The agency, called No Man’s Land, will aim to improve understanding of modern-day masculinity for brands, government and the third sector, according to a LinkedIn post by The Outsiders managing director and owner Steven Lacey.

No Man’s Land will use mixed methodologies in its research, including expert interviews with more than 200 global specialists in masculinity, ethnography, semiotics and traditional qualitative research.

The company said it would seek to avoid using simplified labels, going beyond ‘toxic masculinity’ or ‘progressive versus traditional’ definitions, and will consider the collective, focusing on the universal drivers without ‘losing sight of the individual and their vast array of differences’.

The Outsiders works globally and has experience in more than 60 markets, including Argentina, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, Poland, France, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and the US.

Lacey, who will be managing director at No Man’s Land, said: “From countless research projects with men we have noticed that men often don’t know how to navigate an ever increasingly complicated world. The downsides of this range from supporting Andrew Tate, mental health issues through to suicide.

“Our global expert community combined with our qualitative experience means we can provide guidance to brands, third sector and government on how to understand differences, commonalities between men and develop insights that will make a difference.”