NOSTALGIA IN BRANDING: WHEN TO USE IT, WHEN TO AVOID IT.
We build relationships through trust and emotion. Your brand is the relationship you have with the world. So, naturally, we want to build that relationship through trust and emotion. When we have a strong relationship with our target audience, they choose us more often, they pay more for what we’re selling, and they stay loyal to us.
What it is
A 2018 study of “Finding Meaning in Nostalgia“in the Review of General Psychology notes “Nostalgia helps people find meaning in their lives, and it does so primarily by increasing social connectedness (a sense of belongingness and acceptance), and secondarily by augmenting self-continuity (a sense of connection between one's past and one's present).”
As marketers, we want our brand to make people feel…something. Sometimes that feeling is happiness (thanks, Coke!) or productivity (hi, Microsoft!). Maybe it’s comfort (Johnson & Johnson have this one cornered).
The question is how do we make our audiences feel what we want them to feel?
One of the most tried and true ways is to lean on the tried and true: nostalgia. After Covid-19, an MRC study looked at the impact of the pandemic on the entertainment industry found that more than half of consumers used television and music of the past for comfort and escape.
Nostalgia taps into past feelings and evokes happiness, comfort, and security. All things most brands would be just fine being associated with. So it’s clearly a powerful marketing tool.
When it’s used
It’s often used in times of uncertainty. When people are feeling stressed or uncertain, they often turn to the past for comfort. We see nostalgia used as an effective strategy during recessions or other economic downturns across all forms of art. During World War II movies like “Meet Me in St. Louis'' and songs like “Long Ago and Far Away” keep Americans focused on happier times.
In the aftermath of 9/11, many brands used nostalgia marketing to help consumers cope with the trauma of the event — Budweiser's "This Bud's for You" campaign leaned into unity through an Americana brand and General Motors urged viewers to 'keep America rolling' by buying cars with a zero interest-rate deal.
During the 2008 recession, we saw the same: Cotton Inc. reintroduced the jingle from 1989, “The Fabric of Our Lives,” and Tiffany & Co. dropped a campaign with products at a reasonable entry price using the tagline “Dreams Can Still Come True” with, of course, the beautiful photography and Tiffany Blue we all know so well.
Why are we seeing it now?
2023 is “post” pandemic and the economy has been volatile but not surging into a sure-fire recession like many economists all but guaranteed last year. Experts are calling this feeling a polycrisis, a collective experience that “describes the interplay between the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the energy, cost-of-living and climate crises.”
Yay…
It doesn’t sound like we’re escaping any of these crises anytime soon, so unsurprisingly, we’re seeing nostalgia dominate the entertainment, branding and mass media industries:
Rakuten’s Clueless Super Bowl commercial touting Alicia Silverstone as the “ultimate influencer.”
The U.S. Army bringing back to the ol’ “Be All You Can Be” slogan in the hopes of redefining the idea for another generation and boosting their enrollment numbers
Mattel’s Barbie movie premiering next week as another example of their strategy keeping Barbie alive all these years. The film features a diverse cast of characters and a soundtrack that paid homage to classic '80s and '90s pop songs.
Another one from Mattel: Later this year, they’re launching their first Hot Wheels theme park in Glendale, Arizona all based on the race car toy line.
We’re sharing experiences more than ever – for better or worse. And nostalgia is a short-hand way to connect.
Using it well
Here are some tips for using nostalgia marketing effectively:
Be authentic. Don't try to force owned nostalgia. If you have a brand with a strong connection to the past, lean into it. If not, don’t fake it. Instead pull in cues from a time in the past that aligns with your brand’s soul and build from there.
Be selective. Not all nostalgia is created equal. Choose memories that are positive and relevant to your target audience. And, man, oh, man. For the love of all things, don’t appropriate cultures for your brand gain.
. There are many ways to use nostalgia in marketing. Don't just rely on old ads or products. Get creative and find new ways to connect with consumers on an emotional level. In fact, connecting to the past but providing a fresh spin on it for a modern perspective is the cost of entry for this kind of effort.
Consumers of all generations have a fine bullsh!t detector and if you’re not following the above tips, you’re going to look like you’re trying too hard to be drippy (like my use of “drippy”)
Like all things brand, knowing how to utilize nostalgia starts with knowing what motivates and drives your audience, beyond just their demographics. Not all millennials lived the grunge life or dug Lisa Frank trapper keepers. But if you can find the overlap between those two groups, you might just have the brand campaign of the century on your hands.