Tween Day

Ever want to be a kid again? I think we all do at one point or another. Well, as an aspiring event planner, I often imagines events in my head for the younger generation and imagine myself in their shoes. When I was in that lovely pre-teen stage of 10-15, all I wanted was to be cool and have friends. And something tells me nothing has changed.

If I was planning an event for this age group today, here's what I'd do.

What: A festival/carnival promoting smart and healthy choices for pre-teen lives (i.e. abstaining from drugs and alcohol, exercising, getting involved in school and extracurricular activities)

When: A Saturday in September to kick off the new school year

Where: A local community park or event center

Activities: Skate demonstrations, carnival games and prizes, teen-friendly food, inflatable obstacle courses, local teen band performances

Sponsors: teen safety organizations, after school programs, trendy technology, health-conscious fast food, radio stations, teen school supplies

This really makes me want to be 14 again. Never thought I'd say that.

Generation Gap

Planning an event for multiple generations can be challenging. Take Generation X/Y vs. Baby Boomers. They want different things. They're different ages. They were raised differently. So how do they come together and celebrate? My parents are part of the baby boomer generation and my older siblings are part of generation X/Y. Since I'm much younger than my siblings, I fall into a different generation. But I can see the differences between them and my parents. The 30-somethings and the 50-somethings do not party the same way. 

When planning any event, a planner must consider their audience demographics and psychographics- or for us normal people, who they are and how they think. 

Let's take two events that defined these generations: Woodstock & Lollapalooza

Woodstock:
The music- rock
Venue- 600 acre farm in NY

 












Lollapalooza:
The music- alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock, hip hop + dance & comedy performances
Venue- Grant Park, Chicago, IL

The biggest difference I see is simplicity. Woodstock was in a field in the country and featured one united genre of music. Lollapalooza is in the middle of the city with many different musical and entertainment acts. It's illustrative of the way society has changed from generation to generation. Generation X/Y is much more busy and cultures are more intertwined than they were for the Baby Boomers.

What they have in common: pretty much every generation likes coming together with common interests and celebrating.

If I were planning an event for both of these generations together, I would mix the classics and the trendy modern culture in a "Generation Journey" incorporating music and culture from the beginning of the Baby Boomers' time to today. And I would plan it somewhere out of the way to get back to the simplicity and experience of an organic music festival.

You've Been Ambushed

Ambush marketing may seem inconsiderate, but it's business. And, it works. At least it can work. 
Take those pedicabs you see around downtown city areas, for example. Whenever a big event is going on downtown, whether it be at the San Diego Convention center, or Embarcadero, or maybe Petco Park, the pedicabs show up when the event is over to sell their service. These events don't hire the pedicabs to wait outside to take their guests to their cars or hotels. But the pedicabs know where the potential customers will be and ambush the area. 

Sometimes ambush marketing fails. We all watched the 2012 London Olympics, right? Well, what you didn't see is ambush marketing. Do you know why? The Olympics has brand police that make sure there are no non-sponsor companies sneaking into the Olympics to try and market their brand. 

And what you really REALLY don't see? The Olympics have an official condoms supplier for the olympic athletes. It's true. But when there was talk of an ambush supplier coming in, the brand police took a tweet from one olympic athlete very seriously and looked into it. So if you were planning on trying ambush marketing at the Olympics, just don't. You're not going to make it.

Versus

Water is water is water. Right? Apparently not, according to brands like Smartwater by Glaceau and Fiji Artesian Water. 

To me: They're both water. They have cool packaging. You can get them at airports for outrageous prices. But they're still both water.

To Smartwater: We (Smartwater) make art out of water. We "one up" nature by adding electrolytes to vapor distilled water.

To Fiji: Our water is "untouched by man". It's the only water that comes from an artesian source sold in America.

So this is how they get us to buy their water. Both companies claim to have a unique quality about their water. They have a back story. And they both use said story to entice us and make us believe that their water is special. Their water is the best. Their water tastes great. Their water is good for you.

Truth is, either water is going to hydrate you. But their marketing endeavors are what make us buy, or not buy, their water. Personally, I think both have good marketing strategies, though different.

Every time I go to an airport, I buy Fiji water. They only sell a select few brands of water at airports. And LOTS of people go through airports every day. Plus, I like the packaging. It's amazing what a square bottle can do for sales. It's different. There probably isn't much purpose in the shape other than brand recognition. The square bottle makes the brand stand out and is recognizable by the millions of thirsty people passing through the airport. Also, Fiji water has a big green initiative. It totally goes with the "untouched by man" motto. 

Smartwater is current. They have Jennifer Aniston shooting funny, sometimes satirical commercials for them and are flooding YouTube and social media with them. And it must be working. My sister, who is in her mid-twenties, ALWAYS has a huge bottle of Smartwater. I don't think she really believes the water itself is any better or "smarter" than another water. I think she just sees it everywhere and once again, likes the packaging, so she buys it. And Jennifer Aniston is the perfect spokesperson. My sister was part of the Friends era. It's an excellent marketing tool - find the biggest TV star from your target market's era and make her your spokesperson.

Both Smartwater and Fiji, have excellent brand awareness and marketing tools. But currently, I think Smartwater has the upper hand. They cater to the younger generation with social media and current spokespeople. The younger generation are the ones giving in to marketing and watching commercials and buying the stuff the celebrities buy. It's genius.