Résumé : |
In times of crisis, consumers usually start looking for products which can reassure them and make them feel safer. To benefit from this trend, marketers can rely on nostalgic messages. Among these strategies used by marketers, are the revival of products and brands, which have been part of the consumers past life, and the use of messages referring to former periods to authenticate and legitimate these brands. Indeed, nostalgia is a feeling shared by all consumers, but the subjects of this emotion can differ from one to another. Therefore, the aim of this study was to understand how different consumers, who have not experienced the same things in life, and do not share the same values, are affected by this feeling. To better see the differences between different categories of consumers, we have chosen their age as a moderator, since people from a same generation share, at some point, a same past. Our conclusions have effectively shown that depending on their age, people are influenced differently by nostalgia. Indeed, even if the consumers of each age categories have built positive feelings towards things from their past, which can be related to nostalgia, the oldest ones are more likely to associate these feelings with nostalgia. Therefore, nostalgic messages from a brand can influence consumers of every ages, but it might be stronger for the oldest. On the other hand, people of any age are more influenced by personal nostalgia, referring to their own past and experiences, than by communal nostalgia, referring to a common history. In the end, marketers should remember that whatever their age, the more relevant the memory will be for their consumers, the stronger will be the nostalgic feeling towards it.
|