Covid has completely warped our sense of time. We are arguably in the most nostalgia-obsessed era yet. Multiple lockdowns began to make us nostalgic for things that only happened a week ago and this yearning has continued. Fashion, food, films – no product is safe from nostalgia. And, why should it be? Nostalgia can be a powerful marketing tool when used correctly, which also makes it a powerful selling tool.
In the past, something couldn’t be labelled as nostalgic until it was around 20+ years old, now it’s applied to nearly anything remembered with a bittersweet feeling. That feeling is what your brand or business can use to sway your audience. There are three main ways your sales can benefit from nostalgia marketing.
Positivity
We don’t remember things exactly as they happened. Even the sharpest minds will have a slightly biased view of a time, place or situation. This is especially true when it comes to products or services because what we’re remembering are the feelings, not necessarily the product or service itself. The feeling can just be because the memory is something from our youth that we’ll never experience again.
Nostalgia marketing allows you to use these positive feelings and associate them with your business and what you offer. Think about the adverts you used to watch on TV, a few notes of music can send you right back. You don’t really care about whatever cleaning product was being advertised but it’s still a core memory for you because you associate it with being young and carefree.
Safety
Some businesses worry that using nostalgia marketing will make them seem outdated since doing this associates your business with something in the past; there’s the fear that innovation will suffer. The truth is, most people find the future or anything unknown off-putting. It’s often why people can’t commit to a new product or service. Nostalgia marketing can solve this.
Taking something new (like your product or service) and associating it with something old creates a safety blanket for people. It makes your product or service something familiar even when it’s not because those nostalgic feelings are being associated with it. It also makes it a shared experience with everyone else who experiences this nostalgia, offering another layer of security.
Missing out
The bittersweet feeling of nostalgia also comes from missing something or a time that no longer exists. It makes us realise how fleeting time really is and how we need to appreciate each moment. Nostalgia marketing can associate this same feeling with your service or product. It’s almost like you’re giving people another chance to relive that memory, a chance they will not want to miss out on.
You can use nostalgia marketing in this way to create a bond between your audience and your product/service/brand. It links right back to creating positive feelings and even gratitude that you’ve helped your audience reconnect with this part of their past.
Should you use nostalgia marketing?
Whether you should use nostalgia marketing or not depends on your audience, your brand, your message and your goals – just as any marketing tactic does! But, you shouldn’t be afraid to use this marketing tool because you’re worried it will make you appear outdated. Research your audience, find out what makes them nostalgic and strategies how and if that aligns with your brand values.