March 16, 2006, Appleton Post Crescent
By Kathy Fredrickson
iMark Consulting - President
Generation X Overlooked By Marketers; Don't Miss Out
We’ve heard a lot of press lately about the oldest boomers turning 60. Did you also know the youngest Gen Xers turn 30 this year? For those of us born between 1965 and 1976, this is very sobering news. Bicentennial babies aren’t spring chickens anymore.
Gen Xers have entered a new era. The news probably won’t make the cover of Time magazine, but the signs are out there marketers are missing the boat. Green Day won a Grammy for album of the year. The music industry, clearly focused on the younger audiences, stated they are “not bad for an aging alternative band”. Just because Gen Xers are pushing strollers instead of pushing through mosh pits doesn’t mean we are too old to rock. Boomers and their bands have dispelled that notion very well.
Some companies are realizing Gen X is no longer the cynical group wearing flannel and screaming about emotional angst. Unfortunately, they aren’t letting us ease into becoming as my mother says, “summer chickens.” I recently saw a consumer product spokeswoman proudly say she enjoys looking like she did when Ralph Macchio was cool. Don’t remind us that was over twenty years ago. We’re not ready for that. Gen Xers can get enough of a reality pill by just asking an incoming college freshman when they were born. If they’re coming right from high school, the answer is most likely 1986 or 1987. They don’t know the theme song from the Cosby show because they were in diapers. And don’t ask them about Madonna, either. To them, she’s a middle-aged pop icon, living in Great Britain with her husband and two kids.
Shear numbers is the reason Gen Xer milestones are easily overlooked. There are about 44.9 million Gen Xers, compared to 77.4 million Baby Boomers and 70.7 million Gen Y. Gen X should be called the sandwich generation, outnumbered four to one by those younger and older.
In the coming years, marketers will be challenged to emotionally connect with three very different generational groups. Economics will dictate most of the attention will be spent on Boomers and Y. Will Gen Xers receive adequate attention, or be delivered a watered down version of marketing meant for another group?
For those who want to connect with Gen X in an honest manner, creating a message around their values is a good place to start. Here are a few examples:
Time is Money – To a Boomer, money means power. The more you work, the more you make. For Gen X, time is money. The more time you have to spend with friends and family, the richer you feel.
A Career is a Journey – Many of the jobs to be had for Gen X college graduates in the late eighties and early nineties were in small business. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive in Gen Xers who have taken control of their own destiny by defining success on their own terms. Marketers should highlight and honor the creative decisions Gen Xers have made with regard to their careers.
Low Budget Luxe – A Gen Xer purchases a leather couch on close out and is proud to tell everyone who stops by their home. A Boomer finds more satisfaction in knowing they can afford a luxury item like a leather couch. One generation is focused on getting a great deal, the other values the prestige associated with having money to spend.
So, the next time you talk with a Gen Xer, don’t remind us our 20th high school reunion is around the corner or laugh at the way we looked in our yearbooks. We still have got what it takes to rock with the best of them, even if we smother a little anti-aging cream on before we go out.
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