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Gen X America’s most influential generation

Marketers are quick to take aim at Boomers and Millennials when it comes to informing consumers on the latest trends. Increasingly, Generation X is left at the wayside.

Boomers

Millennials

Boomers

Millennials

“Part of the reason marketers aren't interested in Gen Xers is because they're a bridge generation between Millennials and Boomers.”

- Managing Director, The Boston Consulting Group, Aug 2015

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America’s neglected middle child

Gen X

Gen X today

Source: Simmons Summer 2015 NHCS Adult Survey / Shullman Pulse study 2014 / Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015 / Census bureau 2014 / comScore plan metrix december 2015

81M+ Adults 35-54

Influential & informed consumers

13.5 Million posted ratings or reviews.

21.8 Million paid attention to ratings and reviews.

Median income by age of householders

25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

$54.2k $66.7k $70.8k

$60.6k

$37k

More spending power

•  29% of estimated net worth dollars •  31% of total income dollars

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Gen X today

Source: Simmons Summer 2015 NHCS Adult Survey / Shullman Pulse study 2014 / Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015

Innovators & Disruptors

Resilient & Imaginative

Influential Yet Overlooked

“My generation is when it all started happening…We are behind so many innovations that had never

been seen or thought of before. The younger generation has taken that and they’re certainly

expanding it and growing in different directions. But we were the core of where it came from, where

it started.”

- Female, 49

“You always hear of baby boomers. I don't ever hear anything about generation X. And that's just

the truth. I'm like, we have to be what? 50, 60 years old before you talk about generation X?” It’s the

lost generation. It's forgotten about.”

- Female, 43

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Methodology

Literature audit

Expert interviews

Cultural/trend research for Gen X

Consumer in-depth-interviews 15 in-depth-interviews with M/F Gen Xers Ages 36-50

Quantitative study Survey among 853 Adults 35-54 in November 2015

Partnerships Yahoo partnered with Brand & Strategy Firm Audience Theory and Ipsos

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Agenda Macro shifts,

emotional drivers &

emerging trends

1

Creative strategy for a stronger

connection

3

Key insights & implications

4

Relationship to tech, content &

brands

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Macro Shifts & Trends Shaping Gen X Attitudes & Behavior

New Economic Realities Lifestage Surprises Neurological

Changes

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Vanishing Middle Class, the Price of Privilege, and Work-Life Balance New Economic Realities

New Economic Realities

Sources: Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015 - Yahoo/Ipsos Gen X Survey: Adults 35-54 n= 853, Adults 18-34 n=753, Adults 55-64 n=399 9

Vanishing Middle Class, New Benchmarks and the Price of Privilege

22% 40%

54%

44%

23% 15%

2008 2015

Fewer Americans self-identity as “middle class”

Class “I” Identify with…

Lower

Middle

Upper/upper middle class

100%

50%

0%

of Gen X Feel they are Part of the “Vanishing” Middle Class (vs. 41%

for Millennials and 55% for Boomers)

51%

New Economic Realities


Vanishing Middle Class, New Benchmarks and the Price of Privilege

“We remind our daughter that she's very fortunate with two parents in the household and both working. We're able to give her what I think is a much better life than her father and I had as kids at that age.”

- Female, 46

82% of Gen X think it is important to instill some sort of financial understanding into their kid(s) (vs. 77% for Millennials and 80% for Boomers)

46% of Gen X worry that their kids are spoiled (vs. 33% for Boomers and 41% for Millennials)

THEIR WORRIES AS PARENTS

FINANCIAL EDUCATION

Trends

Sources: Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015 - Yahoo/Ipsos Gen X Survey: Adults 35-54 n= 853, Adults 18-34 n=753, Adults 55-64 n=399 / Sage Stage of the Startup, 2015 / WSJ May 2015 11

Bootstrap Ambitions

31% of Gen Xers consider themselves ‘entrepreneurial’ (33% for younger Gen X 35-44 vs. 28% for older Gen X 45-54)

Over 1 in 4 Gen Xers have already started their own business/have taken active steps towards starting one (29% for Men Gen X vs. 23% for Women Gen X)

Gen X: 55%

Boomers: 29%

Millennials: 17%

vs.

Gen Xers make up the highest percentage of startup founders

Trends


Generational Workplace “Throwdowns”

68% of Gen Xers think they work a lot harder

than the Millennial generation

38% of Millennials think their generation works

harder than older generations

Over 1 in 3 Gen Xers find it difficult to work with younger generations, like Millennials

“I give Millennials I work with deadlines, and they don’t follow deadlines. It’s not about your timeframe, it’s the company’s timeframe.”

- Female, 50

“Many exhibit an entitled mind set and a lack of work ethic or boundaries.”

- Female, 37

Trends

Sources: Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015 - Yahoo/Ipsos Gen X Survey: Adults 35-54 n= 853, Adults 18-34 n=753, Adults 55-64 n=399 / WSJ May 2015 13

“Balance” Pursuits: Well-Balanced Careers, Balanced Kids

Gen X parents are less likely than Millennials to increase the amount they work after having children.

13% of Gen X vs. 26% of Millennials said they increased the amount of time they worked after having kids.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE IS IMPORTANT 77% Gen Xers

81% Gen Xers parents

Mid-Life Surprises & Sandwich Effects Lifestage Responsibilities

Lifestage Responsibilities

Sources: Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015 - Yahoo/Ipsos Gen X Survey: Adults 35-54 n= 853, Adults 18-34 n=753, Adults 55-64 n=399 / PEW Research 15

Mid-Life Surprises & Sandwich Effects

Provide financial assistance to elderly parent who needs it

75%

23%

% of all adults saying they…

Not a responsibility Is a responsibility

“In my family, it was always understood that I would be looking out for my parents, taking care of them to a degree. I always felt that was going to be my responsibility in the back of my mind.”

- Female, 48

First Generation Duties

61% of Gen Xers feel it is (or will be) their responsibility to take care of their aging parents

Senior Care

Lifestage Responsibilities

Sources: Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015 - Yahoo/Ipsos Gen X Survey: Adults 35-54 n= 853, Adults 18-34 n=753, Adults 55-64 n=399 / PEW Research 16

Mid-Life Surprises & Sandwich Effects

Provide financial assistance to adult child who needs it

52%

44%

Nearly half (47%) of adults in their 40s and 50s have a parent age 65 or older and are either raising a young child or financially supporting a grown child (age 18 or older).

% of all parents saying they …

Not a responsibility Is a responsibility

1 in 3 Gen X parents feel the pressure of raising kids while looking after older parent(s)

Senior Care + Child Care

Trends

Sources: Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015 - Yahoo/Ipsos Gen X Survey: Adults 35-54 n= 853, Adults 18-34 n=753, Adults 55-64 n=399 / eMarketer June 2015 17

Digital Spy Skills Wanted

41% of Gen X Parents believe their kids can circumvent online parental controls they have put on the device(s) they use (vs. 37% for Millennials)

NOT CHILD PROOF

54% of Gen X Parents believe their kids are more tech savvy than they are (vs. 33% for Millennials)

LESS TECH SAVVY

67% of Gen X Parents are concerned about their child(ren)'s online safety (70% for younger Gen X 35-44 vs. 62% for older Gen X 45-54)

ONLINE SAFETY

“Once you labor all your life, you should have the ‘sunset years.’ That's the time where you can bask in the rays of your success. You can enjoy life. If you want to do nothing, you do nothing.”

- Male, 46

Over half Gen Xers fantasize about just having a day/evening to just do nothing à 58% for Gen X parents vs. 47% for Gen X non parents (vs. 62% for Millennials and 40% for Boomers)

Trends


The Fantasy of Doing Nothing

Reconciling the middle age brain & body Neurological and Body Changes

Neurological and Body Changes

Sources: Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015 – Yahoo/Nielsen Biometric Day in the Life November 2015 20

Reconciling the middle age brain

Features of the middle age brain

Highly distractible

Distraction

Better at complicated concepts like finances

and assessing risk

Concepts

Worse at retrieving memories

Memories

Trends

Sources: Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015 – Yahoo/Nielsen Biometric Day in the Life November 2015 21

Learning to Multitask

Gen X are more likely to multitask during primetime,

but are less proficient at it than Millennials.

Driven to multi-task but not as good at it

Multitasking during prime time (7pm-10pm)

Millennials 8.7 switches per hour

Gen X 9.2 switches per hour

Emotional response during prime time (7pm-10pm)

64% 53%

32% 40% 32% 32% 29% N/A

TV + Laptop TV + Phone Laptop + Phone All 3

Gen X Millennials

Trends

Sources: Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015 - Yahoo/Ipsos Gen X Survey: Adults 35-54 n= 853, Adults 18-34 n=753, Adults 55-64 n=399 / Yahoo/Nielsen Biometric Day in the Life November 2015 22

TV as Family Bonding

84%

of Gen Xers use 2+ devices during primetime

43% of Gen Xers say they have an Internet enabled TV

71% of Gen Xers say their family watch Shows/Movies at home as bonding time

2 in 5 Gen Xers say make-overs

make them feel better about themselves

1 in 10 Gen Xers reinvented their

personal style in the past 3 years (vs. 25% for Millennials

and 4% for Boomers)

Nearly half of Gen Xers have a positive

self-body image

Finding Your Look

71% of Gen Xers try to exercise their brain as well as their

body (vs. 66% for Millennials)

1 in 4 Gen Xers have taken up

regular exercise in the past 3 years

Exercise for Brain vs. Body

17% of Gen Xers experienced a

health “wake-up” call in the past 3 years (14% for younger Gen X 35-44 vs. 20% for older

Gen X 45-54)

Wake-Up Calls & Body Betrayals

36% of Gen Xers say they are

obsessed with preventing ill health in the future

59%

of Gen X say they'll adopt wearable fitness technology

within five years. - PC World, 2014

Obsession with Prevention

Trends Health & Beauty

Sources: Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015 - Yahoo/Ipsos Gen X Survey: Adults 35-54 n= 853, Adults 18-34 n=753, Adults 55-64 n=399 / PC World 2014 23

How to Make the Connection Relationship to Tech, Content & Brands

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High Content Engagement

Sources: Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015 - Yahoo/Ipsos Gen X Survey: Adults 35-54 n= 853 / Yahoo Content Consumption and Receptivity, December 2015 25

52% 51% 39% 34% News Weather Music Food & Cooking

30% 25% 22% 22% Sports Health & Wellness Technology Travel

42%

55%

41%

54%

57%

19%

39%

26%

28%

26%

26%

20%

29%

11%

19%

19%

Adults 35-54 consume nearly seven content topics each month on average

Top topics of online content consumed in past month (using any device)

Gen X vs.

Boomers Millennials

High Mobile Engagement

Source: Flurry by Yahoo Analytics, mapped devices only, May 2015 / eMarketer 2015

Users 35-54 time of day usage per category | Indexed vs. General Population

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NIGHT DAY

News & Magazines, 149 Health & Fitness, 145 Lifestyle & Shopping, 119 Music, Media, & Ent, 116 Games, 114 Messaging & Social, 106

7AM - 10AM

News & Magazine, 111 Lifestyle & Shopping, 108

11AM – 2PM

Lifestyle & Shopping, 109 3PM – 6PM

Sports, 106 Games, 103

7PM – 10PM

Music, Media, & Ent, 117 Utilities & Productivity, 107

11PM – 6AM

79% of Gen X are smartphone

users vs. 84% of Millennials

56%

52%

52%

64%

63%

57%

High Social Engagement with Content

Sources: Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015 - Yahoo/Ipsos Gen X Survey: Adults 35-54 Social media users n= 704, Adults 18-34 Social media users n=698 / comScore december 2015

Entertainment/relaxation

Connection

Learn

Nearly 1 in 3 Gen Xers consume content posted by brands or companies

Reasons to use Social Media Men Women

Nearly 80 Million Gen Xers visited a Social Media site last month

What are they doing when using Social Media

Consume content

Share/repost content posted/created by others

Create, publish or share their own content

75% 43% 32%

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Researchologists & Reviewers

Top product categories researched online by Gen X in the past month:

Clothing or apparel 37%

Electronics 32%

Entertainment items 26%

Food or Beverages 26%

Travel 24%

Music 24%

Books or magazines 22%

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Researchologists

Sources: Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015 - Yahoo/Ipsos Gen X Survey: Adults 35-54 n= 853, Adults 18-34 n=753, Adults 55-64 n=399

Nearly 8 in 10 Gen Xers researched products online in the past month

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Gen Xers’ Thoughts On Ads Targeting Them Gen X Millennials Boomers

I feel like my generation is often forgotten about, by advertisers 25% 24% 21%

It’s about time advertisers recognized that my generation shops too 34% 34% 32%

I am more likely to click on an ad aimed specifically at my generation 30% 37% 23%

I am more likely to purchase a product from a brand whose ad is targeted specifically at my generation 27% 34% 17%

Gen X is Receptive and Open to Advertising

29 Sources: Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015 - Yahoo/Ipsos Gen X Survey: Adults 35-54 n= 853

Gen X Parents’ Thoughts On Ads Targeting Them Gen X Parents

It’s about time that advertisers recognized that my generation shops too 40%

I am more likely to click on an ad aimed specifically at my generation 38%

I am more likely to purchase a product from a brand whose ad is targeted specifically at my generation 33%

I feel like my generation is often forgotten about, by advertisers 30%

Gen X Parents are Particularly Receptive and Open to Advertising

30

of Gen X parents noticed online ads that targeted them specifically as parents 54%

Sources: Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015 - Yahoo/Ipsos Gen X Survey: Adults 35-54 n= 853, Gen X parents n= 281 / Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative May 2015 - Yahoo/Ipsos Survey: Parents 25-54 n=1293

Creative Strategy For a Stronger Connection

3

Creative Strategy & Messaging

Sources: Audience Theory/Yahoo Qualitative November 2015

For a stronger connection

“They seem very real to me. I love that they actually seem to care about each other. They're living their lives but they still have total child's spirit in them. They're living life and they're having fun.”

- Female, 49

The Art of Play 01 “Kick My Feet Up” Fantasies 02 Kid/Tech Dilemmas & Bonding Moments 03

“The thing that [jumps out] is the picture where both of them are sitting back relaxed with their feet crossed, relaxing…That's what I would like to do.”

- Male, 41

“It took me back when my kids were younger, we used to drive and put the windows down and we’d start singing to the radio at the top of our lungs, and they’d just be so embarrassed. I like that commercial.”

- Male, 45

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04 05 06

“Back when I had to change my babies, I would've loved to know where would be a good place to go. That is absolutely useful. It makes me like their brand more.”

- Female, 47

Nostalgia with a Deeper Purpose

Brand Self-Aware Humor: “Owning the Diss” Real, Relatable, Practical Advice

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“That stops me because the messaging is smart. Those are people I look to with respect.”

- Female, 49

07 Respected Figures & Wisdom Cues 08 Chin-Up Inspiration

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Implications 4

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Implications

The Most Influential Generation Gen X has the most spending power of any generation, but a third of them feel neglected by advertisers. Leverage Yahoo’s proprietary data to connect with this valuable audience in a meaningful way.

Constant Brand Drumbeat Emotionally engage with your Gen X consumer on their smartphone throughout the day and avoid primetime TV. Use mobile ads through Yahoo Gemini to reach this desirable audience efficiently.

Play to the “Researchologist” Mindset Give Gen X the tools and info they need to make better shopping decisions. Help your brand stand out in search results by utilizing Yahoo Gemini’s search ads.

Use Branded Content to Build Real Life Connections Gen Xers have a hunger for real, inspirational, educational content. Apply image or video-rich native ads as branded content to strengthen your online interactions with Gen Xers.

Alleviate “Sandwich” Pressures Give Gen Xers the resources and support to deal with “sandwich” effects. Test your digital ad creative to pinpoint the right product benefits to message this audience and support them.

at yahoo genxamericasmostinfluentialgenerationfinal

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