As times come and go, people love being reminded of positive trends from the past! So when brands make a comeback or incorporate nostalgic themes in their products or marketing, consumers are excited and respond well to the experience. In this article, we are going to highlight three brands that successfully used nostalgia marketing and how your brand can utilize this type of marketing to attract new customers and increase engagement with your current customers.
Let’s start of with Sanrio:
Sanrio is a Japanese brand that was formed in 1960. They produce “products focusing on the kawaii (cute) segment of Japanese popular culture that is sold worldwide” (Sanrio). Sanrio features a line of characters people are fond of, such as Hello Kitty, My Melody, Cinnamoroll, and more.
Many people remember Sanrio products from when they were younger, such as a Hello Kitty lamp and alarm clock. In recent years, Sanrio has been releasing products that remind people of their youth and fondness for the Sanrio characters. People who were fans when they were younger have been excited about the new products and are eager to buy them. Sanrio has also collaborated with other brands, extending their reach and attracting new customers.
They have even opened up a Hello Kitty Cafe, which offers a variety of Sanrio-themed sweets and drinks, and a lot of people that come to the cafe, have been fans of the Saniro brands for years. The brand is an excellent example of how nostalgia can benefit your company and cause it to be successful over many years.
Nintendo
Nintendo, founded in 1889, is a Japanese company that creates home entertainment systems. They released the Game Boy in 1989, “the first portable handheld game system” (Nintendo). After this, they released a few other handheld systems, such as the Game Boy Color in 1998 and the Nintendo DS in 2004. Many kids had one or all of these devices and built happy memories with their friends and family through them.
Then, in 2017, Nintendo released the Nintendo Switch. The Nintendo Switch was a step up from the past handheld systems, but it still reminded people of the good times they had in the past. This includes the system’s design and the ability to play older games such as Super Mario Bros from 1985.
Nintendo used the positive nostalgia that was associated with their brand and created a new product that attracted both old and new customers. Their video titled “First Look at Nintendo Switch” shows how easy it is to enjoy the Nintendo Switch on the go and how you can play games with your friends anywhere. They made their audience remember how easy and fun their products were and how they can incorporate them into their lives today. So, Nintendo effectively used nostalgia to make their product release a success.
Friends Experience x AT&T:
- In 2019, “AT&T and Warner Bros. Television collaborated on a series of events and experiences to celebrate the milestone 25th anniversary of FRIENDS” (AT&T). With this collaboration, the two brands recreated some of the famous sets from the show, had a recording studio where you could record your version of the song “Smelly Cat,” and had many photo opportunities. Although Friends was first released in 1994, many people rewatch the show and have memories with the show. This collaboration event was a success since it allowed fans to reminisce on moments in the show while also remembering how the storyline made them feel. Not only did the brands use nostalgia to make the event a hit, but they also brought more attention to AT&T as a brand and made people think of the brand positively. The brand collaboration helped both brands and shows that people enjoy finding new ways to experience brands.
Now, you might be wondering… how can my brand incorporate nostalgia into our marketing? Vidlo suggests brainstorming around these three questions:
⚫️ Who is the target market for this campaign? Based on who your target market is, your brand can think of what nostalgic thing you can use from the past to excite your customers.
⚫️ What feeling do you want your customers to feel? This can be happiness, sentiment, sadness, excitement, fear, homesickness, etc.
⚫️ What past proven behavior can your brand utilize? When bringing back a product or service that your customers are familiar with, you ensure that they trust your brand since they know that the product or system worked in the past.
How Vidlo can help brands with nostalgia marketing:
With nostalgia marketing, people enjoy the nostalgic emotion the brand brings them. As a result, they also want to save the memory and share it with their friends and family. Vidlo is a great way for your customers to capture the new memory they made! Your brand can choose a song and filter that goes well with the nostalgic factor you are basing your campaign around. Then, your customers can make their Vidlo and remember the experience and how they felt at that moment.
Many brands have used nostalgia marketing to revamp or bring attention to their brand, which has been proven to be successful. Your brand can benefit from nostalgic marketing when it is used correctly. Overall, nostalgia marketing brings out an emotional response in people, which will help them connect to your brand and want to interact with it more.
To learn more about how Vidlo can help your brand, tap here to get started.
