By Dale Barnett, Insights Editor at Influencer Intelligence
Nostalgia Marketing is a common strategy used to associate the target audience’s positive emotions about the past with a product or service to boost sales. Marketers use references to familiar elements, ideas, or events from previous decades to tug at their audience’s heartstrings.
Nostalgia has seen a huge resurgence in the past few years. Blasts from the past are saturating social media and pop culture, with Gen Z and millennial consumers leading the charge.
With today’s uncertain economy, and in the wake of a global pandemic, is it truly surprising that consumers are finding refuge in feelings of nostalgia? Looking back and remembering fond memories is a form of escape for many people.
With it now proven that consumers today are more likely to spend money if feeling nostalgic, it is no wonder both brands and content creators are leveraging these shared memories to unite communities and create relatable content that drives positive sentiment.
No greater example can be found than the astounding success of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie film. Other than it being a box office smash and a brand partnership masterclass, #Barbiecore has been a trending topic for months and now has over 625m views on TikTok, with users recreating iconic looks and harnessing the iconic pink, doll-like aesthetic.
The trend hasn’t gone unnoticed by brands, with nostalgic pop culture collaborations hitting the market across the fashion & beauty market, targeting Gen Y and Gen Z customers. From Revolution Makeup’s Powerpuff Girls collection to Skinny Dip’s care bears merchandise – brands are experiencing success.
From an influencer marketing perspective, we at Influencer Intelligence have noticed a horde of niche influencers making nostalgia their primary content focus, birthing a prominent subculture. ‘Nostalgiafluencers’ are posting 80s, 90s and 00s throwbacks to engage with their followers.
British creator Star Holroyd amassed 1.4m TikTok and 119K Instagram followers with humorous content that her peers can strongly relate to. Through harnessing nostalgia to create this content, Star has attracted brand partnerships from the likes of Heinz, Argos, Sainsbury’s, Sky and Three.
Similarly, Justin, known as 90skid4lyfe, describes himself as the ‘David Attenborough of Nostalgia’ and has 2 million followers on Instagram. Justin almost exclusively creates Reels on 90s and early 2000s lifestyle and entertainment.
Erin Miller
Erin Miller calls herself a ‘90s & 00s historian’ on her TikTok, which attracts 2.2m followers. Referencing beauty trends and music of the time, Erin’s single posts can achieve millions of views. It’s standard practice for her to use the #millennials #2000s and #nostalgic tags for discoverability.
Sabine Safar has racked up 98.9m likes on her TikTok videos recreating dance routines from the ‘90s and 2000s, from the likes of Street Dance, Camp Rock and Charlie’s Angels.
Jenna Barclay Testa worked with Pop Tarts last year to mark the re-launch of its iconic Frosted Grape Flavour by popular demand. Jenna posts funny characterisations of scenarios played out in the 2000s as her main topic. Her 8.25% Instagram engagement rate is well above the 3.07% average for her follower bracket. This is just a sample of the army of content creators posting regularly on the subject.
Nostalgiafluencers recognise and harness the power of retrospection and have built a dedicated, loyal audience from connecting to their follower’s childhood memories.
There is a strong opportunity here for brands to tap into this advocacy and fondness by collaborating with an authoritative influencer, skilled in nostalgic storytelling. However, it is key that partnerships are authentic and make sense.
Charli D'Amelio
In June 2023, Tamagotchi tapped Charli D’Amelio as its global ambassador. Whilst Charli commands an impressive reach, the TikTok star is not of the right generation to have a genuine affinity for the product. Brands will be better served working with targeted Nostalgiafluencers whose content is rooted in lived experience.
