Bury me in the Nostalgia 🪄 How Nostalgia can add to your brand pt 2 PLUS a little y2kTok
A tactical continuation of our nostalgic case study on Taylor Swift 🎀🫶✨💌
On Monday we talked about Taylor Swift’s nostalgic brand success, in part 1. Part 2 will discuss 3 ways to use nostalgia for your brand PLUS for paid subscribers 5 tactical ideas on combining honesty and nostalgia and in turn, gaining geniuine customer loyalty.
📖 Happily ever after……
On the heels of the COVID pandemic, it’s easy to think back to “before COVID” and daydream about how the world used to be.. The nostalgia from COVID is only beginning as we dig deeper into a new decade.
The new Barbie movie has been playing up that nostalgia as they create adult-sized Barbie playhouses, experiences, and do countless interviews on their press tours around the world. Hollywood is going nostalgic as people realize activating memories can break records! 🎀
Breaking down nostalgia isn’t the simplest concept, especially to apply to a brand, so we’ll continue with Taylor Swift (nostalgia queen 👸 ) as our case study:
🔖 3 ways to use nostalgia for your brand
Nostalgia can create new avenues for your brand, and help your customers feel more connected. Here are 3 tactics Taylor Swift uses to activate nostalgia and how you can consider implementing them for your brand:
CREATE VULNERABILITY 🫧
Swift allows fans into her process, and lets their input change and shape that process. She is re-recording her albums for her and has stated (whether she thought this or not) that she didn’t think anyone would care–but she’s listening to fan feedback… Not only that, by creating these secret, community-based experiences (like Easter Eggs) she creates something with the fans..they are invested, and she is seeing results!
Swift did this by: being open to suggestions and being vulnerable while re-creating fan favorites
How can you do this as a brand? When you’re unsure of a product (adding, discontinuing, re-stocking), ask your email list or most frequent customers. When choosing a new pillow for the studio, ask your social media audience… it may not be a Taylor Swift level, but people will find a certain pride in helping you choose these details, and they’ll be excited, as small as those examples are. Ultimately, if they’re excited, your brand will be more front of mind for recommendations from your audience, and your brand will find a fond place in their memories and present.
Consider: special edition releases, available for a short time and plan to bring them back in a year or two if the release is successful. This could be merch, a product, a collaboration, etc.
CREATE TRANSPARENCY 🫧
It’s been said a few times in (previously listed) sources that Swift re-recording her music is odd, or strange. She explained this to fans, highlighting the story and how she came to where she has and expected nothing from them–but they showed up because she cared. She invested herself in what she was doing, and because her fans have been listening to her lyrics—see, hopes and dreams–they understand what this means to her, because of what those songs have meant to them. This plus the nostalgia of the tracks led her to creating something truly unique alongside her fans–who have seemingly been incredibly supportive of her process (as have radio stations and others in the Hollywood-sphere). Swift including her audience in the story, often lovingly saying “we” when talking about herself and fans, and being thankful they take the time to “spend time” with her.
Swift did this by: Being honest about what she was working on and why, and capitalizing on their excitement brought on by nostalgia.
How can you do this as a brand? Your audience is the reason you get to tell your story, treat them as if they’re your partner whenever possible (you’re still a business so not every decision is possible), and not your audience. If you can explain why a product is no longer sold, or why one thing might be better than another you can create transparency and build trust. The longer you have the trust of your audience, the more you’ll be able to utilize nostalgia, even as a younger brand.
Consider: if people are really wanting a product to make a comeback–do everything you can to bring it back for them, and let them know how they can help make it happen (helping with colors or collaborating with a fellow creator or sister brand to bring it back).
CREATE A STRONG, HONEST MESSAGE 🫧
Regardless of how Taylor Swift’s brand changes, her fans stick with her because of the core nostalgia that underlies everything she does. Whether she is remembering falling in love, 13 midnights, or re-recording her 3rd studio album, at the core she remains the same. Honest with her fans. Excited about her work. Transparent about her process. These things come together to create a strong message because the actions behind it are unified.
Swift did this by: Having a public persona that was bigger than just her–giving fans Easter Eggs to focus on helps them become invested in a puzzle much like Tetris.
How can you do this as a brand? Create a strong persona using strong brand guidelines + be honest when they change (even from Reputation to Lover level changes; 360s aren’t impossible).
Consider: creating a seasonal challenge that your audience can participate in and invite friends to participate in.
vulnerability ✅
transparency ✅
honesty ✅
All that’s left to do is create with your clients. Utilize instagram polls, email lists, and feedback and in 10 years you and your clients will be nostalgic for now. 😎
Bonus Tip a la Swift: always thank them and remind them of your journey together
If this is as far as you go thank you so much for being part of theBlogStack community 💌 see you Friday 🎀
Keep reading for 5 tactical ideas on combining nostalgia and honesty to create strong customer loyalty.
🤝 Nostalgia + Honesty = Strong Customer Loyalty
Taylor Swift is honest. Maybe sometimes too honest for some people, but regardless that honesty has helped her get to some pretty incredible places as she’s grown up in front of the world.
While your brand likely won’t have that kind of ~Reputation~ 😉 attached to it, you can still use nostalgia and honesty as a duo to help you create strong customer loyalty. Here are 5 tactical tips to help:
5 Tactical Ideas For Customer Loyalty
Bring back things “from the vault”: that thing everyone is always asking about you don’t sell anymore?? show people you’re listening and find a way to make it better and bring it back!
Show your appreciation: create special insider experiences, products or sales. Use email lists to offer specials and first looks at your newest things!
Listen: to customer feedback on whether something is good, bad, or amazing..and actually do something to change it. Don’t be afraid to pivot, because bad customer feedback = bad customer experience ≠ customer loyalty (brand math!).
Show your passion for your product to your audience: make videos, share samples, do giveaways and get excited about your brand even if it feels cringe! When people think about you they should automatically think of your brand too. Think about life as a little brand press tour…85% of the time (we all need a break sometimes!).
customer thinks of item = customer uses brand
ex; BigMac = McDonald’s, Frostie = Wendy’s, etc.
Be honest: Your brand’s experiences matter when your audience is part of the brand. Have a bad new supplier? Call out the struggle without calling out the person (pull in some of Swift’s famous coding, that leaves people digging to find who she is referring to in songs) and focus on why it affects your brand (this collection will take longer to come out, the fabric will change, etc.). This will give people a good idea of what your process is like, and help you build stronger trust and customer loyalty, and possibly even valuable connections.
ex; a painter is having trouble shipping paintings and posts on instagram she’s considering not mailing paintings at all and has an audience member reply with a good brand that can help her solve her shipping problems
Let us know which of these 5 tips you’re utilizing!
🥹 Nostalgic News
The Barbie Movie premieres on July 21st and everyone is showing up + Sam Smith wore grey???
Dylan Sprouse is married to partner Barbra Palvin
🤭 TikTok: y2k Nostalgia
Modern Y2K Girly [NSFW]
Now vs 2014 [NSFW]
Modern Bowling For Soup 1985 Cover (2002)