“Go ahead. Get my attention!” That’s not a taunt from a Millennial—it’s actually a challenge. And it’s one that planners try to meet every time to boost their attendance of the 18- to 34-year-old market.
When it comes to planning entertainment for your event, Millennials want to be stimulated, inspired, educated and engaged—like generations before them. Where they are different is that, having born into the digital age, they are used to immediate gratification. They want it fast and they want it now. Lose interest and you’ve lost them. So, your concepts must be magnetic for maximum attraction.
Consider these characteristics of Millennials as they apply to your meetings and events: 1) They don’t like to be told: You have to do this…You have to listen to this… You have to eat this; 2) They don’t like structure; and 3) They don’t like to be confined in office cubicles or in a meeting room for long periods. With those in mind, here are 5 out-of-the-box event ideas that Boston’s EventGo2Guy, Craig Sutton, and others have used with this generation in mind.
1) Strolling, Rolling Food & Beverage Bars. To give them variety, we created rolling bars for inside a venue: a rolling sushi bar, candy bar, tapas bar and dessert bar. This is perfect for venues without kitchens, electricity or on-site food options or off-site caterers. Line them up outside with different menu choices and have a giant picnic!
2) Interactive Art Inspiration Wall. To kick off the opening of an office in Boston, we utilized the columns of the client’s event space that were treated with IdeaPaint, a revolutionary paint that allows you to use the surface as a whiteboard and draw/write on it with dry-erase markers. This was a perfect way to involve everyone and add some style.
3) Digital Graffiti Art Station. PerfectPartiesUSA.com had one client use digital “spray-cans,” which are fumeless and odorless, to create printable graffiti artwork.
4) Custom Game Room. Playing games together—basket-pong, corn-hole, foosball, putting—gets people connected and communicating.
5) Mind Massage. Attendees who are mentally drained with session overload need a mini-break. A “brain-sensing” headband works with an app and takes brain-activity down to a more relaxed state, allowing them to relax, de-stress and meditate, clearing the mental clutter.
Source: Craig Sutton, the The EventGo2Guy, develops, plans & manages a wide range of creative concepts for corporate events in the Boston area, all designed to engage and entertain.
