The past never truly goes out of fashion. A mere cursory glance at the latest consumer trends, where bygone memories are becoming popular again, should be enough to reach this assertion.
Stephen Spielberg’s iconic summer blockbuster Jaws gets re-released in IMAX, Polaroid cameras record an unprecedented surge in sales, and Barbie doll sales soar to new heights following the release of the smash hit Barbie movie. Meanwhile, Kate Bush’s forgotten hit single, Running Up the Hill, tops the UK charts, and of course, vinyl records and cassettes are filling music store shelves once again.
This is nostalgia marketing at its peak!
Multiple psychological studies have found that nostalgia can influence consumer perceptions and decisions in several ways. Its ability to create deep emotional connections is something brands can use to foster a sense of trust and familiarity, making consumers more likely to engage and become brand loyalists.
Now more than ever, brands are eager to understand what are the distinct factors that trigger a sense of longing and nostalgia and how they can harness it in their brand marketing strategy.
Taking Consumers Back to Their Comfort Zones
Scratching the surface of consumer behavior will reveal that in times of stress, people are often drawn to familiar, comforting experiences from their past, including brands and products that harken back to a simpler era. Today’s consumers live in increasingly stressful times, having experienced rising economic uncertainty, escalating geopolitical tensions, and global health crises fueled by climate change. They are left yearning for things that remind them of more comfortable, safer, and predictable times.
For instance, amid widespread concerns regarding processed foods and scores of studies on the health issues associated with long-term consumption of such products, consumers feel a strong need to return to simpler dishes of their childhood that they perceive to be healthier than currently available options.
Paying heed to this major shift in their preferences, many brands worldwide are eagerly introducing healthier, cleaner, organic alternatives that incorporate beloved flavors and ingredients from the past—albeit, with a modern twist!
Building Products With a Blend of Sentimental Appeal and Advanced Features
A nostalgic appeal can significantly influence consumer loyalty, leading them to choose one product over another. This is the single biggest reason instant cameras have made a resurgence, despite having a lower image quality than its digital counterparts. Brands are keen on introducing products that capture the vintage aesthetic while incorporating improved, contemporary features. This helps them attract a base of consumers looking for both familiarity and innovation.
Evoking Nostalgia With Skilful Use of Social Media
Anything that appears on social media remains forever in some way or the other. This digital immortality is helping brands tap into the cultural zeitgeist through content like memes and internet lore. Posts on social channels that refer to a classic ad campaign or a retro product feature are working wonders for brands, resonating with older audiences while introducing them to younger consumers. This, in turn, gets people to talk, comment, and share the posts, sparking discussions across social media networks and beyond that further enhance the brand’s reach.
Why More Brands are Turning to Market Research For Strengthening Their ‘Nostalgia Marketing’ Efforts
It might appear that nostalgia is something that only long-running, established brands that have a rich history and a wealth of past experiences can leverage to attract, retain, and re-engage consumers. But can new brands use nostalgia in marketing campaigns, even if they don’t have decades of history to tap into? And is there even a way to influence their target consumers to feel nostalgic for certain products they are offering?
The answer is a resounding yes! Whether it is a large, long-standing brand or a young brand just starting, getting insights into what triggers nostalgic feelings in consumers can very well be their gateway to creating winning products and building a strong brand presence. For that, they must explore the recesses of consumers’ minds and unearth their deepest motivations, which calls for qualitative research analysis.
Our qualitative deep-dive solution—equipped with sentiment and content analysis and natural language processing (NLP)—delves into the subconscious, cultural, and emotional factors influencing consumer decisions within the broader socio-cultural, economic, and technological landscape. This helps businesses track their target consumers’ activities, capture their emotional triggers, identify patterns in their behaviors, and use this to innovate and improve everything from product design to marketing strategies.
Going further into deciphering consumer choices is increasingly important for businesses in creating strong brand recall and audience connect with an effective brand marketing strategy. This is where our brand tracking and brand equity measurement solution comes into play, as it is a comprehensive framework for measuring brand-consumer relationships. Enabling brand-focused segmentation based on consumer relationships, our framework offers businesses actionable insights for effectively targeting and engaging both brand and non-users.
These solutions help businesses create targeted brand marketing strategies that position their brands in a way that resonates with old and new consumers alike.
Revisiting the Past to Deliver Brand Messages of the Future
Once brands—both old and new—realize that nostalgia is a powerful force that can shape consumer behavior and drive brand loyalty, they can launch more products that stand the test of time, while capturing the hearts (and wallets) of modern consumers.
By thoughtfully incorporating elements of nostalgia in marketing strategies, brands can forge deeper emotional connections with consumers that translate into greater engagement levels and boosted bottom lines. After all, looking back is sometimes the best way to move forward!
