Bury me in the Nostalgia 🪄 how nostalgia can add to your brand story 📖 Pt. 1
the power of nostalgia via a case study of Taylor Swift's use of nostalgia in her brand and storytelling 🕰
🕰 Nostalgia | nos·tal·gia :
a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition
Almost every Taylor Swift song is trending right now on TikTok or Instagram. These songs are not all new, they are not all her most known songs... How does an artist who has been around since 2006 keep upping her global recognition? Nostalgia.
🫶 Nostalgia makes you feel things
Not only is Taylor Swift’s brand built off of nostalgia (i.e. songs like: 15, 22, Never Grow Up, etc.; lyrics like: “..and if my wishes came true, it would’ve been you”, “this is me swallowing my pride standing here saying I’m sorry for that night”, etc.) but she consistently refuels it by shedding her previous persona and creating a new one. Sometimes the new persona is at the expense of the previous one, or revealing a past persona as disingenuous–i.e. Reputation to Lover each having very different vibes.
In Reputation she stands atop a mass of her old personas and declares the “old Taylor” “dead”. An album fueled by beats, and seemingly vengeance, with a more aggressive feel than any other album previously (or to follow thus far). Reputation was followed up by, arguably, one of the most romantic albums in her career, Lover, decorated with delicate beats, high-pitched-chorus-like lyrics cover the tracks and leave them dripping with romance. Two wildly different albums back to back.
While you may think that makes her the queen of rebranding (or maybe fake, depending on your personal opinion of Swift) the way she uses her past personas to move people into a new “era”–her new era–subtly reminding fans of the eras past (i.e. Easter eggs that reference a past song or a past romance, or even “from the vault”) it’s more than just constant, trendy rebrands–it’s feelings, vulnerability..
“You could be up at night because you’re reeling from just having met someone..and you’re falling for them, or you could be plotting revenge.” Taylor Swift on her album Midnights
It’s nostalgia. Through nostalgia she has created an empire in which people are paying big to see her current world tour.
🎤 One of the Most Successful Tours of All-Time (and it’s not even over)
With her Eras tour she’s taken her brand’s nostalgia to a new level–calling on every single bit of nostalgia at once–much like in her Reputation video she showcases her many transformations, but with a spin of appreciation instead of self-loathing. While touring she’s also re-releasing newly recorded old music.
“It’s also kind of interesting to go back and relive this nostalgia with fans who are the reason why I get to do this.” Taylor Swift discusses re-recording with Seth Meyers
She also talks about how she’s listened to fan feedback and is using it as she re-releases she includes fans in the narrative by taking their suggestions, feedback and wants. She’s giving the people what they’re asking for–before they ask for it–and then reminding them they asked for it.
✨ Nostalgia + Emotion = Magic ✨
Swift creates little hidden easter eggs for her fans in videos, tour merch, posts–and they look for them, give opinions, and spend days and months creating theories and decoding messages (they even have their own corner of TikTok dedicated to decoding her messages..). By creating inside stories with fans, letting them get to know her family (and having them on tour with her), and even inside her process she’s creating a brand the fans can be part of–can reminisce with. The utilization of some of the newest technology, creating insane packages, and using special effects that have been blowing people’s minds definitely helps, but what it all comes down to is, nostalgia.
💸 How did she make people feel honored to pay thousands of dollars? She included them in her story.
Performing everything, from her first self titled album to her latest album, Midnights, at her latest tour, Swift is putting on a show that fans are raving about and more importantly, feel honored to go to—even in the rain…which wouldn’t ya know it plays, into the nostalgia of Fearless and countless other songs, and moments she’s shared with her fans…allowing rain to be nostalgic and romantic (and worth it) instead of inconvenient to her fans.
Fans become the brand and you see that in every interview, every performance, every music video she created because fans thought it should have one….
She highlights her ever-changing, very public persona, and musical style, spinning it so it helps her break records and win awards. By reminding everyone of her many eras (since 2006), she sparks a desire for people to re-listen to their favorite Swift songs, show them to their kids and maybe even buy the vinyl “Taylor’s Version” (TV) of your favorite re-recorded album.
Taylor Swift’s brand is powered by nostalgia and the emotions caused from nostalgia, creating fan magic. She was “enchanted to meet you”, share her dreams and memories and thoughts and hear what you think–even if it’s been 10 years.
This has led her (so far) to winning 12 Grammy Awards, 14 MTV Video Music Awards, breaking nearly 100 Guinness World Records, and having career-spanning songs all trending on the most popular social media platforms at once.