Written for Influencer Intelligence
Nostalgia Marketing is a common strategy used to associate the target audience’s positive emotions about the past with a product or service to boost sales. Marketers use references to familiar elements, ideas, or events from previous decades to tug at their audience’s heartstrings.
According to recent research from GWI, Gen Z is the most nostalgic generation, driving the trend alongside millennials, with 50% of Gen Z feeling nostalgic for types of media, followed by 47% of millennials. This preference has extended into the fashion sector, with 54% of Gen Z liking the style of vintage clothes, leading to many trends from the ‘90s and Y2K experiencing a resurgence in the last few years, as has the beauty industry. The likes of butterfly clips, bandanas and cargo trousers have made a full comeback. On TikTok, the hashtag #90s has 55.7bn views, #Y2K has 19.9bn and #nostalgia has 96.8bn views and counting. According to Google trends, y2k as a search term has increased from a value of 5 to a value of 100 in the past five years.
Breathing new life into marketing campaigns whilst harnessing fond memories and positive sentiment, consumers today are more likely to spend money if feeling nostalgic. The pandemic has been a powerful driver in the psychological desire to remember more pleasant, simpler times, when economic and environmental concerns weren’t as rife. A form of escapism, nostalgic provides refuge from the unsettled world we are currently living in.
Many brands have capitalised on pop culture IP to sell products in recent years, with the likes of Skinny Dip, CASETiFY and Buzzfeed leading the charge. Beauty brand Revolution Makeup regularly releases collaborations and collections inspired by television and film from the era such as Beetlejuice, The Powerpuff Girls and Friends. Similarly, Spectrum Collections popularised their Mean Girls brush collection in 2017 – 13 years after the movie’s release. The immense success of Netflix series Stranger Things – now entering its fifth season - signals the consumer appetite for ‘80s memorabilia, as do cinematic remakes of Super Mario and Top Gun. Speaking to Fashion & Beauty Monitor, Richie Jones, former Marketing Director at Truffle Shuffle notes: “Looking back to a care-free life - this is what we all pine for again. Growing up needs to happen, but it’s never been fun. Getting to enjoy something just for the joy of it, like watching a classic cartoon or movie you practically wore out on VHS growing up is a great escape and a reminder of how good it can all be. People will always believe that ‘things were better back then.’”
Nostalgia creates a community using shared experiences to unite generations, and is being leveraged by not only brands, but content creators. A host of digital influencers have made a name for themselves using relatable throwbacks to engage with their followers. British creator Star Holroyd amassed 1.4m TikTok and 119K Instagram followers with humorous ‘90s and Y2K content, such as reviewing issues of Mizz magazine and ranking discontinued sweets. She has attracted brand partnerships from the likes of Heinz, Argos, Sainsbury’s, Sky and Three off the back of this tactic.
Sabine Safar has racked up 98.9m likes on her TikTok videos recreating dance routines from the ‘90s and 2000s, from the likes of Street Dance, Camp Rock and Charlie’s Angels. Jenna Barclay Testa worked with Pop Tarts last year to mark the re-launch of its iconic Frosted Grape Flavour by popular demand. Jenna posts funny characterisations of scenarios played out in the 2000s as her main topic. Her 8.25% Instagram engagement rate is well above the 3.07% average for her follower bracket.
Justin, known as 90skid4lyfe has 1.2m followers on Instagram and creates Reels on 90s and early 2000s lifestyle and entertainment. Erin Miller calls herself a ‘90s & 00s historian’ on her TikTok, which attracts 2.2m followers. Referencing beauty trends and music of the time, Erin’s single posts can achieve millions of views. She typically uses the #millennials #2000s and #nostalgic tags for discoverability. More and more creators are embracing nostalgia on social media, recognising the power in retrospection.
In June 2023, Tamagotchi globally launched Tamagotchi Uni, using TikTok mega-influencer Charli D’Amelio as its global ambassador. Whilst this illustrates the infiltration of nostalgia into modern day influencer marketing, brands should be mindful to maintain authenticity. Though appealing to the next generation with her online stardom, Charli D’Amelio was born in 2004, far too late to have enjoyed the original launch of these cult ‘90s toys. In order to rally like-minded customers, brands may have more success embracing those ‘nostalgia-fluencers’ making it their business to speak from memory within the space, harnessing their own personal experience.
Nostalgia Marketing extends well into the advertising world, with the likes of Coca-Cola revisiting its original ‘Holidays Are Coming’ Christmas ad, Motorola re-introducing its classic Razr mobile phone, Spotify naming Atreyu from The NeverEnding Story as its spokesperson and Rakuten’s using Alicia Silverstone’s Cher in its Clueless Super Bowl teaser. Now, hot off the heels of the Barbie movie, is an Apple TV+ film about the Beanie Babies phenomenon. Meanwhile, rumours are swirling of a Blockbuster return, which would be a huge statement to companies flooding the over-saturated streaming market.
Comentários