The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released its fifth report in the “Attendee ROI Playbook” series this month, and it answers the question on most meeting planners’ minds: How do you address the generational differences among attendees?
The 18-page report surveyed 3,719 attendees from all generations—including Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers—to show how the value proposition for attending meetings and events is both different and the same generationally. Key findings show that Baby Boomers prefer to track activities through technologies like badge scans, while the younger generations prefer picture-taking. Also, the younger generations put more importance on learning objectives as opposed to the Baby Boomers’ emphasis on shopping objectives.
“Career-stage needs, information source preferences and influence of the experiential aspect of attending from a generational perspective are discussed [in the report],” says CEIR Senior Research Director Nancy Drapeau, PRC. “Results signal the high importance of paying attention to these areas to ensure an event hits the value meter of attendees of all generations it serves.”
The report delved heavily into the attendee profiles, based on their generation, and even offered helpful marketing tips for event organizers looking to target audiences based on their age.
“Segmenting target audiences by age or generation is a worthwhile strategic planning effort,” says CEIR CEO Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE. “This report provides readers with industry benchmarks that organizers and exhibitors can use to compare their offerings and decide where to make adjustments to align with what their target attendees value most.”
The full report is available at no charge on the CEIR website, along with the other four parts of the five-part series.
