Vaynerchuk predicts Gen Alpha, raised on screens, will crave physical media like comic books as a "counter to all of this digital." This creates a massive opportunity for the comic industry if it can shed its gatekeeping tendencies and welcome newcomers.
As screens fill with increasingly "artificial" AI-generated content, Brian Chesky believes people will crave genuine, real-world interactions more than ever. This counter-trend, evidenced by the rising popularity of concerts and travel, creates a huge tailwind for businesses that facilitate offline connection.
The generation most immersed in digital life is developing a powerful nostalgia for a pre-internet world they've only seen in media. This drives trends like 'digital defiance' and an appreciation for analog products. Brands can tap into this by offering experiences that feel authentic and non-digital.
Japan's manga industry's success stems from a deliberate strategy to stay focused on young readers. In contrast, the US comic market aged up with its audience, losing its pipeline of new fans and guaranteeing long-term decline. This applies to any industry.
In an era of infinite, AI-generated content, physical info products (like Alex Hormozi's printed playbooks) have surged in value. Their tangibility signals curation and substance, making customers more likely to pay a premium and actually engage with the material compared to a folder of PDFs.
As AI drives the marginal cost of digital content to zero, unique, in-person events become increasingly valuable. This is a strategic bet on the enduring human need for social connection and status, which cannot be digitally replicated. Value shifts from the digital to the physical.
The strategy for reviving print media is not to compete with digital, but to reframe physical scarcity as a luxury feature. By offering a print edition as a hyper-exclusive, expensive product available only in a few elite zip codes, it becomes a status symbol.
The constant stream of new, lower-cost VFriends comics and stickers is not for the original community to buy more. It is a strategic top-of-funnel move to create accessible entry points for new people, broadening the fanbase to ultimately increase demand for core assets.
Reacting against digital oversaturation, younger consumers are creating a counter-movement toward "acoustic real experiences." This involves deliberately choosing analog technologies like point-and-shoot cameras and flip phones over their more efficient digital counterparts, creating new market opportunities for founders catering to this desire for tangible, focused experiences.
Despite his team's eagerness to enter comic book stores, Vaynerchuk is intentionally patient, waiting until the market "feels right." This protects long-term brand health by ensuring organic demand outpaces supply before expanding.
While the dominant consumer trend is digital sharing, a growing counter-movement seeks to disconnect. This creates a marketing opportunity to position analog products, like binoculars, not as outdated tools but as instruments for a "screen-free" ritual of being present in the world.