Young sees that as the future. “Team development is huge,” he says. “They will work together, produce together, and go to conferences together.”

And if you bring them there together, wow them there together, then together they'll be back.

1. Ask your DMC what gets the best response from younger attendees

   “Unless the property offers gads of activities on its own, a broad range of activities in the area is important, therefore a great DMC is important,” says Lynn Averill, National Life of Vermont.

2. Gather information from sites and fams

   “Take time to look around and see what others are doing to cater to those in their 20s and 30s,” says Brett Barrowman, American Fidelity.

3. Check with your speakers bureau

   “The younger generations want to be stimulated,” says Diane Goodman, Goodman Speakers Bureau. “You have to captivate them and keep things moving.”

4. Are there 20-somethings in your office?

   “Listen to what is being said in both formal and informal settings,” Barrowman suggests. “I pay attention to what the younger generation is wearing around the office, eating, and talking about.”

5. Keep tabs on technology

   You have producers who prefer flash drives to presentation handouts and wouldn't mind a registration confirmation by text message.

6. Learn the lingo

   Go to www.webopedia.com and click on “quick reference” for a dictionary of abbreviations used in text messages and chat rooms that you might sprinkle into promotions or e-mail blasts. (The site is also a great resource for definitions of terms and products in all areas of computer technology and personal electronics.)

Conference Playlist: Music Bridges the Gap

WHAT'S ON YOUR IPOD? ABBA? THE BEATLES? That's cool. But you might try some Maroon 5, too. Tuning in to what younger producers are listening to can help you reach out to them at conferences. “I've got a lot of my daughters' music on my iPod,” says Mark Mosley, division manager at Allstate in Irving, Texas. He also notes that some bands from his teenage years are newly hip after being introduced to Gen Y through TV shows, movies, and video games such as the wildly popular “Guitar Hero,” which features songs from Queen, Cream, and Cheap Trick. “They're listening to old music that they don't know is old,” Mosley laughs.

After Journey's 1981 hit “Don't Stop Believin'” was featured in the season finale of “The Sopranos,“ it was briefly the No. 1 downloaded song at iTunes. Instead of dividing the generations as it once did, music may be bridging today's generation gaps.

Mosley and his colleagues on the Allstate recognition team all have iPods and spend a good chunk of time listening to options for the music that will be played during introductions, breaks, lunch, etc. “We try for vibrant, catchy, feel-good songs,” Mosley says.

Mosley also works in movie clips to inspire or set the tone for a meeting: for example, the scene from Apollo 13 where Gene Kranz, played by Ed Harris, states, “Failure is not an option.”

Greg Jenkins, partner of Bravo Productions in Long Beach, Calif., has spoken on the topic of events for Generations X and Y at The Special Event, ISES Eventworld, and Meeting Professionals International. Here are some of his tips for getting and keeping their attention:

• Make invitations funky and keep the copy brief.

• Use strong visuals and bright colors in décor.

• Encourage participation. Attendees with a MySpace mentality prefer to act instead of observe.

• Include a post-party activity for a demographic that likes to socialize.

• Expect whatever you present to be Googled.

• Don't use the phrases “Gen X” or “Gen Y” — they'll view it as contrived.

Source: Special Events magazine, June 2007