Nostalgia is everywhere right now. Britpop bands are back on the festival circuit, Star Wars continues to reinvent itself for new generations, and heritage brands like Heinz, Coca-Cola and Kellogg’s are embracing their retro roots in campaigns designed to tug on memory as much as heartstrings. In a turbulent world, the familiar feels safe, and marketeers are leaning in.

A study from the Journal of Consumer Research has shown that nostalgic feelings increase our willingness to spend money, particularly on things that reinforce our sense of identity. Whether it’s through limited-edition packaging, throwback jingles or a lovingly recreated 90s aesthetic, brands are using the past to sell in the present.

 

Why does nostalgia work on us?

  • It offers emotional self-regulation. In times of political, economic and social uncertainty, people instinctively seek comfort and stability. Nostalgia offers what psychologists call a “resource for meaning”; a way of coping with stress and instability by anchoring to something emotionally familiar. This connection to our history has been shown to reduce feelings of loneliness, anxiety and even existential fear.
  • It provides a counterweight to complexity. The 24/7 churn of news, opinion and change can create decision fatigue and sensory overload. In contrast, nostalgia offers clarity and simplicity. It’s a narrative with a beginning, middle and end that’s already known and safe. That’s why nostalgic branding often plays on tactile, analogue cues, from typefaces, to photographic filters and retro jingles.
  • It’s a cultural shorthand for identity. In polarised societies, a shared memory or reference point can act as a kind of unspoken cultural glue. Brands use these unifying memories to tap into a sense of “what we used to agree on,” whether real or idealised. Hence the prevalence of campaigns referencing national touchstones like Britpop or the 2012 Olympics to create cohesion and goodwill.

Of course, nostalgia can be double-edged. When used cynically or manipulatively, weaponised for political slogans like “Make X Great Again”, it risks alienating people or glossing over difficult histories. For innovative brands, the challenge is to use nostalgia to build emotional trust, not to escape reality or reject progress.

 

Why is this relevant to innovative businesses?

If you have the heritage and brand recognition of Heinz or Coca-Cola, leveraging your past in your marketing couldn’t be easier. But what if you’re not a household name? What does nostalgia offer to a start-up, a B2B brand, or a business positioning itself at the cutting edge?

The answer lies not in mimicking the big players, but in understanding the psychology at work. Nostalgia is powerful because it creates emotional resonance and a sense of belonging. People want to feel like part of something lasting; a narrative that didn’t start yesterday and won’t end tomorrow.

For younger brands, that might mean referencing cultural moments your audience grew up with, or borrowing the look and feel of an earlier era. Of course, innovation and nostalgia can be uneasy bedfellows. But get it right, and the contrast can be a strength. The trick is to tap into memory with intention, not imitation.

 

Strategies for using nostalgia in innovation include:

  • Employ personal nostalgia in founder storytelling. A lot of early-stage brands are built around personal journeys. Founders can craft more emotionally engaging narratives by tapping into their own formative influences – the music, technology or brands they grew up with – to connect with early adopters.
  • Take design and UX inspiration from the past. Nostalgic design cues, such as lo-fi websites, pixel fonts and tactile product packaging are a visual language that signals simplicity and accessibility. By borrowing selectively from retro aesthetics, high-tech and complex products can be made to feel more familiar or intuitive.
  • Stay ahead of trends. In his book Retromania, the pop culture critic Simon Reynolds notes that retro trends tend to emerge in cycles, as those who experienced the original cultural moment grow into adults with creative and purchasing power. Our current fascination with iconography of the late 90s and early 2000s is driven by the generation who were teenagers and young adults at the time, and sold to a younger audience who experience it as something that has both novelty and a built-in identity.

But remember, nostalgia can always backfire if it feels cynical, overly derivative, or tone-deaf, especially for brands that claim to be forward-looking. Nostalgic marketing works best when it feels authentic and aligned with your values, rather than bolted on as a gimmick. As ever in marketing, it’s not about the product. It’s about how you make people feel.

 

Interested in upgrading your marketing in 2025? Our Sussex Innovation team is here to support you in enhancing your messaging and crafting stories that resonate with your audience.

Whether you’re looking to develop impactful narratives, strengthen your community engagement, or leverage social media for maximum reach, we can help you create strategies that drive real results. Find out more here