That final scene in Stranger Things, where the baton was handed off from the kids who became adults to the next generation of kids, that's some good stuff.
I've watched my new subscribers and unsubs post-COVID. There are more unsubs than new subscribers. Not a big shift, but more. I recognize many of the unsubs ... some have been reading this blog for two decades. There's a clear trend.
- Many (most) unsubs are people either no longer working at catalog brands or are people who have likely retired from catalog brands.
- New subs largely represent a new generation of marketers, and their interests are "different" ... which is reflected in the different direction I've taken my writing post-COVID.
The baton is being handed off.
In track and field, when the baton is handed off, the next runner gets to run that leg. The influence of the prior runner is only reflected by the position the new runner possesses in relation to other competitors.
A year ago (ish) a catalog professional reached out to me, commenting on how this person wanted the "new generation" to "embrace catalogs". This professional mentioned that he was trying to teach younger professionals about the art and science of catalog marketing, but "they just don't seem to care".
Correct. They don't care. They don't care about merge/purge theory. The don't care about wrongly matching social orders to a catalog. They don't care about co-ops/lists. They don't think that #printisback. They don't care about the "fact" that 77% of Gen-Z prefers print. They don't care about postal discounts. They don't care about postal advocacy in politics. They don't care about order curves. They don't care about QR codes printed on page 128. They don't care about page 128. They don't care about remails. They don't care about RFM segmentation.
They don't care. You handed the baton off to them. It's their race now. You can cheer them on. You can't tell them how to run. It's out of your control.
And I get it, for many readers that is frustrating. But it was that way when you were young. When you were a young professional, you played a role in shifting retail from downtowns to suburban malls ... you played a role in moving catalogs from big books to monthly small books. Somebody wanted you to embrace tradition. You didn't care. They handed the baton off to you, you ran with it. You ran your own race.
In 2026, we're increasingly handing off the baton. It's a good thing!
More important - over the next five years, the ecommerce generation hands the baton off to the AI generation. That's gonna be something to watch.
