Men: Breaking down or breaking through? A report from New Macho
Men are changing, but are brands keeping up? Across the developed world men are in crisis, uncertain of their identity and struggling to find their place in society. Traditional ideas of masculinity have given way with little new to replace them.
New Macho whitepaper
New Macho, a strategic unit within BBD Perfect Storm, makes the case for brands to bear some responsibility for the current state of men.
Brands influence society, they get people to buy products, and also to buy a way of looking at the world. Modern societies can be bewilderingly complex and fast-moving; and advertising is one way that people understand its norms, rules, and codes of behaviour. So, brands don’t just reflect what’s going on, they shape it.
New Macho is devoted to helping brands grow through developing a relevant narrative in a society where men’s beliefs, values, and perspectives are fundamentally changing.
In order to give brands new insights on how to influence the shape of modern masculinity, we all need to understand modern men better. Instead of relying on assumptions and guesswork, the agency commissioned a piece of research to help it get under the skin of men today.
The research wanted to know where men are, and where they are going; what they feel is important to them, and what they worry about; what they aspire to, and what they want to leave behind. The agency also spoke to women, since male and female attitudes form a symbiotic relationship with each other.
The piece of research asked 2000 UK adults in-depth questions about what it means to be a successful man today. The respondents come from all corners of the UK and spanned different social classes and age groups.
The findings are very surprising.
Download the whitepaper below.