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Nostalgia in Marketing Must Come From Authenticity

Aug 18, 2021 | Branding, Branding Agencies Los Angeles

nostalgia marketing

Art of any kind has to come from authenticity to move others. Making a product desirable and whom to target that product to all has to come from an authentic place. All these elements are like little calling cards to attract that targeted audience.

When you use nostalgia in marketing, it’s like standing on a podium and calling out specific people; only those people will take notice and pay attention. So the authenticity has to be right on. CarMax’s recent commercial does this, and they nail it. They push that targeted audience to get up with the times since buying cars the old-school way is not working. It is as outdated as the various tasks they show.

Using nostalgia in marketing, especially if you are authentic, will elicit feelings of comfort and security. Anytime memories are stirred up, they are usually sweet in nature. Referring back to the CarMax commercial, life was simpler and happy even when you remember wearing headgear back in your youth. 

According to psychologist and nostalgia research professor Krystine Batcho, the generation known as millennials are especially nostalgic because they live in a permanent state of instability, because they were born at a transitional time in our history. 

As it turns out, millennials represent a substantial segment of the consumer population and are very important in marketing. According to Statista, in the year 2020, millennials made up 21.93% of the U.S. population.

Using nostalgia in marketing will get the attention of baby boomers, as well as millennials. Actually, everyone loves nostalgia! You can also include Gen X in the mix. When you use nostalgia in marketing, it is a win-win.

The authenticity has to be perfect when using nostalgia in marketing. Whether it is in the writing, music, or the fashion that you use to create the imagery of a particular point in time, the authenticity is where the “feeling” resides.

Want to inject a little nostalgia into your brand marketing campaign? Give the brand storytellers at EDK a call at 818.488.1543 or email us at info@edkandcompany.com.