St. Joseph Communications has released it's latest trend report "2016 Print in a Digital World". The trend report identifies major trends transforming our omnichannel multiverse and how Marketers can leverage the identified examples to mix, match and marry the exciting world of print and digital.

"When some of the biggest digital disruptors on the planet, like AIR BNB and UBER, choose to print magazines to cut through the digital clutter… you know the world is in flux", says Michael Chase, Chief Marketing Officer at St. Joseph Communications. "Today you have to be a storyteller for this connected world. You have to understand the hybridization of content and the omnichannel multiverse… so that your stories connect within the ever-blurring confluence of print and digital. To find nirvana in this new customer-centric dystopia, where a brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it's what consumers tell each other it is – you have to look at your entire ecosystem."

 

Sample trends from "2016 Print in a Digital World" trend report include:

Disruptive Experiences
From smartphones to desktops, tablets to wearables, we live in a world full of real-time digital experiences. As over-saturated consumers continue to receive these experiences, real disruption comes from content that lives beyond swipes and taps and promotes a wider sensory connection.

Brand Publishers
In 2016, Brands will continue to blur the lines between news and advertising by telling richer stories. Building lasting customer engagement is based on serving, educating and entertaining them; shifting the focus off "selling" and towards creating "value" and "relevancy".

It's a Complicated Journey
The emergence of new channels is further complicating the customer journey for Marketers. Consumers will continue to move between devices and engage with Brands across multiple channels, often simultaneously. Understanding the role each channel plays within a customer journey is the new utopia.           

Don't Use the 'T'-Word
We can't think of ink and paper in the same way anymore. It floats. It saves the environment. It works well in the digital world. And most importantly, it creates deep connections with consumers. Today, Print is anything but 'traditional'.          

From Nescafe, Nokia and Target to BMW, Macy's and Ikea, this trend report showcases over 40 global examples of Brands that are blurring the lines between print and digital. The trend report also includes over 20 embedded Youtube™ videos to illustrate how these Brands are hybridizing content and building their own omnichannel ecosystems.