Digital Nostalgia
This might sound like we’re taking something that’s not even old yet and giving revamped, resized and warm fuzzy brand appeal.
Nostalgic branding is now becoming an integrated part of many marketing campaigns, consumers are now hooked to the familiar sights and logos of yesteryear, and they can evoke feelings such as contentment, security, childhood memories and more.
The blending of traditional brands in the new digital era has reenergised flagging brands and products that were heading for the scrap heap.
The associated feeling contributed with nostalgic marketing allows the viewer to delve in a moment of brand remembrance linked to their personal memory, enticing product purchasing through the power of emotion.
There is the fear that established brands are at risk of losing their identity through mass branding and over use of iconic logos and history.
So how can we sensitively merge historical brands through digital media?
The answer is through strategic and concise brand protection
These, in essence, can be the factors that can contribute to a successful campaign using nostalgic brands.
Digital marketing and media should be a predominant factor in marketing your product.
Take Audi, a credible luxury brand which even though highly well known; markets itself with the undeniable force of nostalgia when needed, the below campaign shows how powerful imagery can portray an innovative and forward thinking company and take it back to its roots, steeped in history and conveying memories of the ‘good old days’, this EDM combines a strong simulative image transferred to the present day relative call to action.
The ‘trick’ to nostalgic brand placement is creating balance between product credibility and relevant marketing message, the focus of the advertisement can be lost without direction and all content and imagery must link in a clear intended focus point.
If well executed, Digital marketing combining your brand persona can intensify your marketing savvy, reaching new audiences and even attracting a generation that may not have noticed you before. Creating a nostalgic brand campaign through new media has a powerful effect on products and delivers you with the opportunity to reawaken ageing or forgotten brands through digital medium with the reference to new found identity; old becomes ‘classic’ and dated is now ‘retro’.
The impact is everywhere, as companies realise the unique power of the brand they already have; the persona created which becomes the driving force for marketing in 2010 and beyond,
Another recent example of this is Birds Eyes Artic Roll, shunned to the frozen foods graveyard for 10 years it has made an astonishing comeback with sales of this product forecast at £284 million for 2010*
In an age where we yearn for security and belonging; these readily identifiable brands of the past have been updated and configured to suit and satisfy our needs. The message may be communicated a little differently but they are still the familiar brands we remember and they are reaching us on a level we react to; the digital medium.
As we yearn for comfort, the big brands have caught onto reawakening forgotten product lines with tremendous success. The power of marketing nostalgia is that it can be found in the simplest forms and even new brands are using imagery, fonts and slogans that hark back to ‘happier’ times. Through using advertising to embellish memories and thoughts you can really tap into the psychology of the consumer.
The key to creating a successful digital marketing campaign that embodies nostalgia is focusing on the right target group, creating the correct relative reflection of the product.
So ‘Classic’ brands are now an established part of our consciousness and have adapted to survive in the digital environment.
Take the recent revival of the Wispa bar, due to a massive consumer campaign the product was re-launched and now has a firm place on the confectionary aisle.
So traditional products do have a place in the digital world and have shown that they do have a place on the shelf even in today’s super-saturated multimedia advertising environment.
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