Despite shrinking attention spans, scattershot personal interests and heightened senses of entitlement, the members of Generation Y and Generation Z can still be reached by marketers, but only if the messages remain authentic. A high-level panel speaking at the '14 CSE Sports Marketing Symposium yesterday in N.Y. agreed that authenticity is perhaps more critical than ever with youth audiences because they have not only grown accustomed to marketing messages everywhere, but can be cynical toward them.
"If you try to get too clever or too cute, it can backfire," said PlayOn Sports Chief Executive David Rudolph. To that end, panelists agreed that speaking directly to youth audiences on their terms, as opposed to dictating a conversation, was the only way to go. "You simply have to follow their lead," said StubHub Head of Partnership Activation & Account Management Gabby Duno Turner. Meanwhile, panelists listed Apple, Bleacher Report, Snapchat, and the NHL Kings Twitter feed as brands particularly successful at reaching youth audiences.
The event continues today with sessions titled "The Green Scorecard: Why Sustainability in Sports is Common Sense and Good Business Sense for Brands and Properties" and "Large Global Sporting Events: Assessing the Value Proposition," as well as a case study on SAP. See our On The Ground blog for continuing updates.
