How might a brand continue to stay relevant with rapidly changing social norms and new technologies disrupting industries overnight? As industry leaders, we need a way to navigate the constant change.

At International Connector, we do just that!

In the dynamic landscape of today's global business environment, Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) stands out as a digitally astute, globally connected, and socially conscious cohort. This influential demographic is propelling the industry forward, demanding a swift and strategic response from forward-thinking organizations.

At International Connector, we recognize the significance of each emerging generation in shaping the world. The youth of Generation Z bring a disruptive mindset that challenges conventional notions of diversity, organizational structure, communication, and technology utilization.

Our commitment to staying ahead of these transformative shifts involves extensive engagement with young innovators across 190 countries. This global immersion allows us to gain valuable insights into the evolving landscape of today, tomorrow, and beyond.

By actively learning from digitally inclined, mission-driven, and globally focused young innovators on a daily basis, we harness the essence of the next generation. Our unique approach involves translating these insights into a business context, strategically developing mission-driven brands that resonate with and captivate both next-generation consumers and employees.

At International Connector, we view our research with young people as more than just a study; it's an extension of their right to actively participate in matters that impact them, aligning with the principles of the UNCRC. We follow a robust and inclusive process inspired by Lundy's (2007) model of participation, emphasizing key concepts such as space, voice, audience, and influence. Additionally, we adhere to Hart's Ladder model of meaningful involvement, striving for the highest levels of genuine and impactful participation by young people in shaping their future.

With a digitally savvy and global generation, companies cannot rely on standard tools to listen and respond to stakeholders, including their workforce. Instead, they need to create technology-rich, creative and engaging forums to inspire and spark their interest. Our main goal with our work is to transform the role of the participant from passive to active. 

Utilizing techniques from theatre, we bring brands to life - digitally and in-person - so consumers and employees can live, feel, and experience them. Every event, presentation, qualitative study, social impact program, and digital campaign is turned into a multi-channel and immersive experience. 

From these experiences, our clients find measurable results in team commitment, customer response and long-term product sustainability.

In all our projects, we bring these signature elements into our work:

• Immersive, interactive experiences

• Creative uses of technology

• Avenue for ESG

Many of our projects require introducing new technologies, programs or products to different markets worldwide. In order to do this, we need to establish local trust and understand the cultural nuances of each community. To navigate complicated new programs, we have developed a successful model that we continue to adapt:

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATORY MODEL

A community participatory program that empowers community members to develop “ownership” of the project. Our goal is to achieve long-term sustainability through a strong community voice.

Trusted Community Partner: Before we engage with any community, we first establish a partnership with a trusted organization that is already embedded and working within the community. Trust is vital to the success of any program.

Living Learning Lab: As we learn new ideas, we share the results with others to pilot, test, and tweak for business today. We are constantly learning through this ever-evolving process. Each location has different resources available, different needs and different goals. Our model is customized based on the insights from the Community Participatory Model.

Ecosystem of Collaborative Partnerships: Our model focuses on collaboration among organizations as no one organization can achieve all the outcomes alone.  Our private and public partnerships are developed as we seek solutions and expertise.

Stakeholder Engagement: At every stage, local empowerment, inclusion and trust need to be maintained. The community voice is kept front and center in the discussion while we connect the dots and bridge the conversations to corporations that can help provide resources and technology. Working collaboratively, we problem-solve to expand the impact.