• by Fern Siegel , October 23, 2023

Advertisers often lavish attention and money on Gen Z and millennials, but they may be overlooking a demographic gold mine: Gen X.

Gen X, those born between 1965 and 1980, account for 27% of global spending. And as the older baby-boomer generation dies, Gen X stands to inherit $70 trillion, according to a Wavemaker study reported by Marketing Dive.

Here's the irony: They are not visible in most ads — only 24% of TV ads feature characters over the age of 50, despite the fact Gen X is attuned to social media and TikTok.

Specifically, some 92% of Gen Xers use social media everyday and make up 28% of TikTok’s user base. However, Gen X accounts for only 5% of brand spending on influencer campaigns.

Without precise targeting to Gen X, understanding their needs and buying habits, brands and advertisers are leaving major revenue on the table.

Thirty-one percent of Gen-Xers say improving their mental health/emotional well-being is an area of their focus, according to a recent study by the Collage Group, which ranked 480 brands. Gen X's top brands are Crayola, YouTube, Netflix, Band-Aid, YouTube, Dawn, Amazon, Clorox, Netflix and Snickers.

"Gen X presents a huge opportunity for brands — they’re highly engaged, loyal and wealthy consumers — and shouldn’t be overlooked by advertisers," Zoe Bowen-Jones, senior insight director at Wavemaker, told Marketing Dive. “Our research indicates that Gen X are more brand loyal, have longer attention spans and are more engaged on social media, ultimately proving to be more valuable consumers than their younger counterparts.”