Helping Your Event Reach Gen Z Audiences

The live events space is continuing to make strides after suffering the effects of 2020. More people are flocking to live events to make lasting memories and have new experiences. A new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) states that the UK live music revenue will surpass the 2019 pre-pandemic peak this year and is set to grow by 7.4% per year until 2027.

Therefore having the correct PR strategy for your live event has never been more important in order to attract the right audience with competition greater than ever before. 

One audience to keep in mind for your live events going forward is Gen Z – one of the largest generations, they make around 32% of the world’s total population.

In this article we will look at ways you can make your live event more appealing to this seemingly hard-to-reach crowd, and how it will help your overall PR strategy. 

Who are Gen Z?

Generation Z (Gen Z) refers to the generation of people who are born between 1996 and 2010; they have grown up in a digital age and are also known as ‘digital natives’.

Technology has been at their fingertips for most of their lives which influences the way they interact with the world (and people) around them. 

Why Live Events Matter to Gen Z

Growing up with all this available technology has been both a curse and a blessing for those born in Gen Z. 

On one hand they have access to all of the world’s information at their fingertips, as well as an endless supply of connection and content through social media apps.

On the other hand all of their attention is being sucked up by the technology they depend on. As a consequence there is a loss of real human connection.

Because of this, Gen-Zers have a real demand for live events. They want to experience more human connection.  

What Your Event Can Do to Appeal to a Gen Z Audience

Live events are important to Gen Z, but that doesn’t mean they will just show up to your event for the sake of it. They want to attend events that truly resonate with them.

So let’s look at what event organisers can do to ensure their live event is striking a chord with these particular event goers.

Social Issues Matter to Gen Z

Humans are more connected than ever before thanks to the internet. Due to this people are more aware of social injustices taking place all over the world.

Gen Z is a generation that’s been exposed to social and economic issues from a very young age. They’re more in tune with what is happening around the world, including climate change and sustainability, which is why they have more of a vested interest.

If you can set up a live event that can help tackle such issues then you’re really appealing to their nature. They can even get involved – Kendal Calling’s ‘Leave Nothing But Memories’ campaign saw huge success last summer with 97% of tents taken home! 

An example of this could be donating a portion of the event profits to a chosen charity, such as The Boardmasters Foundation which every year donates funds to deserving local charities and organisations.  

Focusing On the Right Platforms

With every new generation, comes new and exciting platforms which manage to break through.

Millennials were all using platforms like MySpace and Facebook, now Gen Z are mostly using platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. 

The type of content and marketing that worked for Facebook isn’t going to work as well with TikTok. This younger generation has a shorter attention span and they consume more bitesize video content.

When marketing your live event it’s important to keep this in mind. Using short form video content (and tapping into the influencer world) as a promotional tool will appeal to your target audience.  

Collaborate With Influencers

Influencers haven’t been around for very long but they have certainly shot to stardom very rapidly in the last few years.

Hollywood actors and pop stars are now being replaced with YouTubers and TikTokers.

Gen Z has grown up with influencers in their lives and they are attracted to their brands and content. Influencers have been able to amass huge audiences and a large portion of their audience are typicallyGen Z.

Collaborating with an influencer to promote your event is called ‘influencer marketing’. More and more businesses are using influencers’ reach to promote their brands through relevant, engaging and authentic content.

When it comes to your live event, getting influencers involved could be a great promotional move, especially when it comes to catching the attention of a younger demographic.

PR Strategies for Gen Z

Gen Z is clearly an important audience to attract to your live event going forward.

Their sheer size and presence has a huge impact on the live events industry. If you run a live event and need a PR strategy to help promote it then we can do exactly that – including influencer marketing.

We have over a decade’s worth of experience and have worked with some of the biggest live events in the UK. We not only know how to attract interest from Gen Z, but all generations and demographics, using our creative strategies. 
Contact us today and get your live event promoted the right way!