{"id":7064673,"date":"2026-09-23T09:53:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T09:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/report-design-around-engagement-not-age\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T09:53:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T09:53:23","slug":"report-design-around-engagement-not-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673","title":{"rendered":"Report: Design Around Engagement, Not Age"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A new research report suggests that associations may be overinvested in generational differences when developing programs and products, at the expense of understanding behaviors that better drive engagement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mci-group.com\/decoding-generational-behaviours\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Decoding Generational Behaviors, Motivations, and Myths<\/em><\/a>, released last month by MCI Group, questions the traditional system of using age-based personas\u2014gen Z, Millennials, etc.\u2014to define audiences. \u201cThe usual metrics no longer tell you who will actually show up,\u201d the report says, \u201cand even successful events and organizations struggle to explain why certain formats work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Erin Fuller, FASAE, CAE, global head of association solutions at MCI Group, said the report was inspired by earlier MCI research that pointed to a breakdown in typical understanding about what members and attendees might do. \u201cWe have reporting that doesn\u2019t actually tell you who will actually show up, and even when you have a successful event, when you ask why were people engaged here versus there, no one can really explain it,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to shift associations from demographics to behavioral design, because age-based segmentation is no longer enough. We think motivation and context probably matter more than generational labels.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>Motivation and context probably matter more than generational labels<\/p>\n<p><cite>Erin Fuller, FASAE, CAE, MCI Group<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For instance, the report identifies one group as \u201crising influencers,\u201d tracking largely but not exclusively to gen Z; those influencers may tend to be more technically savvy, but regardless of their age they\u2019re looking for authenticity and safety as they begin their career paths. \u201cThe motivation piece [of product and event design] is more critical because people switch careers all the time, so you can\u2019t assume that someone who\u2019s 42 necessarily has more job or industry experience as someone who\u2019s 29,\u201d Fuller said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moreover, tracking of education might focus more on how participants want to receive information rather than where they are in their careers. \u201cInstead of having an \u2018early career track\u2019 or \u2018senior track\u2019 you might design options for quiet participation where people can observe and reflect, or structured participation like guided small groups, and then opportunities to actively contribute, co-create, present, and mentor.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shift to behavior-focused design is also intended to respond to the fact that more generations are engaged in the work force and working cross-functionally. \u201cIn practice, the biggest sources of friction are usually not interpersonal,\u201d the report says. \u201cThey come from mismatched expectations around content, technology, visibility, pace and how people prefer to take part.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOrganisations that treat engagement as a living system, not a sequence of events, will retain loyalty as behaviors and expectations continue to change,\u201d the report advises. To do that, Fuller recommends looking at areas where deep engagement already exists and building on it, rather than standing up yet another brand-new program.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou need to ask, \u2018Does it feel transactional, or does this feel like a genuine investment and development?\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cAssociations often will ask, how do we get more mentors? And I think that the better question is, where in our existing systems is mentoring already naturally occurring, and how do we lean in on that?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new research report suggests that associations may be overinvested in generational differences when developing programs and products, at the expense of understanding behaviors that better drive engagement. Decoding Generational Behaviors, Motivations, and Myths, released last month by MCI Group, questions the traditional system of using age-based personas\u2014gen Z, Millennials, etc.\u2014to define audiences. \u201cThe usual [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7064674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12280,141448,188996,97575],"tags":[1082,1185,1748,10930],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7064673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leadership","category-learning-and-development","category-strategy-and-operations","category-workplace","tag-age","tag-design","tag-engagement","tag-report"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Report: Design Around Engagement, Not Age - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Report: Design Around Engagement, Not Age - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new research report suggests that associations may be overinvested in generational differences when developing programs and products, at the expense of understanding behaviors that better drive engagement. Decoding Generational Behaviors, Motivations, and Myths, released last month by MCI Group, questions the traditional system of using age-based personas\u2014gen Z, Millennials, etc.\u2014to define audiences. \u201cThe usual [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-23T09:53:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-1176681661.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"Report: Design Around Engagement, Not Age\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-23T09:53:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673\"},\"wordCount\":520,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-1176681661.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Age\",\"Design\",\"Engagement\",\"Report\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Leadership\",\"Learning and Development\",\"Strategy and Operations\",\"Workplace\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673\",\"name\":\"Report: Design Around Engagement, Not Age - Som2ny Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-1176681661.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-23T09:53:23+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-1176681661.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-1176681661.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Report: Design Around Engagement, Not Age\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"description\":\"Daily Deals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Som2ny Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Report: Design Around Engagement, Not Age - Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Report: Design Around Engagement, Not Age - Som2ny Network","og_description":"A new research report suggests that associations may be overinvested in generational differences when developing programs and products, at the expense of understanding behaviors that better drive engagement. Decoding Generational Behaviors, Motivations, and Myths, released last month by MCI Group, questions the traditional system of using age-based personas\u2014gen Z, Millennials, etc.\u2014to define audiences. \u201cThe usual [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673","og_site_name":"Som2ny Network","article_published_time":"2026-09-23T09:53:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-1176681661.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371"},"headline":"Report: Design Around Engagement, Not Age","datePublished":"2026-09-23T09:53:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673"},"wordCount":520,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-1176681661.jpg","keywords":["Age","Design","Engagement","Report"],"articleSection":["Leadership","Learning and Development","Strategy and Operations","Workplace"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673","name":"Report: Design Around Engagement, Not Age - Som2ny Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-1176681661.jpg","datePublished":"2026-09-23T09:53:23+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-1176681661.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-1176681661.jpg","width":1000,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7064673#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Report: Design Around Engagement, Not Age"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","name":"Som2ny Network","description":"Daily Deals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization","name":"Som2ny Network","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","width":300,"height":86,"caption":"Som2ny Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/fivemor.com"],"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7064673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7064673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7064673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7064674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7064673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7064673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7064673"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdealstore&post=7064673"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=7064673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}