Research (July 2010)
Introduction
Bauer Media’s London Lifestyle Insight team has created a unique year-long research study – 4D Men – which was designed to throw new light on men's motivations, needs and pressures today. The study gathered insight through focus groups, online blogs, video diaries and Bauer Media’s ongoing men's brand tracking study. Several recurring themes arose which were then examined further with leading academics in the areas of evolutionary psychology, sociology and media studies to provide a clearer picture of the social context and pressures on young men in the UK today.
Social Context:
Over the past 50 years there has been an increasing gender crisis which is affecting the way that men view their identities and masculinity. Men are drawing out their youth (no longer is it the norm to be settled with kids by your mid-20s) which means they have more time to consider their masculinity. They are faced with a plethora of choices about what sort of man they should be. This had lead to a new sense of ‘mixing & matching’ different aspect to create one’s own male identity.
Evolution & Man-Made Identity
Various incarnations of masculinity have emerged since the 1980s – the New Man in the late 80s/90s which was overtaken by the Lad Culture and more recently the emergence of Metrosexuality.
This has shifted again with the beginnings of a backlash against Metrosexuality & a return to retrograde hypermasculinity in popular culture men find it harder to live up to an idealised masculine role. Although this can be confusing to men they are increasingly facing these choices with more confidence and taking control by customising their identities.
Men pursue interests to give themselves a sense of excellence and to live out their identity. Hobbies and specialist interests are one way that men can take control and order things in an attempt to work through the idea of masculinity in crisis. They are also a way of sharing and communicating with other men.
Media
Men are at the centre of a fast-moving, complex, diverse media storm which reflects the complexity of their lives. As individuals are becoming more diverse this is leading to revival of lifestyle media where they can get everything in once place.
Magazines are consumed by men as a pleasurable treat that can reflect an individual’s interests and identity. They can also reflect some of the multiplicity of men’s lives with general lifestyle magazines offering a more rounded experience that can sit alongside more niche interests that they also pursue.
Media consumption is generally plural with people constantly adding new platforms & sources of media to their lives not replacing one with the other. Opportunities are there for both niche & lifestyle media to fit into men’s increasingly complex lives.
4D Men
The Bauer Media research with consumers & academics brought to life a new evolving multidimensional male attitude which has been named 4D Men who needs to know ‘something about everything and everything about something’
4D Men Characteristics
- Men are increasingly DIAGNOSTIC: Men are drawing out their youth – this means that they the TIME to consider their masculinity & to think about their role.
- They are more DIVERSE: This is the ‘something about everything’ dimension where they can build a mosaic identity.
- They demand DEPTH: That is ‘everything about something’ – it is easier than ever to be an expert in whatever you choose
- They are DYNAMIC: They are active participants not just passive bystanders.
Although men are cherry-picking elements to define themselves in a contemporary way, this is not at the expense of enduring aspects of male identity which still underpin their behaviour such as sex, speed, sport, success, self-interest.
The Rise of 4D Men
Further analysis was done using TGI/Touchpoints fused with Bauer own national representative study of 1,500 15-40 men which identified 6 clusters of men:
Little Big Man: Flash, Blokey, Impressionable
Cinderella Man: Extended Adolescence, In-waiting, Unfocussed
A Single Man: Impulsive, Carefree, Holding back the years
Marathon Man: Progressive, Health-conscious, Discerning
Anchor Man: Friends/family focus, Trying to be healthy, Good bloke
A Man For All Seasons: Modern, Engaged, Rounded
These 2010 clusters were compared with clusters from 2001 TGI segmentation which showed that there has been a marked shift in attitudes towards the worldviews of the 4D men (especially within the Marathon Man, Anchor Man & A Man for All Seasons clusters). They are influential consumers and there are nearly 5 million of them. These men are heavy consumers of Bauer brands. Magazines like Car, Empire, Q & Mojo meet the specialist/depth requirements of this audience whilst our general entertainment brand FHM delivers the ‘something about everything’ requirement.
4D Men & Media Consumption
- In terms of media consumption, there is a journey from gaining information to becoming an expert to using this knowledge as social currency and cultural capital.
- Strong trusted media brands play a key role in this journey as they help navigate a complex world where the pressure is on to know stuff . . . Media is used to make men more 4D
Role of Magazines in Media Landscape
- Magazines inhabit a unique emotional space close to treat/reward but also trusted advice, ideas of what to buy, something to talk about, stimulating imagination
- There is a relationship between the key roles that magazines play around emotional connection, authority, social currency, self-enhancement, status & trust which consumers linked to how influential magazines can be in their lives.
Summary
- This study identified a shift towards a more mosaic view of masculinity that we have called 4D Men – Diagnostic, Diverse, Dynamic with Depth
- This shift in underpinned by some enduring drivers of male behaviour – sex, speed, sport, success
- 4D Men also have a mosaic approach to media consumption within which magazines have a clearly defined and influential role
- Bauer Media’s men’s portfolio is uniquely positioned to meet both the generalist and specialist needs of 4D men and plays an influential role in their lives – making them more 4D
Methodology & Sources
- Focus groups, blogs & video diaries with c. 60 15-35 men
- Interviews with academics: Simon Hampton: Lecturer in Psychology, University of East Anglia; Caroline Bainbridge: Reader in Visual Culture, Roehampton University; Charlie Beckett: Director of POLIS (journalism and society think tank, joint initiative from LSE and The London College of Communication)
- Bauer Media’s nationally representative tracking study with 1,500 15-40 men
- TGI/Touchpoints analysis
