What does nostalgic copywriting that resonates with people and is easy to spread look like?

In recent years, a large number of "time-honored domestic brands" such as Pechoin and Huili have returned to the public eye with their unique nostalgic marketing , and have also allowed companies to see the huge commercial value of nostalgic marketing.

However, to most people, nostalgic marketing seems to be only suitable for "old brands ", because it seems that only old brands have something "old" to be nostalgic about. If you think so too, then I would like to ask, why can " Jiang Xiaobai ", a young brand that has only been launched for 5 years, quickly attract fans by relying on nostalgic copywriting ?

Maybe you think this is an isolated case. Sorry, foreign scholars conducted a content analysis on more than 1,000 commercial advertising samples and found that most advertising themes contain nostalgic elements , and the average time of using nostalgia is more than 10% of the total advertising time. This fully demonstrates that nostalgia is a common means in marketing.

Why do we feel nostalgic?

If you want to know how to effectively tap into the nostalgic meaning of a brand, the first thing you need to understand is why we are nostalgic?

Nostalgia refers to an individual's longing for the past . The object of longing can be a person, an event or a place in the past. It is more often associated with a warm past, a happy childhood, etc.

Although some happy moments, such as anniversaries or chatting with friends , can trigger our nostalgic tendencies, a large number of studies have shown that negative emotions such as stress, fear, and dissatisfaction are more likely to trigger nostalgia, namely avoidant nostalgia .

Modern people live at a fast pace and under great pressure, so they really need this kind of short escape to relieve stress. Nostalgic movies such as "Those Years" and "So Young" have become very successful because they meet people's needs.

How do old brands become nostalgic?

There are usually two types of nostalgia for old brands:

1. Focus on consumers, recall the product's past usage scenarios, and increase familiarity;
2. Focus on the product, showcase the brand history, and increase trust.

1. Consumer-centric

(1) Real nostalgia

For consumers who have used the product in the past, recalling real usage scenarios in the past can easily resonate with consumers. However, it should be noted that consumers are not simply missing the product, but have emotions related to the product. The focus of marketing should be on "emotion" .

For example, in the classic advertisement of Southern Black Sesame Paste in 1990, the line “When I was a kid, I couldn’t sit still when I heard the hawking of sesame paste” evoked consumers’ nostalgia for their childhood and family affection.

The copywriting of Warrior's basketball shoes evokes memories of youth:

(2) Simulated nostalgia

Simulated nostalgia refers to consumers' indirect nostalgia for the past through channels such as history and literature.

For example, the Tissot watch advertisement “Forever and Ever·Air Force” is set in the World War II period. It tells the story of a newly married couple who are about to be separated by death due to the war. Before leaving, the husband gives his wife a Tissot watch engraved with “Forever and Ever”. At the same time, the only line of text in the entire advertisement sounded: “It doesn’t matter how long it lasts, it only matters that you once had it”. This line of text has also become a classic passed down by the public.

Although most consumers have not experienced World War II, the movie-like presentation method allows consumers to have a strong sense of immersion (similar to the sense of immersion we usually have when reading novels or watching movies), and empathize with this poignant love story, and then associate the product with "love".

2. Brand-centric

(1) Collective nostalgia

Collective nostalgia is the remembrance of culture, country, or a certain period of time. Domestic time-honored brands are very suitable for inspiring the public's national sentiment in this way, for example:

• Old Chinese products, new fashion (Hui Li)
• 30-year national brand (Dabao)
• The beauty of the East is mine (Pechoin)

(2) Simulated nostalgia

Unlike consumer-centric simulated nostalgia, the main purpose of product-centric simulated nostalgia is to showcase brands and products. Consumers’ sense of involvement is not as strong as the former , and it is generally used during brand anniversaries.

If the sense of immersion is not enough, you can only rely on creativity . For example, in Oreo’s 100th anniversary advertisement, Oreo used its own products (Oreo cookies) to creatively showcase milestone events that were familiar to consumers over the past century. This not only showcased the products, but also evoked consumers’ memories, and through excellent creative design, it encouraged consumers to spread the word spontaneously.

Left: 1930, football enters the world stage; Right: 1969, man first lands on the moon

For example, Sony’s poster paying tribute to world-class music masters features creative DIY of Sony headphones, which is vivid and interesting, while also deepening the connotation of the product.

Left: Michael Jackson; Right: Mozart

What needs to be paid special attention to when reminiscing about old brands is to combine the old forms with modern elements , otherwise, it is easy to give people a "rustic" feeling.

For example, the reason why Warrior shoes have become popular again is largely due to the love of them by European and American fashion gurus and domestic first-line celebrities. Huili’s own brand upgrade was also very successful. The product display models are all fashionable young people, and many popular Internet words appear in the copy, such as “Menshao”, “Zhai”, “Wang”, “Tune”, etc.

Pechoin's "youth orientation" is more thorough. Pechoin's advertisements cover almost all creative types that young people are interested in, such as the spoof "As the Saying Goes", the one-shot "Against Time" and "Life is Like a Box", the anime "Face It Pretty", and it even opened its own special homepage on the two-dimensional gathering place " Bilibili ".

How can a new brand be nostalgic?

It is relatively difficult for new brands to use nostalgia marketing because the brand itself has nothing "old" to recall, and there is also nothing "old" to recall between the brand and consumers.

However, new brands can increase their emotional value through nostalgia marketing . For example, the copywriting of Eslite Bookstore (although it has been around for more than 20 years, its nostalgic marketing approach is also suitable for new products) reveals a strong nostalgic temperament, encouraging people to slow down their pace of life and return to the simple life in the past :

Leaving the meeting and discovering the quiet joy,

Leaving strategy behind and discovering the joy of creativity,

Find the joy of peace away from colleagues,

Leaving power to find the joy of safety,

Leaving the Internet, I discovered the joy of ignorance.

Leave the keyboard and discover the joy of writing.

Leaving the dinner table and discovering the joy of delicious food,

The joy of leaving the office and discovering something new.

This marketing method has enabled Eslite Bookstore to acquire the hedonic value of "simple happiness" and is no longer just a place that sells books.

Jiang Xiaobai's early copywriting successfully created the image of "youthful wine" through nostalgia for youth , which also gave its products richer emotional value:

Graduation

Make an appointment to see you once a year

Reunion

But I am already approaching thirty years old

summary

Some happy moments, such as anniversaries or chatting with friends , can trigger our nostalgic tendencies, but a large number of studies have shown that negative emotions such as stress, fear, and dissatisfaction are more likely to trigger nostalgia, which is avoidant nostalgia. Modern people live at a fast pace and under great pressure, so they really need this kind of short escape to relieve stress.

There are usually two types of nostalgia for old brands:

1. Focus on consumers, recall the product's past usage scenarios, and increase familiarity ;
2. Focus on the product, showcase the brand history, and increase trust .

It is relatively difficult for new brands to use nostalgia marketing because the brand itself has nothing "old" to recall, and there is also nothing "old" to recall between the brand and consumers. However, new brands can increase their emotional value through nostalgia marketing .

The author of this article @琛姐 is compiled and published by (Qinggua Media). Please indicate the author information and source when reprinting!

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