It’s July of 2024 and as is the case at least four days a week, I find myself resting in-between workout sets on one of the adjustable weight benches inside of my favorite gym. My slappin’ Spotify workout playlist blaring through my noise-canceling headphones has me in an absolute zone. But not in so much of a zone that I cannot observe and assess my environment—consisting mostly of my fellow workout warriors.
As I gaze in the mirror directly in front of me, I notice two women, around 20 years old, walking together to the chest press machine roughly 25 feet behind me. Both wearing white T-shirts with familiar faces on the front of them.
After completing my final set of dumbbell bench presses, I get up and walk closer towards the women to verify if what I thought I saw was actually real—which was confirmed. Indeed, one of the young ladies did in fact have on a Nirvana T-shirt with a picture of the the late rock star Kurt Cobain front and center! While her workout partner had on a T-shirt with a picture of the late R&B singer Aaliyah on the front of it.
Now, I’m sure you’re wondering just how all of this correlates to your brand and its bottom-line. So let’s dive into it.
What the data tells us
Usually, whenever you hear people discuss just how great things were “back in the day,” the conversation typically consists of people who were actually around to witness how things were during actual days that they’re discussing. However, when it comes to Gen Z, that isn’t the case.
According to a study by GWI, despite most of the demographic being born during the 00s, 50% of Gen Zers have a longing for past decades. With 37% of the demographic specifically yearning for a return to 90s-era media. Which shockingly, is more than Millennials, in which only 47% of the generation feel nostalgic for a return to media from past decades.
How all of this correlates to your brand
Although it certainly was not my first time seeing Gen Zers sporting T-shirts of pop artists from the past, the reason why seeing the two young women in the gym wearing the Nirvana and Aaliyah T-shirts was still so astonishing to me is because as it pertains to Nirvana, mostly due to the passing of the group’s frontman Kurt Cobain in 1994, Nirvana’s last studio album was released in 1993.
While the late, great Aaliyah's final studio album was released in 2001.
Obviously, both Nirvana and Aaliyah’s music had already reached their respective peaks in regards to the pop charts prior to both women being born. Yet and still, both felt compelled enough to not only purchase T-shirts of the pop artists from the past—but also wear them in public for the world to see.
That’s because Gen Zers are absolutely obsessed with nostalgia.
By tapping into that obsession in your brand’s marketing and showing Gen Zers that your brand identifies with their interests, your brand will have a great chance at grabbing the one thing that hundreds of thousands of brands want from Gen Zers about just as much as they want their disposable income—which is their attention.
Connecting your brand to Gen Zers’ shared values through nostalgia
Speaking of obsession, in her book, Obsessed: Building a Brand People Love from Day One, author and branding expert Emily Heyward writes, “When a brand successfully taps into people’s identities, it creates a movement that's about more than the brand. The brand starts to function as a sort of connective tissue. A real world hashtag that signals a shared set of values across different groups of people. I see you wearing the same sweatshirt as me, and I see something of myself in you.”
Heyward further expounds in Obsession the importance of connecting your brand to how your audience views themselves, “When people choose which brands to love, they're choosing which part of themselves they want to convey to the world. Remember, it's not just about how you want your brand to be seen—it's about connecting your brand to how people see themselves.”
There’s no question about it, Gen Zers are truly obsessed with nostalgia! Therefore, incorporating just a little nostalgia in your brand’s overall marketing strategy could help go a long way towards helping your brand build a tighter bond with the demographic.
Fusing nostalgia in your brand’s marketing strategy
Brand strategist Scott Talgo may have put it best, “A brand that captures your mind gains behavior. A brand that captures your heart gains commitment.” If capturing the hearts and therefore—the commitment of Gen Z consumers is a priority for your brand, incorporating nostalgia into your marketing outputs is a great way to accomplish that.
Want to discuss clever ways to include nostalgia in your brand’s marketing? Here at Decryption, we’d love to speak with you. We specialize in helping brands like yours connect with consumers via contemporary culture-focused brand strategies and content marketing services (which also includes nostalgia). Schedule a complimentary call today.