For years, FamilySearch has sought the most effective opportunities to inspire audiences from ages 18 to 30 to get involved in personal family discovery. However, successful targeting of this age demographic has often been difficult.
“We’re at a point in our lives where we are really busy, and we don’t feel like we have a lot of time,” said Abby Davis, a student from Brigham Young University (BYU). “But we do have more free time than we think.”
A Competition with One Goal in Mind
Student teams from campuses all over Utah were recruited for a case competition. Their task? Create a campaign that cracks the secret of promoting the involvement of young adults in family history.
Judges for this competition were three FamilySearch employees: senior outreach coordinator Chad Warren, communications coordinator Mary Hallman, and FamilySearch director of program management, Brad Lowder.
The judges had one goal in mind. “We want a campaign that engages the rising generation,” Lowder explained. “Our strategy is to use the rising generation to help us know how to reach and engage and inspire others of the rising generation.”
A Room Full of Joy
While many of the teams planned excellent approaches, the judges could not overlook the thorough, intuitive, and professional ideas structured by BYU students Sami Freeman, Brynlee Kuipers, and Keely Weeks. These young women made their mark on the judges as they presented their intricately-prepared plan to inspire the young adult mindset and simplify family history.
“[Their] presentation exceeded expectations in every category,” Hallman added. “Their ideas showed total out-of-the-box thinking and were ready to be initiated at any time. Their professionalism and teamwork received top marks and left everyone in the room full of joy.”
"We Are the Essential Bridge"
Freeman, Kuipers, and Weeks were nothing but smiles after placing 1st among the 15 teams competing. Despite the awarded cash prize and bragging rights, their carefully-crafted campaign meant more to them than just winning.
Freeman and her teammates focused their campaign on how younger generations can bridge the past and the present. “Young adults are placed at the center—not the end—of their family’s story,” Freeman explained. “Instead of being the final branch, we are the essential bridge between generations that carries the stories of the past into the future.”
Although details of their marketing plan remain private for FamilySearch’s use, these young women are optimistic about their vision for the future.
“I hope [young adults] realize it’s their role,” Kuipers emphasized. “It’s no longer their Great Aunt Marge's role. It’s their role to continue preserving family history so that it’s not just there for them, but it’s also there for future posterity.”
Tech Happy and Time Savvy
Throughout the marketing competition, the 15 teams highlighted the ease of modern technology associated with participating in family history. Younger generations can easily document a moment with the click of a phone and upload it with the touch of a button.
FamilySearch's thoughtful planning and skillful engineering have continued to improve the experience for younger users. Free and applicable products have paved the way for this experience, such as the Together app, the Get Involved app, and the Memories app.
Winning teammate Weeks has strong enthusiasm about the capabilities of youth to invest their time in family history, no matter their schedule.
“Treat it as a daily thing,” she advised. “It’s so easy to upload a picture. It’s so easy to ask your parents about your grandparents. We’re already capturing these moments every day, so we might as well upload them for the next generation.”
A Force for Change
“[Young adults] are passionate about identity and family,” Warren expressed. “We need to continue to enable them in ways relevant to them to participate in this wonderful work.”
Compared to their grandparents a hundred years ago, young adults record their lives differently, often by taking videos and pictures on devices. FamilySearch is working hard to implement more ways for this generation to preserve these memories so future generations can look back on these life entries and discover connections.
FamilySearch continues to encourage the use of their resources to make this connection a reality, and the BYU marketing case competition was the epitome of this hope. Moving forward, the judges and contestants in the competition anticipate a shift in FamilySearch’s approach to increase the involvement of young adults in family history.
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At FamilySearch, we care about connecting you with your family, and we provide fun discovery experiences and family history services for free. Why? Because we cherish families and believe that connecting generations can improve our lives now and forever. We are a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To learn more about our beliefs, click here.
