PatronManager

Invited by PatronManager Founder Gene Carr, today’s guest blog post is written by Erin Michelson, CEO & Founder, Summery. 

Last year, the nearly 80 million Americans that count themselves as millennials spent an estimated $600 billion. This spending power is expected to increase to $1.4 trillion annually by 2020—representing a full 30% of all consumer sales.

It’s not only about how much money millennials are spending, but also what they’re spending their money on. The 2017 Modern Wealth Index shows that 73% of millennial respondents spend disposable income on activities such as live music, sports, and other events.

The bottom line is that within the next 2 years a whole lot of money is going to be spent on event ticket sales. So how can event organizers maximize this opportunity?

Step 1: Measuring Social Values

The first step is to focus on social impact values. A recent American Express report reveals that 68% of millennial respondents said they wish to make a difference in the world, 78% want employer values to mirror their own, and more than 33% define success as having a positive impact on society.

One way to measure individual values is to leverage behavioral science to understand what motivates the millennial audience. Out of the hundreds of studies across multiple social-science disciplines, two accepted and well-established personality tests are: the Big Five Personality Trait Inventory and the Moral Foundations Questionnaire.

These two tests can be used to help measure an individual’s values and develop a corresponding personality type. The social impact personality profile can then be subjected to evidence-based testing providing a scientifically sound social impact archetype.

Step 2: Applying Prescriptive Analytics

The second step is to use the social impact profile to prescribe behavior. Prescriptive analytics is innovative technology that uses algorithms to data-curate or design activities or events that will resonate with an individual’s social impact values.  

Currently, most consumer enterprises use a predictive approach that is based on past behavior. For example, Amazon will suggest items that you may want to buy based on past purchases.

In contrast, values-based prescriptive analytics don’t need to rely on a pattern of past behavior, but instead can prescribe behavior based on individual social impact values that are quantified and matched with engagement opportunities.

The benefits of using prescriptive analytics to engineer engagement are:

• More finely targeting appeals based on combinations of profile characteristics
• Creating communications that highlight the triggers for participation
• Setting programs that are designed to resonate with the target audience

An Example: Mining Millennial Values

Here’s a snapshot of the type of data that prescriptive analytics offers. In this example, three data sets from a state university, members of a national non-profit organization, and members of the general public were combined and then segmented by generation, thus creating a target audience of 856 millennials.

Scientists then measured and assessed the social impact causes millennials favored compared with their generational peers. Of our respondents, millennials over-represented by unexpectedly high numbers for both Arts & Culture and Social Justice.

• Insight #1: In terms of their support for Arts & Culture, millennials significantly over-represented their generational peers.
• Insight #2: In terms of their support for Social Justice, millennials were nearly 2x more likely than GenXers and almost 3x more likely than Boomers to support this cause.

Revving Sales with Science

By first using a social impact lens and then applying prescriptive analytics, institutions are likely to see increased participation and a more fulfilled patron experience. A behavioral science-based approach is the key to creating a turbo-charged strategy designed to sell tickets within the millennial market.

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More Information: Interested in more findings from this millennial-focused data set and examples of data-curated campaigns specifically for museums and event organizers? Contact me at erin@summery.ai, I’m happy to share.

Bio: Erin Michelson is CEO + Founder of Summery, a data analytics company that leverages behavior science to measure and assess individual social impact values and quantify corporate culture in order to engage corporate and non-profit stakeholders. Erin has been profiled in @BBCTech, @Entrepreneur, @NPR, @NatGeoTraveler, @FoxNews, and @HuffPost. www.summery.ai

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