Nostalgia Marketing and How Brands Recreate a Time From the Past

From Gen Z to boomers, every generation has memories that are special to them. Consumers prefer aesthetic products (such as movies and music) associated with their youth, products that existed in their early to mid-twenties.

So, revisit the childhoods and youthful years of your customers and identify people and objects they’d be happy to see again, as well as events and trends they’d be happy to relive.

Be sure to choose trends that align with your business values — one of the pitfalls of revisiting the past as a marketing strategy is that it could easily backfire if done incorrectly.

Look out for occasions where nostalgic elements would be appropriate. 

Rebranding — Burger King performed their first rebrand in 20 years and they chose to revisit their iconic logo from the 70s.  

Announcing a change in business goals or direction — McDonald’s used a nostalgia-driven ad to announce the removal of artificial preservatives and antibiotics from their products.

Celebrating a milestone or anniversary — Fairy Liquid brought back its original plastic white bottle design for a limited period to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

One of the biggest benefits of nostalgic campaigns is that they are inherently shareable. The good feeling behind “Oh, I remember this!” propels people to share nostalgic posts with family and friends who are a part of those memories. 

While big businesses may have the budget for television ads, social media comes in very handy for a small business that does not have such deep pockets.  

When sharing posts that invoke memories, such as throwbacks to famous events, moments, or people, use popular hashtags such as #WaybackWednesday, #ThrowbackThursday, and #FlashbackFriday.