traditional masculinity? What effect will this have on what it means to be a man?

In today’s day and age, many would agree that the myth of the gender gap is far from reality in modern society. With the feminism movement pushing for equal rights and pay for women in the workplace, women have many opportunities available at their disposal and yet the gender gap is still a debated topic in many industries, especially at management level.

Fashion: a gay man’s profession

In fashion and beauty, being a female dominated area, one would seemingly think that women would be paving the way in exemplary career moves but this is not the case, accordingly to reporter Eric Wilson for the New York Times. In now days, writes Eric, fashion “is a gay many’s profession” and women, although making up majority of the fashion consumers, face barriers in career advancement in the creative side.

Men’s average salaries are increasing while women’s are decreasing

Does this argument have any merit? Research conducted by Meetingsnet.com found that the salary gap has grown even wider from 2003 to 2005. Where average salary for males in executive management grew from $99,327 in 2003 to $109,042 in 2005, female counterparts’ salary has decreased from $75,129 in 2003 to $71,561 in 2005.

Research from Fortune also showed that from their top 25 best compensated male executives, the highest earning male topped at $350.7 million annually, whilst from the top 25 female executives, the highest earning woman earned a mere $38.6 million. A gap of $312.1 million.

Men have a quicker rise to stardom

In Eric’s article, knitwear designer Liz Collins quotes “There are some really deep-seated tensions and resentment that has existed for a long time about gender in fashion and who gets things. A lot of those things are not necessarily real, or true, and they may be just suspicions. But you can look at certain examples of people who have had a faster rise to stardom, and the percentage of gay men is higher.”

Men receive more recognition and more publicity

Although difficult to prove true, many females designers believe that several of their male counterparts have been presented with more industry awards and been given more prominent coverage in the media. “The Council of Fashion Designers of America, a trade group that vets those who apply for membership, is made up of 121 women and 156 men. Since 1986 its annual Perry Ellis awards for young talent have been given to 8 women and 29 men (20 of them openly gay),” writes Eric.

Women prioritise their life at home over their career

However, some of the differences in career outcomes for men and women results from different lifestyle choices for each gender. “Women still prioritise getting married and having babies,” says influential fashion designer Norma Kamali. “There are fewer women willing to give up the time that is required for this kind of career. It’s about passion, about being so focused that nothing could distract you.”

Men are more objective, Women are more empathetic

Designer Michael Vollbracht, believes that gay men are simply better at designing for women because their design visions are formed by the fantasy of the ideal women, whereas female designers tend to focus on practicality and are “trapped by their own views of themselves”. However, female designers are quick to argue back that if men are more objective in their designs, women were definitely more empathetic. “I wear my own clothes,” says business owner Dana Buchman. “I have lived the life of my customer.”

Women face barriers that men just don’t face

Jeanine Prime, author of a study on women in the workplace by Catalyst in Eric’s article, says ”We can’t explain the gender gap away by differences in qualifications, ambitions or success strategies. A lot of it still has to do with the perception that women don’t have the right leadership stuff. There are a lot of barriers that men just don’t face.”

Men and women face different lifestyle pressures

For many men, including gay men, it is easier to prioritise their career. They have the pressure of being seen as the ‘bread-maker’ in the family. Naturally, they are determined to advance in their career faster to secure an easy lifestyle for their loved ones. Women, on the other hand, although they can focus all of their energy on their career should they wish to, majority de-prioritise their work once they have had children wanting to become good mothers, and thus there are less women entering management level positions as their careers progress.

Is it a fair comparison? Does it really exist?

Although it is easy to compare pay levels and see a drastic dissimilarities between genders, Is this a fair comparison given the difference in proportions of number of people continually determined advance for each gender?

Magazines have always had a major role in the lives of consumers and marketers. But in this era of new media with so many tactical options at our disposal to entice consumers and such demand for constant reporting, do these big fish still have room in the pond to swim in? Can magazines still provide real value for consumers and companies in such dynamic times?

The need for integrated approaches

According to writers at New Media Knowledge (NMK), both corporates and consumers are looking for integrated approaches. With the rise of accessibility in high speed internet, users can interact and engage with companies on a level that was never possible before. Through flash media, videos, social networks, users can completely surround themselves with the brand to experience it to the fullest.

The rise of online media portals

The internet gives way to other types of magazine content as well: blogs, newsletters, social networks. There is also the rise in Online Magazines available both free and through paid subscriptions and at such a low cost to distribute for publishers.

However, Monique Talbot, chief executive at Tempest Media who manages sales for well-known beauty portal Shesaid.com.au says that although online media is making some progress, it still isn’t recognised by the major companies. “I flick open a glossy and the first 10 pages are these massive advertisers. It drives me crazy, I have 75,000 women on my Shesaid.com.au database, with 15,000-20,000 women opening the newsletter each week, I mean, where do you get that in offline land?”

It is no secret that the sheer accessibility of online media, the speed or distribution, ease of response and higher evaluative methods makes it a lot more attractive to marketers. Online media can provide almost everything that a print magazine can cheaper, faster and to more people.

New media provides engagement in a different way

Although new media is changing consumer attitudes towards magazines, it will not cause the industry to collapse, writes Online Journalism Review. “Instead, innovation in long-form magazine journalism online is coming from the edges, in the shape of thoughtful audio podcasts, on-the-scene video blogs and in the plethora of thoughtful essays on Weblogs maintained in academic and professional realms.”

Media guru Mohammad Jangda also agrees that although online media provides useful sharing tools and increased engagemet through social networks and video content, having digital replicas of print magazines is still not the same as the hard copy experience. An “online magazines do not provide any additional affordances to the user, making it dead experience.”

The Magazine Experience

In fact, the magazine experience is one of the key differentiating factors keeping the industry alive, writes Jason Fell for Folio (print and online publication for the media industry). “The magazine experience is one of the last remaining opportunities to enter a hermetically-sealed world, an edited experience of our culture created by someone else. And, more importantly, it’s an experience that encourages you to stay in it rather than constantly bounce in and out of it.”

Magazine Industry: steady for now but uncertain about the future

According to the MediaPost, almost 80% of people surveyed through their research still subscribe to magazines. However, only 45% believe that newspapers and magazines will still exist in 10 years, with another 40% being uncertain about the future of the print industry. Although magazines may be surviving for now, their continued success will be a struggle. Is the magazine experience simply enough to warrant it to maintain its current status or will see the slow demise of the media giants giving way to new emerging technologies that are faster, more convenient and more connected? Only time will tell.

The beauty industry has always maintained an intimate relationship with the consumer. Even in the tough times of the recession, consumers can’t resist the urge to look and feel their best. In fact, research commissioned by L’Oréal showed that 9 out of 10 women has not made any change in their make up usage despite the economic crisis. However, this does not mean we can sit back and relax. Now more than ever, we need to listen to what our customers are wanting, and yes, their needs are changing.

Why do women buy beauty products?

Reporter Alisa Marie Beyer for the Global Cosmetic Industry writes “contrary to popular thinking, most women seem to feel good about how they look and who they are”. If women already feel good about themselves, why then are they purchasing all these products to change their face and body? According to Alisa it’s to relax and relieve stress. Shopping for beauty products is like an escape from daily life for women where they can solely focus on their needs and making themselves feel better.

How can we market beauty products effectively?

When it comes to our advertisements that try to entice women to connect with our product, 92% of women believe that companies just do not understand them. Women want to see realistic depictions of women like themselves. “Attractive women, women of diversity, a mom, a CEO, a diva, an artist,” says Alisa. “Women also view advertisements as an opportunity to aspire, whether it is a new look, a new way to wear lipstick or a new beauty secret. Women love to look and feel beautiful.”

For those of us who are in need of guidance, Global Cosmetic Industry gives these tips on creating great marketing campaigns for beauty products:

Great advertising does not have to be flashy

A good ad does not need to feature flashy celebs or supermodels. However, it does need to portray your product and brand in a way that is clear and easy to digest. An example of this is adverts by Clinique – although not extravagant, the ads shows off the product and provides information on what the producy actually does.

A great advertisement knows itself

A great ad needs to convey what it is that the brand stands for – this helps consumers relate to the brand and build a connection. Make up product MAC is a good example of this because of their creative advertisements. Although it is not a mainstream product, it shows that the brand is hip, young and innovative.

A great advertisement is easy to understand

Women really want to understand an ad. They buy from brands they understand. No matter how great a product you may have, if your message is not communicated clearly, your customer will not understand nor relate to it. Although Neutrogena (below) was shown to be ‘easy to understand’ by a market study, in 2008, the brand did run into some trouble with the industry watchdog NAD (National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus) for making individual products look like they were the ‘#1 recommended product by dermatologists’, when really it was the brand as a whole.

A great advertisement connects to emotions

It’s a wide known fact (whether we like it or not) that women live in an emotional world and our decisions are primarily driven by what we feel. For a brand, establishing a connection on an emotional level is what can transcend it to becoming part of the consumer’s daily life.

One of my personal favourite brands for doing this is Dove with, first, their infamous Campaign for Real Beauty in 2004 and then their Pro Age Campaign in 2007 which got banned from TV in the US by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for showing too much skin and implying nudity. Despite them being banned, Dove is still one of my top brands as all of their marketing really tries to connect with people. Now, they are even making short films to challenge what the norms really are of beauty – very interesting to watch.

Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty (2004)

Dove Pro Age Campaign (2007) – banned in the USA for showing too much skin

Dove short film on what women’s first impressions are of other women (2009)

Although some would say otherwise, the beauty industry is great industry to be in – you get to make people feel good about themselves, more confident, more relaxed with their appearance and give them the ability to become who they want to be in the eyes of the world. We are very privileged as marketers to be able to connect on such a deep level with people, and it’s a role we should not take for granted or take the easy route out of. By understanding what it is your customer really wants, you can offer them something that is unique and valuable and gain a devoted customer for life.

If you want to know more about beauty marketing, here are some interesting reads:

Living Brands: Where the Future of Beauty Begins
By Raymond Nadeau for Professional Beauty (2008)

In Dove ads, normal is the new beautiful
By Jack Neff for Advertising Age (2004)

Savvy Beauty Marketers Can Thrive in Challenging Times
By Alisa Marie Beyer for Global Cosmetic Industry (2009)