With 70 per cent of the global workforce to be made up of millennials and Gen Z by 2025, organisers have to take into account when planning event strategy for a generation with different priorities, needs and values.
Yesterday, during The Power of Purpose: Creating Meaningful Content for the Next Generation of Corporate Events breakout session at The Business of Events 2025, organised by the Professional Convention Management Association, Taylor Smith, vice president, event production & creative content, BCD Meetings & Events, encouraged event planners to think about how they need to be “intentional about their content to create a meaningful connection” with their delegates.
“There should obviously be a theme, that ties into the company’s goals and its intentions. Under that umbrella sit videos, presentation design, and slides. Meaningful presentation design will tell a story, and not just display data. There’s a story underneath (big data numbers), so find that story and use that story to show what the numbers mean,” he explained.
To demonstrate his point, Smith shared several examples, such as Microsoft’s tone-deaf Windows 95 launch versus a successful energy company product launch. He also illustrated the difference by showing slides overloaded with charts and information alongside those with a cleaner, more minimalist aesthetic.
“Our clients are getting younger every day, and the way that they consume media, the way that they experience brands, the way that they immerse themselves in events, is changing,” he said.
Smith added: “Almost half of this demographic have also said that they are experiencing (content) fatigue. If we get them to attend an in-person event, there needs to be a compelling reason. This (demographic of attendees) are immersing, filtering, and constantly making decisions whether something is worth that time.”
Hence, when addressing stakeholders, Smith advised planners that events do not require large budgets, relating how BCD helped to plan a sports-theme sales meeting for “little to no additional budget” in a ballroom. Differentiation is what truly matters to distinguish events for this younger demographic constantly exposed to other content.
“Millennials and Gen Z attendees expect to have a good experience (at business events), and good content that resonates with them. Every slide, chart, and graph, needs to go through the filters of what matters to them, while still driving the business goals and objectives and tying into themes,” he concluded.
Prior to joining Jim Corbett Marriott Resort & Spa, he was the pre-opening leader of Marriott’s first managed residence in South Asia, Three Sixty West – The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Mumbai.
