Spotify's Cherise Bernard Leads University Partnerships to Support Gen Z

As part of their new monthly Facebook Live series LMHQ the nonprofit workspace of Lower Manhattan that aims to build knowledge and community recently hosted a QA discussion with Spotify39s Senior Talent Acquisition Partner Dr Cherise Bernardamp160 Bernard is responsible for leading the growth of Spotify39s new Academic Relations Division and spoke at length with LMHQ Director of Membership Alexandra Montalbano about the streaming platform39s goal of initiating and managing partnerships between Spotify and universitiesSpotify39s Academic Relations Division aims to initiate and manage partnerships between Spotify and American universities to hire STEM students in attempts to amplify research in artificial intelligence machine learning and natural language processing for new product developmentamp160 This partnership is an example of a creative initiative developed by a brand to meet the new learning behaviors and needs of Generation ZTowards the end of the QA I asked Bernard quotHow does Spotify use programming and partnerships to meet this generation39s needs now that we39re in college and preparing for employmentquotamp160 Bernard responded quotThe behaviors spending habits and drivers are completely different for each generation and it39s our job as a company to be able to speak to a variety of consumersamp160 We rely on our experts in the fieldamp160 The goal is to ultimately have our finger on the pulse in different genres generations andamp160cultures so much that we seek out and build partnerships that would attract a diverse group of consumers and listenersamp160 Not only that the lyrics in the music on the platform tell a storyamp160 The music is a builtin GPS into what we need to explore nextamp160 Finally our users also inform usamp160 We have a dynamic user research team that learns from our external audience and translates the research collaboratively to our external teamsquotAs a firsthand Gen Z college studentamp160myself I understand how crucial it is for universities to begin seeking alternative ways to educate and empower their studentsamp160 Tuition rates are on the rise yet job placement rates are on the declineamp160 Universities are not equipped to adjust to their consumers39 trends and reach this demographic at the rate in which commercial brands canamp160 Therefore the use of university partnerships as a way to engage with this consumer demographic is beneficial to all parties involved the brands the universities and the studentsSpotify39s Academic Relations Division understands why it39s so important to tap into this demographic in a unique way that fits their current behaviors Per a StudyPortals analysis published last year quotThe attention span of Gen Z is roughly eight seconds compared to Millennials39 12 seconds and their capacity to hyperprocess information is faster than everamp160 Additionally Gen Zers are far more likely to engage with content from brands they actively follow which means universities will need to consider how they39ll build relationships that this generation will cherishquotDuring the discussion Bernard said quotI have a passion for using research and science to match discovery with trendsamp160 I love engagement with people and students in particular and I have this expertise in scientific discoveryamp160 So that39s how I started exploring the academic relations side of sciencequot Bernard talked about her experience overseeing Spotify39s outreach strategy and management for all undergraduate businessamp160 MBA and PhD research internships are located in North and South AmericaPrior to Spotify Bernard worked at Elsevier a health and scientific analytics company as the Senior Manager of Global Academic Relations where she was responsible for creating and driving key strategic initiatives between Elsevier and US universitiesorganizationsamp160 She holds a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Pharmacologyamp160and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistryamp160 Being a scientist woman in tech educator and STEM advocate Bernard has learned how to leverage her many career pathways into a melting pot one that includes every piece of her journey through this coveted position at one of the world39s most innovative companiesamp160 Her education and experiences position her to influence Spotify39s Gen Z initiatives in a way that will improve their overall relations with this demographicAs Gen Zers enter the workforce Bernard acts as a helping hand to aid this processamp160 By catering to the Gen Z audience and following them as they grow Spotify can maintain and develop their relationship with their key audienceamp160 LMHQ is a shared workspace and LM stands for Lower Manhattanamp160 It39s not a company it39s quota nonprofit workspace dedicated to growing a community of downtown makers thinkersamp160and doers looking to collaborate learnamp160and networkquotClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers amp160

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Spotify's Cherise Bernard Leads University Partnerships to Support Gen Z

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