Communication Preferences for Attracting the Millennial Generation to Attend Meetings and Events

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the communication channels considered the most useful for attracting and meeting the needs of Millennials with regard to meetings, events, and/or conventions. Out of 1,967 respondents that participated in this study, 1,787 respondents were part of the Millennial Generation. The majority of the participants had attended a conference or convention prior to the study. The results of this study indicated that the preferred channels of communication among Millennials were face-to-face communication, directly followed by e-mail, and then text messaging. The results also indicated that the Millennial Generation appreciated the use of technology for communication (e.g., Wi-Fi and audience polling for immediate feedback) and expected it to be accessible during meetings and events.

KEYWORDS:

• millennial generation
• communication channels
• meetings
• events
• conventions
• face-to-face communication
• e-mail
• text messaging
• Wi-Fi
• audience polling