The modern world has millions of men aged between 25-39. They are decision makers and trend setters, they create and they consume, they cross boundaries and define nations. The aim of this project has been to get under the skin of this to reach the demographic.

To deliver this unprecedented piece of research Discovery worked with more than 12,000 men (25-39 year olds) in 15 countries, and consulted some of the world’s leading experts in male behaviour, including journalists, marketers and sociologists.To launch the research, Species: a Users Guide to Young Men, each market used a different combination of tactics which would work best for them, from press conferences, events and roundtables through to set-piece stunts. Across 15 countries we organised 7 press conferences and 12 speaker opportunities.

Discovery Networks EMEA enlisted our agency to help publicise a unique research project designed to demonstrate Discovery’s expertise in understanding and communicating with this age group.Discovery’s aim was to get under the skin of this hard-to-reach demographic, to understand their hopes and fears, what motivates them and what they aspire to. We wanted to move beyond myth and hype, to get into the hearts and minds of young men and to uncover the real story. By creating this unique and thought-provoking content, we aimed to strongly associate the Discovery Channel with the understanding of, and engagement with, young men.

The vast amount of data collected was distilled into a book, Species: A User’s Guide to Young Men, published in September 2008. Discovery then analysed all the data to find one strong hook which would play across all the EMEA regions and developed a PR programme centred on the idea that modern men are more complex than ever before and face a huge challenge in balancing the conflicting roles of employee, friend, lover, father or son. Using this as our lead angle, we then centrally co-ordinated a synchronised launch across 12 countries in EMEA. We worked closely with each market to analyse the data available to identify the strongest media angles, develop press materials and create a programme of launch activity tailored to their market. Whilst the programme focused on consumer lifestyle press, we also targeted key trade and national media with a view to selling Discovery Channel’s understanding and engagement with young men to advertisers. We created stories based around the new Discovery Media Planning tool. This new model uses the Species research to identify the most appropriate type of young men to target and by doing so create messages in the right tone using the right media vehicle to speak to them more directly than ever before, adding powerful value for advertisers.

In total, we generated almost 660 articles of coverage across the EMEA region. Over 99% of articles were favourable in tone to the research and towards the Discovery brand and nearly 70% of articles delivered at least one pre-agreed key message. We achieved widespread coverage in national and lifestyle media including FHM, El Mundo and Panorama.

The launch generated over €6.5 million in PR coverage (AVE €2,179,887) and an ROI of 1,550 opportunities to see per €1 spent.

Discovery worked with a specialist research house to reach out to every corner of Europe, encompassing 15 markets to cover the full spectrum of cultures and lifestyles - from Sweden to Romania, from Russia to France. Over 12,000 young men were consulted and more than 50 experts brought their knowledge and experience of every aspect of young men’s lives to bear on the study. These included academics, economists and social commentators.

From an astonishing range of modern masculinities the 12 months of research revealed 18 significant ‘life issues’ that pre-occupied the young men we spoke to, no matter what their economic and cultural backgrounds. This included areas such as health (the more hype about a healthy life there is, the harder it is to live one); the workplace (a hostile jungle made even more threatening by the increasing presence of the female of the species); and self-image (does a six-pack, a fat wallet or a good heart make a modern man?)

Metrosexuals or Retrosexuals? New Men or New Lads? Victims or Villains? The media is quick to fall back on clichés describing young men – and most of them are less than flattering. To what extent do these stereotypes paint a true picture of Europe’s young men? And what does this mean for those in the media who want to communicate with them?These are vital questions. After all, for advertisers this is a much sought after group. For Discovery Networks EMEA, men aged 25-39 form a core target audience for our output, and because of this Discovery wants to be viewed as the leading authority and ‘channel of choice’ for viewers and advertising partners wishing to target men aged 25-39 across EMEA.