Andrea “Andy” Coville, CEO of public relations firm Brodeur Partners, author, and the guest speaker on today’s PRSA-SV Friday Forum, conveyed findings from a survey of around 2,500 U.S. citizens from Gen Z to Boomers about what’s important to them. 

She offered a few summaries like be authentic and a trusted source of information.

Furthermore when you are posting to social media, Coville added, convey information that people tend to agree upon. For example, no one will complain about a picture of your dog. She also said that sustainability is a smart topic to discuss.

I’ll add that there’s no doubt that a quality PR professional can advise in this regard. By the way I worked with Brodeur when I was in a corporate PR department.

Here are 13 points I found most interesting:

1. A sense of community is very important. Feeling part of a tribe or community is key.
2. It’s harder to change people’s perceptions right now.
3. Society overall cares a lot about kindness, honesty and optimism.
4. Many are discussing new career directions. It looks like Boomers are the least likely to have done this in 2020 though. People are questioning their values right now.
5. If you are at a nonprofit and asking people for money, keep in mind that people are preoccupied with saving right now. They are giving, e.g. to colleges, which was the fourth top area of giving.
6. Mentoring is a good gift to give. People will give you a lot of time right now, e.g. as opposed to 2014.
7. Reliable information is hard to obtain.
8. Gen Z folks, e.g. a 20 year old, share opinions and news partially to show that they align with a certain group.
9. Millennials and Gen Xers share information more as a way to call someone out on a bad opinion.
10. “Food and drink” is the top consumer category that people are loyal to right now.
11. People tend to hang out with those who share their views. Why join a tribe or group? Friendship was cited as the top reason by 51%.
12. Attitudes towards and at businesses have changed. This is happening in a bigger way in government, healthcare, branding and diversity and inclusion.
13. There’s a rise in gaming among millennials, especially females. This was mentioned several times.

Andy Coville summarized her presentation by saying she looks forward to seeing a return to fun in branding. So do I, Andy. So do I.

Andrea Coville photo: WE Magazine

Community photo credit: Canva

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Michelle McIntyre who authored this story is a global technology PR consultant, IBM vet and the volunteer media relations lead for the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council of Boy Scouts of America which now includes females: They recently celebrated their first female Eagle Scouts. @FromMichelle on Twitter Also follow @prsasv