• Portraits
  • Events
  • Brands
  • Ideas
  • About/Contact
hello@bearcontent.co.uk
Bear ContentBear Content
Bear ContentBear Content
  • Portraits
  • Events
  • Brands
  • Ideas
  • About/Contact

How to Take Your Content Marketing Back To The 80’s with Nostalgia!

10/01/2022 Posted by Martin Bamford Ideas

How to Take Your Content Marketing Back To The 80’s with Nostalgia!Nostalgia is a powerful emotion.

According to researchers, we experience nostalgia in more or less the same way, regardless of our culture, age or gender.

In recent years, feelings of nostalgia have become more prevalent.

But how can we successfully incorporate nostalgia within our content marketing to drive better results?

What triggers nostalgia?

There are two main drivers behind feelings of nostalgia.

The first is “sensory inputs”, pulling you back to a prior experience.

A particular smell or sound might take you back to a memory.

Secondly, psychological triggers can prompt feelings of nostalgia.

Feelings like loneliness, sadness, anxiety or an absence of meaning in life are all inclined to cause us to reflect nostalgically on the past as a coping mechanism.

With that understanding of nostalgia in mind, how we can use it within our marketing?

Why nostalgia marketing works

Nostalgia marketing connects your brand to positive concepts or ideas from the past.

By associating your brand with (positive) nostalgic feelings, you can generate positive feelings for your target audience.

And it works!

One study at Washington State University found that consumers who saw nostalgia-themed adverts rated the advertisement and brand more favourably than those who saw non-nostalgia ads.

In another study, the researchers found that nostalgia made consumers willing to pay more for goods or services.

How to make it work for you

What triggers feelings of nostalgia in your target audience?

Nostalgic memories vary for different generations. After all, our childhoods were likely very different.

Look back at the big themes, events and memories from the development years of your target audience.

For example, assume you are targeting consumers in their 50s today.

Growing up in the 80s, this age group are likely to have experienced movies like The Goonies, cartoons like Duck Tales, music from Bon Jovi, and cars like the Renault 5.

Which movies, cartoons, music and cars were prevalent during the childhoods of your target audience?

Putting nostalgia to work

How do you introduce the feel-good factor of nostalgia into your content marketing?

One subtle approach is to use the #ThrowBackThursday hashtag on social media, sharing photos and other memories from the past.

While you might be treading on dodgy ground to use specific brand names or images in your marketing, there is nothing to stop you from using their typeface, colours, and fashion choices in your campaigns.

Assuming your business has been around for a few years, share memories from those early days to evoke nostalgia with your customers.

And, for newer companies, what about the history of your shop or office building?

Get inspired with these nostalgia marketing examples

Coca-Cola is a frequent user of nostalgia marketing, sharing vintage adverts from their past and invoking familiar feelings through their association of Father Christmas with the soft drink

Nintendo recycled their old games console when they launched the NES Classic Mini Console with its 80s-style graphics and sounds.

Music platform Spotify brought back the original actors from The NeverEnding Story as their spokespeople.

What next?

Recent years have seen a significant increase in nostalgia marketing, as people are looking for ways to connect with their past through content they enjoy.

With this trend on the rise, now more than ever, it’s important to think about how you can incorporate nostalgic elements into your content strategy.

If you want help connecting with customers by tapping into what makes them feel good from the past, we’re happy to provide insight and direction based on our expertise in digital marketing trends.

Let us know if any of these ideas resonate with you and schedule some time in my calendar for a no-obligation digital marketing strategy call on Zoom, at our expense.

Related Posts:

  • How to Take Advantage of the Top Content Marketing Trends for 2023
    How to Take Advantage of the Top Content Marketing…
  • Six small business marketing steps you need to take today
    Six small business marketing steps you need to take today
  • How to take better photographs for your website and social media
    How to take better photographs for your website and…
Share

About Martin Bamford

Hi, I'm Martin, a portrait, event and brand photographer in Cranleigh, working with individuals and small businesses across the Surrey Hills. I've taken photos for more than 25 years, and became a full-time photographer following a successful career as a Chartered Financial Planner.

Contact Us

We're currently offline. Send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.

Send Message
Book Your Photography Session Let's chat!
Bear Content Logo
  • Portraits
  • Events
  • Brands
  • Ideas
  • About/Contact

Bear Content is a trading style of Bamford Media Ltd.

Our Latest Ideas.

  • Actor Headshots: Stand Out Every Audition
  • Event Photos: The Shots You Can’t Miss
  • Why Natural Light Isn’t Always Better
  • Headshot Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)
  • 5 Secrets to Natural-Looking Headshots
Society of Wedding & Portrait Photographers

book a call.

Are you looking for a portrait, event or brand photographer? It would be great to chat! Email me at martin@bearcontent.co.uk.

Trademark Surrey Hills

get in touch.

  • Martin Bamford
  • Bear Content
  • Sundial House, 20 High Street, Cranleigh, GU6 8AE (By appointment only)
  • hello@bearcontent.co.uk
  • www.bearcontent.co.uk
  • Martin instantly put me at ease, and had great ideas for my maternity shoot. His talent for capturing people is also complimented by his professionalism, kindness and fantastic work ethic. Martin is such a dream to work with. But most importantly I just love the results, along with the speed in which I was able to look at the gallery. Book in your special shoots with Martin, you really won’t regret it!

    Rose Bradford

© 2025 · Bear Content.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT