How Millennials and Gen Z are shaping the events industry
Their younger siblings, Generation Z, grew up in the early noughties, when smart phones, social media and virtual reality were the norm, rather than ground-breaking new ideas. As these age groups become your target audience at events, parties and away days, what do you need to do to keep up with this shift?
Audiences and Agendas
Replace boozy cocktails with mocktails, juices or smoothies
One of the biggest changes has come in who attends these events and what they want to know. Roundtables and panels are giving way to interactive and immersive sessions, with everything from mental health and wellbeing to food trends and AI on the agenda. Gone is the notion of a hospitality event needing to cover topics relating only to the industry – you're more likely to learn about sustainability than colour schemes – with new audiences looking for exciting and innovative takes on the events space.
Millennials and Gen Z are also less likely to drink alcohol than other age groups, making creative mocktails or soft drinks an important part of any venue’s offering (look out for our take on this on our blog soon!) and challenging brands to host more experimental and thought-provoking product launch events, rather than relying on free food and drink.
Sustainability
When your event ends, where does your catering, decorations and furniture end up? If you store what you can and share what you can’t, you’re part of a growing trend of sustainable events, which are gaining serious traction in the industry. Extravagant parties are giving way to eco-friendly gatherings. Recyclable decorations such as plastic free balloons, biodegradable confetti and glitter, and even cardboard or Foamex recyclable sets, stages and plinths as well az upcycled furniture and food bank donations of excess catering are high on the list of services clients are looking for venues to provide.
But before your guests even enter your venue there are a number of sustainable swaps you can make – choosing e-tickets over paper passes, reusing plain badge holders and lanyards from previous events and choosing catering that relies more heavily on seasonal vegetable-based dishes all help to keep your wastage and carbon footprint levels low.
Technology
Photobooths with cardboard props used to be a staple at creative events, but why not replace them with a social media filter that can be used across a series of apps? This not only prevents single-use decorations from going to waste, but also increases the instant shareability of photos, hashtags and venue check-ins on social media. These days the most used acronyms in hospitality have gone from F&B and FOH to AI and VR, with increasing numbers of venues and providers offering digital and virtual packages.
Whether you transport your guests from a bar to the beach with a virtual reality headset, or need to beam your host onto the stage via hologram, new technology has transformed what’s possible when it comes to events, in line with trends and social media capabilities favoured by millennials and Gen Z.
Other articles you might be interested in…
Your checklist for planning a seamless event
5 ways to make your event more sustainable
Want to read more articles like this? Sign up to our newsletter to receive our latest news, blogs, offers and industry trends.
EVENT SPACE FOR HIRE AT 116 PALL MALL
116 Pall Mall, a historic, Grade-1 listed Georgian masterpiece in the heart of London can be hired as a venue for any kind of event, from weddings to conferences, launch parties to fashion shows.
To find out more about how 116 Pall Mall can keep your events sustainable, modern and relevant to this emerging audience, Make an enquiry