New research from the Guardian and media agency Initiative says Generation X holds at least a third of UK household wealth, yet only 12% feel consistently well represented in advertising. For anyone selling to people in their late forties and fifties, whether that is a January sale, a ringside table or a claims service, it is a prompt to check who your media plan is really reaching.
What’s happened
On 5 November Guardian Advertising and Initiative UK published Generation Remix: Meet gen X in midlife, a study of people born between 1965 and 1980, who are now aged 46 to 61. It is based on an online survey of 2,900 people, 2,000 of them Gen X, plus 14 in-depth interviews. The headline finding is a mismatch: the report says Gen X makes up 26% of the population and, citing Touchpoints data, holds at least a third of household wealth, but only 12% feel consistently well represented in advertising. It also describes a generation squeezed from both sides, with 34% of those who have children under 18 also caring for ageing parents, and only 30% believing they are wealthier than their own parents.
Why it matters to auction houses, promoters and specialist firms
We’d read this with one eye on who paid for it. The Guardian sells advertising, and the same release points out that 46% of Gen X are Guardian readers, so this is a sales argument as well as a piece of research. But the central point matches what we see in our clients’ results. People in this age band are the ones bidding in the saleroom and deciding what happens to a parent’s collection, buying the hospitality table as well as the ticket, and running the small firms that buy from other small firms.
What the report doesn’t tell you is where to find them. There is nothing in the release on which stations they listen to, which papers they read or what they watch, and that is the part that decides whether a campaign works. It is also where plans drift. Automated digital buying tends to chase whoever is cheapest to reach, which is not always the person with the money, and the standard industry age breaks of 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 cut straight through a generation that runs from 46 to 61. A plan can look sensibly targeted on paper and still put most of its weight either side of the people you want.
This is the work we do for clients before any money is spent. We pull the audience profile for every station, title and poster site on a plan, using RAJAR for radio, PAMCo for published media and Route for outdoor, and we ask the sales houses for their own profile data where the industry figures stop. Then we rebuild the schedule around the places where this age group is concentrated and negotiate late space in those specific slots, so the budget goes on the right audience at a late-space price, not on a broad package at rate card.
What we’d do
First, check the age profile of what you’re already buying. Ask every media owner on your plan what share of their audience is aged 45 to 64, and compare the answers. We do this as a matter of routine, and it often moves money between two stations or two titles that looked interchangeable.
Second, treat “Gen X” as a starting point, not a target audience. Roughly a quarter of the population is not a niche, and the report itself stresses how varied the group is: 64% say they are open to change or reinventing their lives. Narrow it by geography, interest and means the way you would any other audience. A regional saleroom wants collectors within driving distance, not every 50-year-old in the country.
Third, book late and be specific. News brands, commercial radio and roadside posters all have unsold space in the days before deadline, and the discount is the same whoever the audience is. Knowing exactly which slots carry your buyers means we can move on the right ones when the price drops, which matters now that January sales and new-year campaigns are being planned.
How VCM can help
We plan and buy media for businesses whose best customers are in exactly this age group, and we put them in front of those customers at late-space prices. Have a look at our print advertising service, then get in touch on 0333 577 1848 or at James@vcmweb.co.uk. Send us your current plan and we’ll tell you who it is really reaching and what it should cost right now, no obligation.
