Advertising Research : The 1980s an the Spending Power of Gen X

 I have been creating an advert for 1980s party for Gen X.  In this post I am going to discuss advertising and marketing to Gen X. 

'Gen X is sandwiched between baby boomers (a traditionally, well, traditional generation) and millennials (a more tech-savvy generation)? This creates an exciting opportunity for omnichannel marketing.' (Kowalewicz 2022) This means that Gen X will look at newspapers, billboards, Facebook (maybe some social media), websites and traditional magazines. 

Photobooth: Hamlet Cigars 1987

My own advert I will be marketing through hopefully the local newspaper, 80s music magazines with the right demographic such as Q or NME, after checking this assumption I discovered that Q magazine is actually closing after 34 years due to a massive drop in sales. 'The magazine's circulation had fallen to 28,000 per month from a peak of 200,000 in 2001.' (Savage, 2020).  This magazine is the music magazine I read when I was younger and appealed to my generation it is unsurprising now that it does not appeal and in physical form as younger people consume only online and due to the expense of magazines and newspapers less and less Gen X are buying them or with less frequency due to cost. 'The cost-of-living crisis will be very tricky for the magazine publishing market to navigate given magazines will likely be considered by many to be a luxury, non-essential item. As of September 2022, the cost of living crisis led 32% of magazine readers to cancel a magazine subscription.'(UK Magazines 2023)

The advert I created contains an images of Axel Rose from Guns and Roses who were at the height of their power and in 1987 'Appetite for Destruction' sold 30 million copies (2021).  Using this group also helped with the Halloween theme as the group are edgy and would be known by Gen Xers everywhere.  I went to a Gun and Roses concert recently and the audience were mostly of my own age and possibly millennials.  

The advert I have created I do think will appeal to my audience both in concept and in placement of the advert.  

References

Lewis, D. (no date) Gen X marketing + selling strategies (2022): BigCommerce, The BigCommerce Blog. Available at: https://www.bigcommerce.co.uk/blog/gen-x-marketing/ (Accessed: 11 October 2023). 

Kowalewicz, R. (2022) Council post: Three tips for marketing to Generation X, Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2021/05/12/three-tips-for-marketing-to-generation-x(Accessed: 11 October 2023). 

Savage, M. (2020) Q magazine to close after 34 years, BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53477377 (Accessed: 11 October 2023). 

UK magazines Market Report - Market Size, Forecast & Growth (2023) Mintel Store. Available at: https://store.mintel.com/report/uk-magazines-market-report (Accessed: 11 October 2023). 

Ebersole, B. (2023) 13 facts about guns N’ roses, Facts.net. Available at: https://facts.net/history/people/13-facts-about-guns-n-roses/ (Accessed: 11 October 2023). 

Guns N’ roses album sales (2021) BestSellingAlbums.org. Available at: https://bestsellingalbums.org/artist/5051 (Accessed: 11 October 2023).