A version of this article was originally posted on MediaPost
By: Carl Mayer, VP, Content Strategy & Planning, AMS
For most of its adult existence, Generation X has had a rougher go of it than Baby Boomers. Where Boomers had post-war prosperity, psychedelics, and Woodstock… we got financial crises, “Just Say No,” and Woodstock ’94. And monetarily, we’ve never done as well as them. Student debt, stagnant wages, and declining median wealth have hindered Gen X while Boomers’ property values and stock portfolios continue to appreciate.
Source: Federal Reserve Data as visualized by Visual Capitalist; 2025 projections from Investopedia
Things are changing, however, and Gen X is about to come into its financial own. The Great Wealth Transfer is happening, and over the next ten years, Gen X is projected to have another $14 trillion coming our way in the form of inheritances and asset transfers. We’ll finally have a little economic breathing room, and marketers need to figure out how to sell to us when we’re ready to spend.
I’d like to humbly offer a few suggestions to marketers looking to reach us effectively:
We grew up during the rise of mass media and have been exposed to every gimmick advertisers can think of. We’re skeptical, often cynical, and value trust and transparency in brands. Keep your messaging honest, with real customer stories and clear product benefits. Partnership with Gen X influencers (and I assure you they do exist) can be instrumental, as they speak the language of the generation and its shared history, and have earned their audiences’ trust.
Generation X is not a monolith. It includes people born between 1965 and 1980, and someone turning 60 in 2025 has very different needs than a 45-year-old with a child in middle school. Even within age groups, there is great variance. I’m 49, married, and have a third-grader, while many people my age have kids in college. Our lives are not the same, and neither are our consumer profiles.
Customize your messaging and media selection to speak to different life events, behavioral triggers, and financial strata. For instance, a financial services company should target college saving tools to parents of teenagers and retirement funding to empty nesters—both segments can fall within the same generation.
Xers look back at their youth in a much different way than Baby Boomers. For one thing, they were inclusive with their pop culture: “Oh, you like the Beatles? Fantastic! What’s your favorite album?” We’re a lot more gatekeepy: “Nice Nirvana shirt. Can you even name three of their songs?”
Nostalgia can be powerful when it doesn’t come off as pandering. For better or worse, we are protective and proprietary of our cultural totems and simply having a Speak & Spell in your ad isn’t good enough. Tie your nostalgic cues to relevant solutions.—like this Uber Eats Super Bowl spot, which combines the convenience of food delivery, the importance of supporting local businesses, and the fun of (a suspiciously tight-faced) Wayne and Garth.
There are others, but I need to go hassle some twenty-something in a Misfits tee.
I’ll leave you with this: Generation X currently holds $42 trillion in collective net worth, a figure that will grow significantly in the coming years. Our reputation for being cynical and suspicious is, overall, pretty accurate (and well-earned). Marketing to us will require honesty and relevance, without gimmicks.
