A fundamental part of any event is people and any event without people is a disaster. Targeting your audience effectively is tricky unless you have a well-defined ‘invite’ only audience. For example: A Conference for Neurologists. However, a majority of events do not have a single ‘well-defined’ target audience. So, you need to consider all the different audience types – the Baby Boomers (1946 to 1960’s), Generation X (1965 -1976) and Generation Y (1977 onwards). However, Generation Y is largest amongst the 3 audience types and is backed by both the power to purchase and the impulse to buy. So, the focus of this article will be marketing to Generation Y or Gen Y.

Marketing to Gen Y is not simple. They are not known for following regular patterns of behavior i.e. while they watch TV and read newspapers; marketing to them via these traditional mediums is not very effective. Gen Y has grown up on advertising and marketing campaigns and tends to block out most messages unless they are looking to buy that specific product.        

Gen Y is the wireless and internet generation. In fact, marketing gurus think of them as the ‘native online population’. They have grown up with technology such as Mobile Phones, PC’s, Internet, Ipods etc. and consider the internet their playground. Research by Forrester Research, indicates that 90% of Gen Y spend more time on the internet than watching TV. Therefore, the best way to reach and communicate with this audience is on their home ground ‘The Internet’.

When using the internet to market to Gen Y, you can use multiple modes of online marketing and advertising - websites, social networking sites, bulltetin boards, banner advertising etc. 

	Gen Y uses the internet as their main source of information. So, if you want to make this generation aware about your event, it is vital to have a website. This refers not only to search engines and websites but also social networking sites.
	Another method you can use is posting event information on virtual bulletin boards, social networking website or blogging. For example: MySpace, Facebook, YouTube etc. This is a cheap yet effective form of marketing.
	You can also use Banner Advertising i.e. post event banners on websites they website your audience visits frequently. This will enable you to reach out to a wider audience.

You can also boost your event numbers and enhance your brand image is by providing them with an instant online registration and payment option. This will allow them to register and pay for their event registration or ticket immediately. Moreover, this added convenience will be much appreciated by Gen Y as they are used to a fast-paced, instant world.

In conclusion, when marketing to Gen Y the most effective medium of communication is the internet. So, you need to launch your event online if you want it to be successful.