Are we seeing a physical media renaissance?
Methods+Mastery
A team of curious, tenacious, and candid experts who are committed to delivering work that works.
In today’s edition:
Gen Z’s rising interest in analog activities
Before the internet, a typical household had magazines and newspapers sprawled across coffee tables, and entertainment systems filled with DVDs, Blu-ray discs, VCRs, and video game cartridges. They had shelves of encyclopedias neatly organized by volume, vinyl records stacked by the record player, and cookbooks in the kitchen…
Now, streaming services, podcasts, online lookbooks, digital downloads, and retail apps are the norm—a by-product of changing consumption habits. Against this backdrop, the death of physical media has felt inevitable.
Not so. Like a phoenix from the ashes, physical media—the type that people can hold, own, and interact with—has risen again. And brands are catching on.?
So, why the uncharacteristic return of this slower method of consumption? And who’s behind the revival?
What we’re seeing #1: Print media’s back–and Gen Z’s leading the charge.
The iconic J.Crew catalog is back after a 7-year hiatus, and it's not just Boomers who are excited. The catalog has over 5.6M mentions on TikTok, with Gen Zers drawing fashion inspiration from its pages. But J.Crew's success story is just one example of a larger trend: brands like Bottega Veneta, Patagonia, and even Amazon are investing in catalogs and magazines, while news publications like VICE and Nylon are back in the print business. Sports Illustrated reports that print subscribers outnumber digital—a remarkable turnaround given it almost ceased operations altogether.
According to Gen Z, magazines are cool again. On TikTok, creators document their experiences of “discovering” major fashion publications like Cosmopolitan, with one proclaiming: “Cosmo is SO back.”?
Beyond magazines, physical media is also reemerging in areas like literature and music — something Fortune has dubbed “the analog economy.” While Kindles remain popular, people are gravitating back to physical books and joining IRL book clubs. Vinyl records and cassette tapes have seen a revival, reaching their highest sales since 1990.
What we’re seeing #2: This resurgence isn't driven by nostalgia; it's a response to digital overload.?
“I just went back to physical books after more than a decade using only a Kindle. It’s not nostalgia… peacefulness, if that makes any sense.”
It’d be easy to write this off as yet another example of Gen Z’s obsession with nostalgia, but in reality, it’s deeper than that. It’s evidence of Gen Z pushing back against the “always-on” digital culture they’ve become accustomed to, and are instead seeking slower, more intentional experiences.?
We see this in how they’ve brought back “snail mail” and their love of journaling, crafting, and "brain off" activities like coloring books and jigsaw puzzles. None involve a screen and all require you to be present in the moment.?
But interestingly, these offline preferences are also impacting their online experiences. When it comes to Gen Z’s podcast consumption habits, 86% say they prefer focused listening. In other words, they’re listening to podcasts without multitasking. They’re actively engaged, not passively consuming whatever is presented to them.?
What we’re seeing #3: Younger consumers find greater meaning and value in physical objects than older consumers.
Gen Z and Millennials harbor a strong desire for ownership–possibly stemming from the challenges they face in owning major assets like homes.
A Bank of America study found that affluent Millennials and Gen Z are more interested in collecting physical items like watches, jewelry, and nostalgic memorabilia, such as LEGO sets, old-school gaming consoles, and comic books than older generations.
They also increasingly gravitate towards physical music. With streaming services, there's no guarantee your favorite show or song will remain readily available. Gen Z has picked up on that, noting that tangible music collections represent the "ultimate form of music ownership." Pair that with cover art, lyrics, and signed notes from artists, and it starts to feel like digital music isn't the full experience anymore.
Gen Z’s desire for tangible, slower, more complete experiences represents, in our view, the start of a cultural reset. They’ve long been pigeonholed as needing constant stimulation and instant gratification but this shift towards slower methods of… just about everything suggests a desire for more balanced and meaningful media consumption.?
What It Means For You & Your Brand
Exploring a physical media strategy doesn’t mean abandoning your digital strategy. J.Crew and Amazon are still backing their physical activations with digital support, including QR codes in the catalog to find items online instantly. Try working in reverse by seeing what digital or social elements you already have that could work well in the physical media world.?
Consider a print activation that supports quality over quantity. Publications that publish less frequently, such as quarterly or bi-annually, are great places for larger storytelling initiatives that have a longer shelf life than a quick social or blog post. These sorts of publications tend to have highly engaged, devoted audiences that look forward to the next edition and fully expect meatier pieces to cut into.?
Embrace experimentation with physical media. This is an opportunity to move past CTAs, performance data, and relationship building that can oftentimes feel transactional on social platforms. Use physical media to show off a more creative, editorialized side to your brand that keeps them intrigued and engaged on and offline.?
The Social Scoop
Get up to speed with the biggest stories on social.
No more hashtag following on Instagram. This 2017 feature will be removed by mid-December, and any followed topics will no longer display related posts and Reels in the main feed.
Our take: This doesn’t mean hashtags are no longer useful and relevant, but algorithms have evolved to the point that they play a much smaller role in content distribution and advancing reach and performance. While this change gives the impression that hashtags are on the out, they’re still helpful for hacking Explore feeds and search results.
?
Bluesky hits record growth as it looks to become the X alternative. Since August, the number of accounts on the platform has grown from 6M to 20M, with a whopping 1M new patrons in one week. Unpopular changes on X, coupled with the fallout from the U.S. election, have led to a surge in new accounts and visitors, primarily from the U.S.
Our take: Now is the time to grab your Bluesky handles if you haven’t already. While the platform still has a way to go before competing with Threads (275M active visitors) and X (250M daily active visitors per the last report), newer features like pinned posts, video posts, and DMs remind us of the best qualities from X. There’s no verification for influential profiles and moderation is still a work in progress, but it does offer a great alternative to those seeking to escape the accelerating levels of hate speech on X.
Temu is Gen Z’s top app of 2024. The Chinese e-commerce platform saw nearly 42M downloads between January and October. It joins TikTok and Threads as one of the top three most downloaded apps. Other popular categories include finance, streaming, social networking, and AI.
Our take: Temu's popularity with Gen Z isn't just about snagging a bargain. It's a clear signal that this generation craves a shopping experience that's as fun and engaging as their favorite social platforms. Temu's meteoric rise suggests that the future of retail isn't just about selling products; it's about creating immersive, interactive worlds that keep young consumers coming back for more.
Rabbit Hole of the Month
We’re obsessed with internet rabbit holes. Here’s one we dug into this month:
Cellular memory
When it comes to memory, what part of the body comes to mind? Brains are responsible for storing different moments, sensations, and experiences. But what if it went further than that?
If you’re familiar with The Body Keeps The Score, this idea might be familiar, but new information shows that the brain is not the only organ keeping track. Introducing: “cellular memory”–an idea that has captivated audiences on X and TikTok and led to a +48% WoW increase in Google searches.?
Cellular memory suggests that all cells in the body can store memories and detect patterns. For example, it’s long been reported that organ transplant patients develop new personality traits tied to the organ donor. A new study has gone viral after one of the co-authors explained some of the groundbreaking findings in an X thread. The post has since been viewed over 8.1M times, with one of the quote reshares gaining an additional 16.7M views. Meanwhile, a TikTok video discussing an NYU article titled “Memories Are Not Only In The Brain” received nearly 50K views.?
While the average person likely has little to no experience with organ transplants, the attention it’s getting on social media hints at a wider interest in health-related phenomena. Perhaps the interest comes from a general fascination with the human body. Or maybe it’s down to how popular sci-fi stories like Red Rising have become over the past year.
Disclosure: Google is a client of Methods+Mastery
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Alt Text is brought to you by Methods+Mastery. Our insatiable curiosity and hunger to understand the world around us is what fuels our mission. We go down cultural rabbit holes to understand how trends form and how people think and behave — all so we can build work that works.
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