Nostalgia- A Marketable Emotion

During the course of the lockdown, we have discovered different coping mechanisms. Some have taken to hobbies such as cooking (Dalgona Coffee, anyone?), gardening, writing etc., while others have found solace in indoor workouts, reading, watching new films, TV shows etc.

However, one common phenomenon I’ve observed among most people is relying on Nostalgia as a coping mechanism. Be it watching old movies or TV shows, listening to classic music, or revisiting their old pictures (#TakeMeBack, #ThrowbackThursday, anyone?), Nostalgia has come to the fore as a buzzy (pun intended!) emotion.

Personally, I found myself in a similar space. And hence, it got me thinking about how brands have often leveraged Nostalgia as a marketable emotion. Before I highlight some such instances, take a minute to think of popular campaigns / Unique Selling Propositions that have revolved around Nostalgia over the years.

The Psychology: So why does Nostalgia strike such a chord?

In his book - Thinking, Fast and Slow, Nobel-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman highlights how human beings consciously define themselves via stories, aligning them to significant events in their lives. This answers why familiar senses can inspire a longing for a past that almost always appears simpler and fonder with time.

Nostalgia was long thought to be a not a popular emotion mentally. But growing body of research has shown that it can actually counter negative emotions like boredom, loneliness, and anxiety etc. This is precisely what makes nostalgia such an effective marketing tool.

A 2014 study published by the Journal of Consumer Research showed that it even encouraged consumers to spend more. The authors conducted six experiments that gauged how much people were willing to spend, donate, and value money when feeling a sense of nostalgia-evoked social connectedness.

The set of consumers who were asked to think about the past, were willing to pay more for a set of products than the set of consumers asked to think about new or future memories. Another study showed an increased willingness to give more money to others after recalling, reflecting, or writing about a nostalgic past life event.

Now, please think a moment to reflect how Maggi India played the nostalgia card to keep the brand alive in consumers’ minds, as Nestle India battled a ban by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). #MeriMaggi

Some popular instances: The Ansoff Matrix

I’ve tried to put together some recent instances where companies/brands/organizations have relied on Nostalgia to achieve business objectives of Market Penetration, Market Development, Product Development, and Diversification, as per the Ansoff Matrix. For those who aren’t familiar with this matrix, it’s fairly simple to understand, as indicated in the below diagram:

1) Market Penetration (Existing Markets, Existing Products)

Parle Rola Cola

The Context:

On 14 Feb 2019, a Twitter user tweeted to Parle’s official twitter handle, requesting the company to re-launch his favourite candy, and other nostalgic users joined in with their requests with #BringBackRolaCola, evoking a reply from the company’s handle, as under:

The Opportunity:

A clear cut opportunity for Parle to leverage the much visible nostalgia factor to penetrate into an Existing Market (90s kids) for an Existing Product (though discontinued) – Rola Cola.

The Result:

The #BringBackRolaCola and #RolaColaIsBack campaign organically reached 10 million users. It gained 50M+ impressions and engagement to the tune of over 100K+ in the form of tweets, hashtags, replies and tweet likes.

A bold new logo, red wrappers and a price of Rs 5 for a pack of 12 pellets — Parle is now targeting a sale of Rs. 100 crores with Rola Cola’s new avatar in the first year of its re-launch.

2) Market Development (New Markets, Existing Products)

Ramayana

The Context:

Owing to the pandemic, PM Narendra Modi announced a 3 week (now redundant!) nationwide lockdown, starting March 25.

And on March 28, Doordarshan commenced the re-run of ‘Ramayana’. The show was a once-in-a-generation phenomenon and gripped the nation when its 78 episodes were first broadcast in 1987 and 1988.

The Opportunity:

An opportunity for Doordarshan to not only take the older generation for a trip down the memory lane with an Existing Product, but to also use the trigger effect to tap into A New Market -  the younger Netflix, Prime, Hotstar etc. streaming generation.

The Result:

No more words needed, right?

3) Product Development (New Products, Existing Markets)

Saregama Carvaan | A door of nostalgia

The Context:

A few years ago, Kolkata-based Saregama India was staring at a ‘Kodak moment’: Much like the camera giant, it was also hit by the growing popularity of the digital medium. India’s oldest music label was sitting on a gold mine of rights to 120,000 songs in 14 languages from which it was earning dividends, but the company’s revenues were stagnant and the lack of new content pinched. (Source – Fortune India).

The Opportunity:

Combining digital technology with physical music via A New Product – and capitalizing on An Existing Market - the older generation, and their affinity towards classic songs on FM radio. The firm went on to launch several variants of the product, ranging from Rs. 2490 to Rs. 14,990, thus catering to multiple customer segments.

The Result:

The portable radio device caught on like wildfire! The Carvaan helped Saregama return to its old glory. The firm sold 380,000 pieces of the device in FY’18, and hit the glorious 1 Million mark in December 2018, also enabling a sharp rise in profitability for the India’s oldest music label.

4) Diversification (New Products, New Markets)

Cricket All Stars- Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne

The Context:

Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne, arguably the two GOATs of the sport in their respective disciplines, came up with ‘Cricket All Stars’ in 2015, a 3 match exhibition league consisting of retired superstars of the game like Glenn McGrath, Shoaib Akhtar, Virender Sehwag to name a few.

The Opportunity:

They could’ve chosen India, Australia, England, South Africa or even the UAE to hold the event. Cricket fans in the aforementioned regions surely wouldn’t have missed one more chance to witness their superheroes on field and relive the golden days. But strangely, they chose to hold these matches in baseball stadiums in the USA. Wonder why?

This is because USA has been long viewed as a New Market waiting to be tapped for Cricket, due to the abundance of South East Asians in the region. To put it simply, Cricket All Stars can be clearly seen as a Diversification attempt relying on nostalgia to explore a New Market (USA), with the key offering being the T20 Cricket Stadium Experience, which is a New Product for the people in the region.

The Caribbean Premier League further leveraged this opportunity by scheduling some of the matches in Miami, Florida, which was also followed by an international T20 between India and West Indies at the same venue.

The Result: (remains to be seen)

Clearly, the untapped USA market can go a long way in the ICC’s quest of making Cricket a truly globalized sport, in a post-pandemic vaccinated world. :)

That's all, folks! Thanks for taking out time to read this piece. I hope it was worth it. Your feedback is most welcome. :)