Gen Z Matters for Trends. The 30 - 60 Audience Matters for Spend.
Are Brands Missing the Bigger Picture?
Brands know the power of social platforms. Influencer and digital ads on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube spark huge reach, cultural buzz, and metrics that light up quarterly reports. The UK digital ad market hit £35.5 billion in 2024, a 13% year-on-year rise, driven by a 20% surge in social and video formats (IAB UK). Social media ad spend alone reached £7.7 billion in 2023 (Smithfield Agency). The platforms clearly work.
But the question isn’t whether social works, it’s whether brands are talking to the right audience. Too many campaigns default to a Gen Z playbook, because that’s what feels “native” to TikTok or Instagram. In doing so, brands are overlooking the 30–60 working-age demographic, the group that not only has the real spending power, but also supports the generations above and below them.
The Sandwich Generation: Spending Power in Two Directions
This audience isn’t just paying for themselves. They’re the sandwich generation, carrying financial responsibility for children on one side and elderly parents on the other.
Around 6 million working-age UK adults identify as “sandwich carers,” supporting both children and parents (Opinium/Unum).
A long-term study of 40,000 households found sandwich carers, typically 30–49, suffer financial and mental strain lasting up to eight years due to these dual responsibilities (FT).
Nearly half of parents (42%) still pay for their adult children’s phone bills, and more than a quarter cover streaming services (Telegraph, Compare the Market).
Parents with adult children at home spend an extra £1,200 a year on groceries and utilities (The Guardian).
This same group also pays mortgages, funds family holidays, buys cars, manages pensions, and often chips in for elderly parents’ care or bills. They’re not side players. They are the economic engine of UK households.
The Platforms Aren’t the Problem. The Voice Is.
Working-age adults are highly active across the same platforms brands treat as Gen Z territory.
TikTok: Around 17% of UK users are 35+, and the share is growing (Exploding Topics).
Instagram: 35–54-year-olds make up a huge chunk of UK users (Talkwalker).
YouTube: Used by 94% of UK adults online—near-universal across working-age groups (Talkwalker).
Facebook: Still dominant among 35–54s (Talkwalker).
So access isn’t the issue. The problem is approach. Too many brands show up speaking in a Gen Z voice, chasing memes and micro-trends, while the 42-year-old parent scrolling past thinks: this isn’t for me.
The Loyalty Question
Gen Z is culturally powerful, but they don’t buy like older cohorts.
81% of Gen Z and millennials switched brands in the past year (Salesforce via eMarketer, 2024).
Only 25% always buy the same brands (Telecoming, 2023).
Over 50% would leave a favourite brand for one that’s cheaper or better quality (McKinsey, 2023).
Gen Z matters for trends. But if you’re a utility brand looking for recurring customers, loyalty, and monthly payments, the working-age demographic is your market.
Why Brands Are Missing a Trick
The working-age audience is there in volume. They’re paying the bills. They’re supporting their kids and their parents. Yet they rarely see themselves reflected in the campaigns designed for the platforms they actually use. The opportunity isn’t just to show up. It’s to show up in their voice reflecting their choices, their pressures, their humour, and their lives.
Where This Goes Next
The 30–60 demographic isn’t just another segment. They’re the core customer base for utility providers, financial services, FMCG, and travel. They hold the purse strings for two generations while managing their own. Smart brands will rebalance influencer and digital strategies to stop chasing trends and start speaking directly to the customers who drive the P&L.
At Double W, we’re working on something new to help brands do exactly that. It’s not live yet, but when it launches, it will be designed to help marketers move beyond trend-chasing to connect with the audiences who spend, not just scroll.
Stay tuned.
