Gen X is known as “the forgotten generation,” and that appears to apply to the way they are treated by marketers: New research from Curion Insights reveals that 93% of Gen Xers feel “brand messaging misses them entirely.”
The study surveyed 7,000 Americans aged 50 and up to see what they thought of the advertising messages targeted toward them.
Most respondents (which include members of Gen X and Baby Boomers) believed that brands “focus too heavily on younger audiences,” while just 6.5% said marketing geared toward 50+ consumers “feels authentically designed for people like them.”
But Curion’s research also revealed that close to half of adults aged 50 and up are the final household decision makers in just about every major consumer product category, including clothing, household goods, and food and beverages. Not to mention, they represent trillions of dollars in spending power.
“The majority of [fifty-somethings] are still out and about, meeting for dinner or drinks, or buying clothes,” Curion vp of strategic insights Maureen Moran Evans told ADWEEK. Where marketers get it wrong is thinking that “after a certain age, it’s not sexy anymore to think that we’re doing that.”
Evans said there are a variety of reasons marketers might overlook or stereotype older consumers, including a preoccupation with luring younger shoppers and a shift toward influencer-led marketing.
She also suggested that a disproportionate representation of younger people in the advertising industry—“kids right out of school or in their 30s”—explains a lot, too. According to data from Dallas Innovates, only 12% of advertising professionals are between the ages of 55 and 65, while those aged 25 to 44 make up over half.
This misalignment results in Gen X being over-targeted with ads for things like reverse mortgages, nighttime incontinence, and hearing aids. There was even a soap that promised: “Bye bye old person smell.” Evans’ personal favorite is the pharma ad showing “a person with diabetes dancing around in a fountain.”
As funny as these ads can be, brands are leaving serious money on the table by failing to reach a consumer group with significant spending power. That’s especially true when it comes to Gen X, a cohort frequently—and unsuitably—lumped in with boomers.
