Article by: Alica Hazelwood, Senior Research Analyst
We have officially reached the beginning of fall, which marks the arrival of pumpkin spice lattes, long naps while football plays in the background, and apple orchard weekends. And for me, there’s one more seasonal marker: the launch of next year’s planners.
Yes, it feels early. But one scroll through Planner TikTok will prove I’m not alone. As early as August, brands kick off multi-week launch cycles, spotlighting new layouts, prints, stickers, and covers (Hobonichi, I’m looking at you).
The comments light up, Reddit threads spin, and the perennial question returns: How many planners do I “need,” which prints, and which accessories? In the end of my doom-scrolling, I feel more knowledgable about paper than the top salesman at Dunder Mifflin. Need to know about A5, B6, Tomoe Paper? I got you.
But Here’s the thing: this isn’t just stationery, it’s aspiration. People aren’t buying paper; they’re buying a version of themselves they want to step into this fall and carry into next year: organized, consistent, proud of their routines.
Turning Aspiration into Evidence
- Surface the future-self: Qual + quant to map who customers want to be and the emotions they’re chasing.
- Size the “why”: Segment by motivations (drivers and barriers), not demographics, to see which identity stories matter most.
- Prove what resonates: Test outcome-first messages for identity fit, not just feature appeal, and track a single aspiration metric alongside intent.
This is how an MR partner like SMARI ties what people buy to who they want to become, and shows which stories earn loyalty.
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SMARI is an award-winning Indiana-based market research consultancy that was founded in 1983 with the idea of guiding change and inspiring confidence. We are proud to work with SMEs as well as a variety of Fortune 500 brands. We are powered by our core values: integrity, community, perseverance, trust, passion, curiosity, and innovation. SMARI’s expertise includes full project scopes, including instrument design, sampling & fielding services, reporting & analysis in Healthcare, CPG, Retail, Food & Beverage, Manufacturing, Financial Services industries, and beyond. Much has changed in our 40+ years, but our tagline and overarching mission remain the same—to guide change and inspire confidence. Start a conversation with us at www.SMARI.com.
