attracting and engaging young professionals

Attracting and Engaging Young Professionals

Understanding the Young Professional

Career stageEvent stageLife stageMillennials

Life Stages

Career Stage: Young Professionals

Specific needs:Fresh training, but don’t know the ropesLooking for jobsDon’t know many people in the industry yet

Career Stage: Young Professionals

Marketing challenges:AwarenessDecision driven by managementFunding the trip

Event Stage: First-Time Attendees

Need to become aware of association and eventDon’t intuitively know the value of an eventOpen to opportunitiesMay feel alienated by existing cliques

Life Stage: Young Family

Especially for women—are they able to travel away from children?

The Millennial Mindset

Millennial Mindset

Digital natives

Content creators and users

Used to participating in marketing

Crave adventure

Healthy lifestyle

Seek peer affirmationBut also similar to other generations

American Millennials: Deciphering the Enigma GenerationBased on research from Barkley, Boston Consulting Group, and Service Management Group 2011

Success and Status MatterMillennials place a high importance on personal success, and compared to older generations, feel that their success is in their own hands.

New Paradigms for Millennial Engagement in the Experience Economy

PCMA Research

What drives Millennials to participate in meetings/events/conventions?Most valued attribute was providing career networking and job opportunities.

They want to personally benefit:Financial (scholarships or rewards)Professional developmentSocially (service projects, social/fun activities)

What the Millennial Generation Prefers in the Meetings, Conventions and Events, PCMA white paper, May 2012

Suggestions for improved meeting experiences for Millennials

This generation is one with low patience for unnecessary meetings and the desire for personalized programs.

Provision of peer-to-peer versus large group networking opportunities

Incorporation of the latest technology

Making sessions shorter and more meaningful

Avoidance of ice breakers and extended introductions

Utilization of smaller groups in meetings

Create excitement in virtual community through social networking sites pre-

What the Millennial Generation Prefers in the Meetings, Conventions and Events, PCMA white paper, May 2012

Affiliation with a cause is more

important to the Millennial generation than to any previous

generation.

Importance of Sources of Information Used When Selecting Which Exhibitions to Attend By Generations

Source Millennial Gen XYounger Boomer

Older Boomer Traditionalist

Email from colleague 5.12 4.91 4.48 5.00 4.26

Word of mouth 5.04 4.80 4.56 4.85 4.61

Exhibition organizer website 4.96 4.56 4.62 4.67 4.19

Personal invite from exhibitor 4.96 4.51 4.53 4.67 3.97

Industry publications 4.92 4.45 4.53 4.66 4.23

Industry association membership 4.61 4.50 4.24 4.80 4.74

Internet search 4.80 4.35 4.16 4.16 3.97

Exhibition organizer direct mail 4.22 4.24 4.23 4.52 4.48

Social networking sites 4.15 3.52 3.28 3.15 2.65

Exhibition organizer telemarketing 3.37 2.93 3.11 3.59 3.35

Scale: Importance, 1-7, with 1=Very Unimportant and 7=Very ImportantMillennial=ages 20-30; Gen X=31-47; Young Boomer=48-54; Older Boomer=55-66; Traditionalist=67+

Jeff Tanner and Nancy Drapeau, “Attracting Attendees,” CEIR AC31.13 (2013).

The Do’s and Don’ts of Communicating with Young Professionals

Do Avoid

Be brief Complicated, cliché, jargon

Focus on what’s in it for them Spam

Include testimonials from peers Condescension

Make it mobile-friendly Attachments

Emphasize: * Learning about the latest * Cutting-edge * Networking * Career-building

De-emphasize: * Sponsors * Senior awards * “Seminars” * “Traditional”

CEIR Phase II Power of Exhibitions in the 21st Century. 2010. POE 10-02

Some Best Practices

Attracting and Engaging Young Professionals

Programs for Young Professionals

Scholarship Program

Contest

Finalists displayed at event

First-Timers

First-Timers’ Experience

First Timers’ ExperienceIAEE Expo! Expo!

IAEE will provide valuable guidance on successfully navigating your first meeting:• Top 10 Tips from a seasoned meeting attendee n Things to See

and Do• Quick Stats on IAEE and its important role within the exhibition and

event industry• Suggestions on how to become involved at the meeting, in IAEE

and in your local chapter• Learn about the Certified Exhibition Management (CEM) Learning

Program and future IAEE educational offerings

Make It Easy to Network

Young professionals don’t yet know many people

Ice-Breaking ActivitiesHat party at AIBTM

Speed Networking

Career-Oriented

Mentoring Programs

Plastic Surgery

Targeted Content

Young Professional Lunch

Plastic Surgery

Leadership Programs

Young Professionals CommitteeIAEE

1. Continue to identify young professionals within IAEE’s membership, determine their special needs and expectations, and develop initiatives specifically designed to meet their needs.

2. Recommend educational, networking, and other programs and initiatives to IAEE with the needs of young professionals in mind.

3. Develop new initiatives designed to attract, engage, and retain individuals of diverse backgrounds and interests.

4. Contribute to and support IAEE’s student outreach efforts aimed at raising awareness of the value of IAEE membership and recruiting student members.

Marketing to Young Professionals

Segmented Campaign Highlighting

Awareness

What the association is

Key benefits of attending

Specific content for them

How to get the most of attending

“Get Your Boss to Send You” Campaign

Messaging to employers of benefits of sending young professionals

“Top 10 reasons” PDF to print and give your boss

Worksheet to show boss what they learned

Students

Student ProgramsAORN

College Bowl

Optometry’s Meeting

Student-Friendly ButtonsOnce again, student-friendly buttons will be delivered to your booth. Please be sure to havesomeone wearing these pins to help students identify who they can speak with to learn more basic information about your products and services.

I Am Student Friendly

Engaging Millennials

Engaging Content

Innovative Learning AreasASAE

Engagement

Technology

Social Media Campaign

American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

Case Study

ASHP: A Focus on Segmentation and Young Professionals

Website segmentation

Programs for Students and Young Professionals

New Practitioner Program

Gathering Places

CareerPharm Placement ServiceASHP

Poster Mentor

Other Considerations

Melinda Kendallmelinda.kendall@freemanco.com

Questions, Comments?

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