"They want to meet you. Almost 2/3 (61%) would prefer to conduct new business meetings face-to-face; and 76% would prefer to build a personal relationship with a vendor or partner. They are craving in-person contact, not digital isolation."

Standing amid millennials on the metro last week, I saw one woman reading The New Yorker magazine on her device and another listening to Hamilton on hers. What’s interesting about that is the content appears similar to what it might have been 25 years ago—a popular magazine and Broadway show tunes—but the how-we-consume has changed, of course. That would lead one to hope that attracting millennials to your events, publications, webinars, etc., is a reasonable wish. And if two sources are right, it should be the learning where you have the most success. According to a new report from the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR)—titled 2016 Attendee Retention Insights Part Three: Education Content that Builds a Loyal Alumni Attendee Audience—the biggest users of education sessions at exhibition events are young attendees, those in lower level job roles. Lori Goler, head of HR at Facebook, said something similar in a recent Q&A in The Wa ...

“One young woman in her mid-‘20s said, ‘I read everything I can about molecular biology; I want to devour that industry. Then I want to go watch funny celebrity videos.’ Interesting thing is they expect the same quality of experience from that that they get from other publishers.”

Between Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y (Millennials), there are more intergenerational workers in the workforce and customers for business content at one time than ever before. But the content consumption habits of Millennials are turning the industry upside down. How do you reach a generation with endless choices and ingrained belief that content should be free?  

Speaking to a large gathering of mostly non-millennials, MaryLeigh Bliss, chief content officer for YPulse, posed a key question at her BIMS keynote last week: “Is the blurring of personal and professional lives”—started mostly by people now in their 30s—“a good or bad thing?”

"The game has a cleanness. If you do a good job, the numbers say so." —Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Sandy Koufax