This is How Brands Can Keep Millennials Engaged (Elevate Connect)

Key Takeaways:

• Marketers have recently become enamored with Gen Z, but there is no doubt that millennials still have “it” – buying power and influence. Keeping them engaged is paramount.
• Maintaining brand integrity is critical for any company, but sometimes brands are so rigid that they miss out on ways to innovate and better earn consumer attention.
• While many of us see the future as based in autonomous tech, according to the Culture First Conference in San Francisco, the future of work is human.

3 Tips to Keep Millennials Engaged

Not long ago, finding a marketing blog post that didn’t mention millennials was an impossible task. Yet, seemingly overnight, Gen Z has become the rage. So, have brands tossed millennials out like last week’s leftovers? Not so much. Marketers and business leaders alike are still working overtime to understand every facet of this blossoming generation. Millennials are not only relevant, but the millennial market is still extremely powerful.

In a recent article, Entrepreneur offered 3 tips to keep millennials engaged – and spending. Tip one: find the intersection between tech and real life. For example, recent research tends to contradict itself related to millennial behavior. It often declares that millennials prefer experiences over products, but at the same time, also insists that they prefer Netflix at home over, well, just about everything. The article suggests that the solution is to “make ‘real life’ experiences that mimic online experiences to keep millennials hooked.” Confused? Read more.

How Brand Identity Can Be Flexible and Consistent

For many companies, the brand guideline book is their holy bible. Everything from logo usage to color palette is etched in stone, and the thought of violating any of it amounts to heresy. But is it really so critical to be undyingly rigid when it comes to branding? Or should brands be more flexible, or as this Branding Strategy Insider article puts it, “flawesome?”

The article uses McDonalds as an example. The company has one of the most recognizable brands in history, whose “‘golden arches’ are one of the best-known marks in the world. Yes, agency Turner Duckworth felt that a brand with that much equity was not using its visual assets to its full potential. The article argues for “pursuing authenticity over perfection” and for companies to seek a more creative, yet authentic, approach to brand association. Read more on how to bend your brand to fit into today’s world.

At Uber Elevate, Innovations and Experiential Make Flying Cars a Reality

Uber’s future plans appear to be nothing short of sky-high. Every year, the Uber Elevate event details the steps they’ve taken toward bringing the highly-anticipated Uber Air to life. The concept of urban aviation draws more than just your average tech enthusiast. The event hosted investors, government officials, and a variety of attendees who wanted to catch a glimpse of the flying cars we’ve been promised for decades.

Other than its Uber Air spectacle, the brand showed off its latest developments related to Uber Eats, Uber Jump, and its drone delivery initiative. Read more if any of these innovations get you uber excited.

The Biggest Wastes of Time We Regret When We Get Older

As a global event staffing agency, we don’t have a lot of time to waste. Yet, whether you’re coordinating events across the globe or trying to fit in some errands after work, we assume most people don’t like to waste time. But are there activities that are worse than others when it comes to feeding the productivity black hole? (hint, it’s not reality tv binges or your Instagram feed)

The number one way we waste time is…drum roll…simply not asking for help when we need it. Lifehack writer Kristen Wong lays out 4 things that many of us are guilty of. But, the good news is, if these time wasters are acknowledged, accepted, and changed, we can free up some precious time and much-needed energy.

The Future of Work is Human: Top 10 Takeaways from the 2019 Culture First Conference

The future of work is human. This somewhat surprising contention was the overarching theme of the Culture First Conference in San Francisco. The event allowed attendees from around the world to gather and discuss culture and the people that make it.

At Elevate, we know that our people make all the difference. We also know how important leaders are in demonstrating positive culture. Here agency August Jackson lists their top 10 takeaways from the Culture First Conference, including thoughts on diversity, inclusion, and the pesky learning curve that comes from living in a constantly-changing world.

How ESPN Leveraged Tentpole Moments in Sports to Go Beyond Linear TV

For the past several decades, ESPN has made a name for itself in media, known as one of the strongest brands in the business. But in the age of cord-cutting, the ESPN has experienced challenges. Now the network is looking to brand experiences to make an impact beyond the screen. Senior Director of Marketing Mike Kopech says, “it’s important to us that fans continue to experience the ESPN as more than just a TV network, and more than just a social handle.” To do this, ESPN launched an event series surrounding big sports moments that offered sports fans new, off-the-air experiences.

Event Marketer detailed the ESPN event strategy, featuring one element of note that surrounded the NFL Draft. The article goes on to show how ESPN used social media – and even hip-hop – to amplify their message and hit their experiential campaign out of the park.

Pre-Event Measurement: Tips to Inform Event Strategy

According to research, people attend B2B events for two main reasons: professional development and to network. The question is, how do these event attendees expect to develop? More specifically, what do they want to learn? In order to produce an event that leaves attendees satisfied, event planners need to conduct pre-event measurement.

One key finding of the recent Sparks + Event Marketer joint study on B2B trends, The Consumerization of B2B Events, is that custom experiences are key. “When it comes to the event journey, attendees want to be in the driver’s seat,” notes the report. “They want to find the content most relevant to them. They want to learn and interact in the ways they feel most comfortable.” By designing events around the expectations of the audience, everyone wins. Click here to learn more.

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Author: Nick Riggall