During the recent
MeetingNews Webcast "Future Focus: Plan Meetings and Events That Appeal to the Next Generation of Executives/Attendees," panelist Bren Clevenger-Ori, Meeting Professionals International's COO, reminded participants that reaching and connecting with young professionals will be increasingly difficult if no one in your organization is near their age, looks like them, or acts like them. Even if your group demographics don't seem to be changing, it's important to account for trends in the general population.
A good place to start is to include age ranges on registration forms, which will give planners an idea of the generational makeup of attendees. To appeal to younger attendees, Clevenger-Ori recommends offering blogs, podcasts, webcasts, or wikis before, during, and after events. And, she said younger attendees can help develop such amenities—they can be used as bloggers, panelists, or moderators, as they bring an unprecedented amount of education, technological expertise, and a drive to get the most they can out of events they attend.
Jeanavive Marie Janssen, chair of the International Association of Exhibitions & Events' Young Professionals, and a Generation X/Y cusper at 32 years old, cautioned that the desires and attributes of younger generations should not be considered "negative, shocking, or detrimental."
Nora Johnson, secretary of IAEE Young Professionals, and a 25-year-old Gen Yer, added that based on feedback from an IAEE focus group, young professionals prefer to be engaged in small group environments. At the core of those environments should be hard-hitting educational content, which Janssen said is the reason she chooses to attend a conference in the first place, since she can network for free on sites such as LinkedIn and MySpace and through in-person social gatherings.
Clevenger-Ori recommended informal meeting settings and attire to make younger attendees feel more comfortable, while Michael Goldsmith, director of convention sales at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, reminded webcast attendees that younger generations prefer unique venues, so planners should explore sites outside of traditional ballrooms and boardrooms.
When choosing speakers, Janssen cautioned planners to remember that "you get what you pay for" and cheap or unpaid speakers are not a value if they lose you potential returning attendees. "I'd rather have less speakers and better quality," she said, adding that a peer-to-peer setting is a frugal, effective option. "I'd rather talk to my peers and learn from them than to a speaker who is just inserting our industry into their presentation." Janssen recommended methods such as the World Cafe, details of which can be found at www.theworldcafe.com.
This is just the beginning; if you missed the webcast, view it on-demand at
www.nielsencast.com.
Originally published July 21, 2008