Who doesn’t love that oldie but goodie tb vibe imagery on social media? That little reminder of how good, simpler, or just safer life used to be. It’s incredible how one look at a familiar, beloved TV show character can bring back the delicious smell of fresh-baked cookies you enjoyed with your family over a favorite show.
The power of nostalgia marketing
Guess what? Brands are on to this, and they play into these nostalgic feelings to make you convert. By inserting bits of beloved famous culture figures and moments into branded ads, marketers and creators capitalize on our nostalgic feelings.
What is nostalgia marketing
It’s basically any form of nostalgic advertisement that uses popular trends from the past to lure in new audiences. And it’s pretty much everywhere around us. It’s in the cookies commercial on TV, featuring a beloved actress or scenery from a popular 90’s TV show. Fashion brands rely heavily on filters and effects that resemble the 90’s aesthetic to bring back good memories. From YouTube commercials, Instagram filters to website design and product packaging, nostalgia marketing examples are everywhere you look.
Nostalgia is a powerful feeling driving our choices, especially when it comes to purchasing decisions we make. Nostalgia is why the popular 90’s show Friends is one of the top three most-watched shows on Netflix to this day. Imagine how many 30 and 40-somethings are bingeing it over and over again, hoping it would bring back some of that past carefree memories.
What exactly is behind nostalgia marketing, and why it is considered one of the most powerful advertising strategies.
Let’s break it all down so you can start incorporating it into your social media strategy.
Nostalgia causes positive emotions
It’s simply human nature to forget anything bad and only remember only the best highlights from the past. Think of your childhood or early adolescent years. Probably the first thing that comes to mind is the great memories of family trips and fun sleepover parties with friends. Not the sleepless nights when you dreaded the maths test results or your parents’ reaction after finding out you got a new pet hamster. Right?
It goes even beyond that. Studies have shown that nostalgia is even quite beneficial as an antidote to feelings of loneliness and alienation. It teaches us to be more grateful, to realize our interconnectedness, and show empathy towards people around us.
The famous #KenzoLovesBritney 2018 campaign perfectly reflects the power of nostalgia marketing on social media. Capitalizing on the 90’s fashion trends come back, the brand partnered with THE pop icon that marked the era. The nostalgic pieces, including cropped tops and denim pieces reminiscent of the trademark Britney style brilliantly titled Memento, exploded on Instagram, securing the brand’s record engagement.
Nostalgia induces optimism and resilience
Another interesting finding of the effect of nostalgia suggests that nostalgia positively impacts our optimism and resilience levels. Participants in the study described past personal events with more encouraging words than they used for current events.
This phenomenon is also shown in the famous 2019 challenge that we’ve seen across social media. The #10YearChallenge saw people posting their 2009 photos against their 2019 images to show how much progress they made in terms of their looks, fitness, or profession. A similar thing happened with the most recent 2020 “How It Started vs. How It’s Going” meme. People took to social media to show off their amazing success stories. Aside from a few funny exceptions, the challenge perfectly exemplified the effect of nostalgia to evoke resilience and inspire progress and positive change.
Nostalgia marketing entices people to spend more
Nothing like a good ol’ trip down the memory lane to turn your followers into customers, research shows. Participants who were asked to think about the past were more likely to spend more money on the offered products than the group asked to focus on future plans.
This is most certainly a significant data point for anyone challenged with a strong social media plan aimed at securing more conversions. Emotions are the most powerful drivers for consumers, and nostalgia is at the top of the list of feeling every marketer should focus on.
Give a little bit of love, and you’ll get it back
Bad news travels fast, but positivity gets engagement. Moreover, is it the feeling you want to be associated with your brand?
Think of it this way. Are you using social media to rant about all that bothers you in the world, or do you consider it a perfect entertaining escape from negativity?
Chances are, the vast majority of your audience shares your opinion. In fact, social media posts triggering positive emotions result in higher engagement. Just remember the Kenzo Britney campaign. Or analyze any of the higher-engagement Instagram profiles you follow and see how the audiences respond to positive messaging.
Nostalgia generates more traffic on social
Sure, you’re already familiar with the fact that to succeed in any type of business nowadays, your best bet is to use social media as your primary marketing channel.
But once you step into this over-competitive world, you’ll also realize how challenging it is to cut through the noise and reach wider audiences.
Nostalgia works exceptionally well when it comes to this. Due to all mentioned reasons combined, nostalgia is the best way to improve brand awareness and get those engagement numbers up.
Just think of the ever-popular #ThrowbackThursday hashtag that took the social media world by storm and still generates a ton of traffic to this day. Why? People love to reminisce about the past. Whether it’s their personal histories, or a collective memory involving some big event, or even something as a retro packaging of their beloved product, chances are they would get involved in the conversation about it.
And, once you have their attention, it becomes way easier to move them further your sales funnel. Moreover, once your potential customers start associating your brand with their most cherished memories, you’ll get bonus points for credibility.
Nostalgia in service of authenticity
Another vitally important reason nostalgia marketing campaigns are super effective is that they provide a more realistic and genuine feel. There’s nothing like a realistic approach combined with a walk down the memory lane that speaks to consumers. It lets them know the brand was there through all their different life periods and how it has served different generations in their family.
Examples of nostalgic commercials to inspire your memorable branded content
In addition to using it to captivate your audience’s attention, nostalgia marketing will serve to create more meaningful connections with your community. Let’s look at some of the most memorable nostalgia examples in marketing and use them as an inspo for your future campaigns.
Apple
Leave it to Apple to mesmerize audiences with the touch of perfectly placed nostalgia in their advertising. Casting the beloved Cookie Monster character as the star of their ad for iPhone 6s was a major hit among audiences.
Although it may be out of your budget to cast a famous celebrity or a favorite Muppet, there are ways you can introduce different elements that bring about our favorite childhood characters or shows. Play around with colors, fonts, add puns or scenery reminiscent of the bygone era to get similar results.
McDonald’s
Another brilliant example of nostalgia marketing comes from McDonald’s 2016 campaign. The brand set out to announce the removal of artificial preservatives from their chicken products but did so in a way that captured different generations. It’s a perfect example of how to successfully combine new and improved products with the old values and nostalgic feelings associated with the brand.
Target
In one of the most mesmerizing nostalgia commercials of all time, Target and Star Wars join forces to promote Star Wars: The Force Awakens merchandise. A two-minute clip shows kids of different generations dressed up as characters from the franchise re-enacting some of the well-known scenes and dialogues with the theme music playing in the background.
This ad has it all. From the family time moments to cutest children, to different generations and collective memory and feeling of connectedness over a favorite movie. It’s a perfect move to capture long-time fans and convert new ones at the same time.
Doritos
The brand is giving us the 90s vibe with a twist for their 2019 Super Bowl commercial. Chance the Rapper meets The Backstreet Boys, and it’s the match made in nostalgia marketing heaven. The ad perfectly combines some old but gold moments with a contemporary element to promote the new Flaming Hot Nacho flavor.
Takeaway
The trends may come and go, and what once was considered a major hit can soon sink into oblivion. Until it resurfaces back just a couple of decades ago in a brilliantly placed nostalgia ad. Use the tips and examples from our article to craft your own nostalgia piece for social. Bring back the spirit of old times to evoke the best memories that spark conversions.
What is your favorite nostalgia marketing example? Let us know in the comments.
