By Casey Kirkeby, Strategy Consultant
For some people, this may remind them of that pivotal episode of Mad Men when Don Draper mentioned that, in Greek, nostalgia literally means “the pain from an old wound.” Man, I love that show. For others, it may remind them of a time in the past when they watched a commercial that made them want a product like Lifesavers because of the jingle or the picture of the packaging.
Living in the millennial generation, everyone is very skeptical when it comes to marketing but for me, I am an old soul. Technically, I am an older Millennial (born in ‘84) and I welcome that nostalgic feeling when it comes to products and it is probably why I am the ultimate consumer.
Nostalgia, to me, brings up emotions and sentimentality that is more powerful than any memory and this can be true for marketing a product. Creating an emotional bond with a product from a consumer level connects in more ways than if you have no experience with that product. That is why when people sell a product; they are trying to sell an experience at the same time. It could be a time, place, or occasion where that person bought a product and that is what they will relate to in their mind. When they recall that experience, it puts that product at the top of the consumer’s mind. Next, the consumer goes to the store or shop to buy that product and they know exactly what they want because they know precisely how they will feel after they use or consume it.
One of the biggest takeaways from this article I had is sending the right message of nostalgia but also adding something new to stay relevant. Targeting multiple audiences can be difficult and everyone has a connection to an experience in a different way. To market it successfully, figure out a commonality between the past and future of that product while aligning with the current customer of today.
