Remember The Breakfast Club and Reality Bites? The quintessential Gen X coming-of-age films exemplified a generation that was cool, a little edgy, and rebelling against the mainstream, striving for a more authentic way of life and celebrating personal truth over naked aspiration and monetary success.

Called the ‘MTV generation’ and the ‘Forgotten Generation’, today’s Gen Xers are anywhere between 45 and 60, and with high school detentions long behind them, they’re likely to be enjoying established careers and comfortable earnings, securely settled into their way of life, and possibly grappling with the dual responsibilities of growing kids and aging parents.

Gen X: Laid back, pretty chill, like to unwind with a beer  

Forgotten then, forgotten now?

Most of today’s Gen Xers fall into the 50+ demographic, which accounts for ‘79% of the total household wealth in Great Britain and 87% of net financial wealth by household.’

Yet this ‘forgotten generation’ are indeed being forgotten by the advertising industry: Only 7% of agency employees are over the age of 50 compared to a UK workforce average of 32%; and while 76% of TV adverts show characters aged between 19 and 49, only 25% feature characters aged 50 and over.

But as our research shows, this generation is not just affluent, they’re also far from abstinent, and have the strongest positive associations with alcohol, making them a valuable target audience for alcohol brands. So if you’re a brand that wants to be remembered by Gen X, here are a few things worth forgetting.

Forget abstinence

While Generation X are not immune to the cultural shift towards more mindful and considered drinking, with 30% of them agreeing they are drinking less than they did a year ago, 78% of this cohort drink alcohol, more than any other generation. And they drink more frequently than younger generations, with a full 20% drinking three or more times a week at home.

Forget big nights out

It’s unsurprising, given their age and life stage, that most drinking occasions happen in the home – 45% of Gen X drink at home more than once a week vs 14% who drink out of home more than once a week. This behaviour has been exacerbated by the cost of living crisis, with 18% claiming to be drinking more at home rather than out as a result.

Home is also the place where they are most likely to socialise, with just over half of Gen X socialising at home once a month or more. When they do socialise beyond the home, they tend towards less lively and more traditional social spaces like pubs, restaurants, and cafes.

Forget fitting in and following trends

Authenticity is something this generation still values, remaining true to themselves and their preferences over chasing trends and fads to fit in. They tend to stick to established alcohol categories like beer, wine, gin, and other spirits; choose drinks based on taste over price; and are unmoved by more superficial features like the look of the drink, its uniquenes,s and packaging design. Their ambivalence towards trends can also be seen in their choice of beer: they are the generation most likely to choose commercial beer brands over trendier craft beers, both at home and out.

Influencers and social media trends play little part on their brand discovery or choice of venue, preferring self-discovery and recommendations from friends.

Forget taking health and wellness to extremes

A combination of factors, including the pandemic, a desire to age well, and their responsibilities to their family, have contributed to Gen X waking up to the fact that living better means living healthier.

But while 72% of Gen X say they care about health and wellness, and the majority agree that their mental health is as important as physical health, fewer of them place a high priority on health and wellness compared to younger generations, and a full 22% are ambivalent towards it.

They are also the generation least likely to actively avoid foods and drinks that have a negative impact on their health; the least likely to want healthy food and drink options at the bars they go to; and least likely to factor in health as a consideration for the alcohol they choose, suggesting that the ‘work hard play hard’ culture they came of age in has not entirely dissipated.

But don’t forget the no-lows

While a third of Gen X are drinking less than they did a year ago, only 9% are drinking more non-alcoholic beers, wines, and spirits, pointing to a missed opportunity for the no-low category.

In contrast to younger generations who drink no-low drinks to fit in and feel socially engaged with people who are drinking alcohol, Gen X’s main reason for drinking alcohol-free variants is to enjoy the same taste without getting drunk, which could explain why they tend to choose specialist no or low alcohol brands over established alcohol brands with alcohol-free variants.

How can brands become more memorable to this ‘forgotten’ generation?

A taste for home

With more drinking occasions happening in the home – from the habitual drink after work to relax to socialising with friends – brands can cut through their auto-pilot decision-making by situating brand narratives more consistently in the home rather than higher-energy occasions, and finding ways to elevate routine at-home occasions, for example Netflix and Suntory in Japan have partnered to create cocktails-in-a-tin themed around the channel’s more popular series.

What are co-branding and partnership opportunities to elevate at-home drinking occasions? Are there new services, new serves, new formats like CBD-infused drinks to appeal to Gen X’s inclination towards more relaxing and lower-energy drinking moments? 

Substance over style

This generation knows what they like and like what they know. With more discerning palettes and a taste for quality over quantity, how can premium and specialist brands amplify their quality credentials over trend-led styles and formats to win over this generation?

Can brands amplify their production processes, their sourcing and ingredients, their traditions, their brewmasters and winemakers, and distillers to highlight quality and taste? Can they bring this audience closer to their processes – behind the scenes, tours, tasting notes, samples etc. 

Tapping into newstalgia 

Newstalgia is the intersection between the familiar and the new, a way to create comfort in uncertain times by leveraging the known while remaining modern and contemporary. As Gen X are young enough to be progressive but old enough to remember the good times, they are the perfect audience to appeal to using newstalgia.

“… brands that can weave in the endearingly familiar with modern twists and tweaks, stand to gain a huge advantage.” – Creativebrief

What are new twists on established brand characteristics? Can brands recreate moments from the early 90s – nights out, events, fashion, discontinued brands and flavours – but root them in current culture? Are there film franchises, band reunions or other cultural moments that resonate with this group that your brand could partner with? 

Authentic authenticity 

Gen X were the pioneers of a more authentic life, rebelling against mainstream norms and constructs long before ‘authenticity’ became co-opted by the marketing and advertising industries. For them, authenticity is less about being purpose-led or picking a side in polarising debates and more about being true to yourself, your values, and your vision.

Do brands have founder-led stories or a narrative that challenges accepted norms? Do they sacrifice ease, convenience, even profit in pursuit of a dream? Do they have links with classic rebel and outlaw brands like Harley-Davidson, or bands like Oasis?  With 29% of Gen X discovering new brands at pubs and bars, on-trade is still a key channel for this audience, and venues and activations stand for authenticity.  

Muted moderation 

Specialist no-low brands have an opportunity to close the gap between the 30% who are drinking less alcohol and the 9% who are drinking more no and low alcohol drinks, but they need to create familiarity and trust, as they can’t rely on an exploratory mindset to bring in new Gen Xers.

If you would like to know more about how to best engage Gen X, please get in touch with zeph.brown@redbrickroad.com