Differentiation in the modern male grooming market

As the female grooming market enters into new stratospheres of evolution, the male grooming market by contrast is still in its infancy. A modest selection of brands litter high street shops and supermarkets and as they grow and evolve in response to demand, competition gets stronger and we’re left questioning how differentiation can be achieved.

For female brands in the grooming market there is a great deal of emotion, sensuality and freshness. More pampering than cleansing. But for men, naturally, ‘pampering’ isn’t something that they readily can relate to as an attitude. There is a lot of stigmatism in the male grooming market around using the same attitudes and language as women because that’s not what they see themselves as doing. This is why for a lot of brands in the male market, they take on the attitudes and language used in the female market and turn them on their heads. It’s time to reinvent to be relevant. Brands like Nivea embrace words like ‘refuel’ rather than ‘moisturise’ – giving a common behaviour a distinctly masculine edge to quash any stigmatism. A brand like Nivea is in a way helping to shape the market, by giving it a language that is ownable.

However, this isn’t always the case. Some brands embrace the love of moisturizing, the care and attention of cleansing. Dove now operates in both male and female grooming markets. The female proposition ‘Real Beauty’ is highly emotive and commands dynamic feminist respect. However, when thinking about translating this idea into a male market, there are a few stumbling blocks. Dove’s men’s brand Dove + Care, uses a ‘mathsified’ approach to remain as down to earth as its female counterpart, yet giving it a slightly analytical masculine charm. The language use is no different. Dove embraces moisturising in both markets and I think it’s a bold choice. For the older generation, who understand the importance of good ingredients and the benefits of their routine, don’t really need it to be packaged up in the pomp and circumstance of younger, brash brands that feel the stigma and want rid.

Yet, for those younger, brash brands such as Gillette and Lynx, is it all about a fresh language approach? Younger brands do their part in making male grooming into something that not only empowers men, it exaggerates their masculinity. And the most important benefit of this exaggeration is to attract the opposite sex. It is about differentiating on tone of voice – both heavily masculine, but with Lynx adopting a cheeky attitude and Gillette focused on power and performance. If there were ever any reasons to think cleansing, smelling nice and hair removal is just for girls – well, not any more. This is a man’s game – and it is serious. Lynx is like lager. Gillette is like the sports car. And they’re both playing to win.