Generation X- (30-50 years)

In order to gather the strongest profile of the demographic of 30-50 years, extensive research was undertaken in which attempts to give a general 'profile' for each individual born at this time.

Within a lecture last week a mention of the Y generation was made. As I had not previously heard of this before I decided to conduct some research into the meaning behind it, and discovered that generations have been classified this way-in order to generalise a bracket of individuals. Following this scheme I looked directly at the groupings for the late 60's to 80's, who turned out to be classified as x generation. Below explores data in which I have uncovered focus specifically at this.

Generation X

Generation X came after the Baby Boomers, and typically covers people born between the mid 1960’s and the early 1980’s. Gen X was shaped by global political events that occurred during this generation’s youth. Events such as The Vietnam War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Cold War, and the Thatcher-era government in the UK were events that helped to shape the culture and upbringing of Generation X. Relative to previous generations, Gen X is more open to diversity and has learnt to embrace differences such as religion, sexual orientation, class, race and ethnicity.

Characteristics: Rebelliousness, independent, entrepreneurial, anti-establishment, skeptical, ecology-minded, anti-consumerist, short attention spans, multi-career minded.

Now in their 30s, 40s and 50's, they represent an affluent demographic that are buying homes earlier and starting families later. This love affair with consumerism stems from a childhood dealing with recession, single-parent households, the Internet, and other personal technology. Consequently, Gen X consumes media differently than earlier generations and presents an interesting dilemma for marketers, mainly because of their transient tastes and lack of identity.

Gen X is made up of poor decision makers; they have few heroes, crave entertainment, and hate yuppies, hippies, and druggies. With a consummate fear of divorce, they are loathed to marry but hold family life dear. They are inspired by nature and want to make a difference, a characteristic that is evident from the huge numbers of entrepreneurs in this group.

Marketing towards generation X:

• Their desire to provide for their families. Whether you’re selling home furnishings, exotic vacations or luxury watches, pitching your products and services as lasting values, once-in-a-lifetime experiences or heirlooms to hand down will resonate with this generation.

• Their desire to play it safe. Worried about crime and climate change, stressed about saving for retirement or leaving a worthy inheritance, Gen Xers are no longer the “extreme” generation of the X Games—they want reassurance and security. Emphasize how your products and services can protect their homes/the planet/their families/their hard-earned money, and you’ll win them over.

• Gen X consumers won't buy a product until they've thoroughly researched it, which often means conducting extensive Internet searches and scouring online review sites and social media networks. They're skeptical about marketing tactics and use their extensive research to avoid being a target. If they're unsure about a product, they won't buy, and they aren't swayed by flashy advertising. Instead, they prefer a clear explanation of a product's benefits.

• Gen X consumers saw the development of computers and the Internet and are quite tech-savvy. They frequently go online to research products, but because this technology was fairly new when they were young, they're also accustomed to traditional advertising such as print, radio and television marketing. While Gen Xers spend a significant amount of time online, for everything from shopping to reading the news to banking, they're also avid readers of newspapers and magazines and regularly tune in to radio and television. In fact, they respond equally well to conventional marketing techniques and to digital media, so you have plenty of opportunities to reach them.

• Members of Generation X value their diversity, independence and eclectic tastes. They favor companies that reflect this diversity and acknowledge that every consumer is different. They don't respond well to companies that use a generic, "one size fits all" approach or that reinforce the status quo or reflect conventional values or stereotypes.

Summary:

As generation X have already lived a substantial part of their life, it is evident that most people at this age have some form of savings. Most have mortgages, and will have completed their payments by the age of 55. Money is a little worry, but people of this demographic feel it important to save, mostly due to the recessions in which they have lived through. As they most likely have children, the future is a prominent factor in which they focus, and thus climate change is more of a concern for them compared to that of a younger generation.  They are also conscious about what they buy, and invest in products in which will last. They also like to be throughly informed about a product before they buy it, to ensure they are making the right decision. These all being factors in which give me a greater understanding about how to target an audience in which has a 20 year age difference to my own. Listed below are solutions/comments to some of the points made above.

-As generation x is much richer than other generations a more costly book would not appear ridiculous, as it is stated that they would prefer a strong durable product rather than that of a product in which will not last the test of time.

-As the X gen also has children, they care greatly about the future of the planet and thus are more likely to buy a book if it is environmentally friendly.

-An insightful blurb would be a good way in which to sway the indecisive generation, in which buys for purpose.

-As this generation invests greatly in the future an intellectual book would be a good stance, as education is a form of investing in your own future.

-It is also stated that this generation is much more likely to use traditional methods to gather information, such as newspapers, and thus books are more likely to be bought by this generation.