PRINT AND MULTI-GENERATION COMMUNICATION By Sophie Hanson, The newsLINK Group, LLC “In the age of fake news, trolls and bots, print can give that trust, authority and credibility.” – Amy Hutchinson, Marketing Director, BPIF. For the first time in history, we have five generations in the workplace, which also means associations are juggling the interests, needs and communication styles of members whose ages span over a half-century. Each of these groups has been influenced by the socio-cultural events that took place during the formative years of their lifetimes, including how each generation views its financial needs, goals and communication preferences. A generation is defined as “a group of people born around the same time and raised around the same place. People in this birth cohort exhibit similar characteristics, preferences, and values over their lifetimes.” This generational melting pot presents an interesting puzzle for association communication directors because a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer an effective way to engage all members. In order for members to be fully engaged and participate, more and more, the feedback is to communicate with members how they want to be communicated with. Generations have differences in the values, beliefs, and opinions of different groups of people. While some believe strongly in the differences, others believe they are a myth. Those believing in the differences assert they are important to recognize and accommodate, especially in settings with multiple generations, such as in today’s workforce, and in turn, in today’s association membership: Traditionalists value workplaces that are conservative, hierarchical, and have a clear chain of command and top-down management. MTADA recently attended the 2022 ATAE Communications & PR Meeting in San Diego, CA. Sophie Hanson with The newsLINK Group gave a presentation on multi-generational communication. We have included her article and graph from the presentation because we feel it will be beneficial to you, as dealers, to understand more fully how different generations take in media and how best to reach them. 42
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