On Hobonichi 2026 and marketing hype
This morning, I just noticed that Hobonichi is currently doing their big preview month for 2026, so I had a look.
Honestly, I find it just a little bit weird that they're choosing August as the month to get the hype train going for next years calendars / planners. To me, that's kind of like trying to get people excited for new Christmas decorations in July.
Thinking of it, though ... there probably are "Christmas-heads" out there who are so into that specific holiday that they start checking online shops and making shopping lists in the summer. This Hobonichi preview month is just the stationery / journaling / planner version of the same phenomenon. And since I did end up looking, I'm part of the audience they're targeting, in a way.
Planner considerations
I'm not going to be buying anything before November, and I'm not even sure if it's going to be another Hobonichi.
I switched from an A6 to a Weeks this year because the A6 had too much space that just ended up being left blank, and I'm still having that problem with the Weeks. Add to that the paper inconsistencies, and I think that it might just be a good time time to try something different next year. Something in an even smaller format, at a cheaper price. If I'm not using my fountain pens in the planner anyway (or only super "bulletproof" inks), I don't have to pay premium for Tomoe River paper.
Out of everything that's been previewed so far, the regular Weeks with the green cover suits my taste. If I do end up getting another Hobonichi, I guess I'm getting that one.
Becoming marketing-resistant
I was a bit surprised by how little of the stuff on the website I was interested in. They are doing a Moomin collaboration next year, which should totally be up my alley, but none of it "hit quite right." Meanwhile, there are people online who are agonizing about being confronted with too many things they want - "my wallet is crying" and all that.
I'm not super into fashion or lifestyle stuff, but I do think that I have a pretty specific personal taste / preference that makes me "marketing-resistant" in a lot of situations. Often, my response to marketing ends up being "that's cool, I guess ... but not for me."
Of course, on the flipside, when something manages to appeal to my taste exactly, I become very susceptible. That's what all the big advertising companies want to achieve with hyper-targeted ads and marketing. But I feel some budget restrictions, not being too online and making sure to preserve some common sense can mitigate the risk effectively.
Closing thoughts
I still find the Hobonichi marketing hype to be a bit weird, but there was one genuinely positive thing about this: Looking at the new stuff made me want to use my current Hobonichi Weeks more again. It's easy to neglect this stuff halfway through the year, when the excitement and novelty has worn off, but being reminded of it (even if it is by a marketing campaign) can make you re-appreciate the things you already have.