Saturday, February 20, 2010

Metrosexual Tweens

The metrosexual revolution is taking hold, among tween boys.

"Masculinity in a Spray Can," Jan Hoffman, New York Times, Sunday Styles, Jan. 31, 2010.

My understanding of metrosexuality is that, in part, it is an effort to get men to purchase as many grooming products as men do currently. Huge profits are at stake. This article seems to indicate that the marketeers have done their job.

Body wash. Face wash. Exfoliator. Exfoliating wash. Body hydrator. Body spray. Deodorant. Shaving cream. Shampoos and conditioner. Hair gel, of course...

many psychologists, parents, market researchers and middle-school principals (with drawers full of confiscated spray cans), report a sharp surge in the last few years of the use of grooming products by tween boys. In a December 2007 report on teenage and tween grooming products, Packaged Facts, a market research firm, projected that worldwide retail sales for boys ages 8 to 19 would be almost $1.9 billion...

Boys themselves, at a younger age, have also become increasingly self-conscious about their appearance and identity...

“More insecurity equals more product need, equals more opportunity for marketers,” said Kit Yarrow, a professor of psychology and marketing at Golden Gate University...

To engage boys, marketers rely less on 30-second TV spots than on interactive Web sites, creating communities of young fans...

What further drives the boys’ rush to the products are girls themselves. Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for the market research firm NPD Group, said that in a recent survey, 41 percent of boys ages 8 to 18 said that one of their best friends was a girl.

“They shop with girls, and girls influence them,” Mr. Cohen said, much as the girls in the hit Nickelodeon tween show “iCarly” hold sway over Freddie, their hapless male buddy...

“Boys are paying attention to personal brands more than ever because it’s too easy to be criticized virally by a girl,” said Pat Fiore, a market consultant for body image products in Morristown, N.J...

With consumer researchers pumping out reports on strategies to attract tween boys — make them feel accepted by peers, yet make them feel like cool individuals — and the success, over all, of the expanding, multibillion dollar male grooming products industry, the market is hardly saturated.