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New research by Vevo suggests that Gen Z are ‘borrowing’ nostalgia from decades they never lived in, a noticeable change compared to older generations. This is shaping brand marketing strategies as companies seek to attract new audiences while retaining existing ones.
Nostalgia seems to be all the rage right now, at least across the music industry.
Thanks to the easy accessibility of streaming, Gen Z is continuously discovering older songs and music videos and pushing them to the top of the charts.
‘Running Up That Hill’ by Kate Bush, for example, reached number one in 2022 – 37 years on from its initial release – after being featured in the final series of ‘Stranger Things.’ More recently, Michael Jackson has dominated Spotify’s UK Top 50 playlist, following the release of the biopic ‘Michael’ earlier this year.
Vevo has published its own report on this recent fascination with yesteryear, called ‘Then Is Now: A Study on Modern Nostalgia,’ which suggests that Gen Z is ‘borrowing’ a fondness for eras they never experienced.
Consumers from the UK, US, and Australia were asked about their purchasing behaviours and how nostalgia affects their attachments and associations with different media.
The data makes clear that our romanticism for the past remains a powerful marketing tool.
64% of Gen Z respondents said that nostalgia ‘has a strong influence on the content I watch.’ 88% said nostalgia ‘makes emotional experiences feel deeper,’ while 65% said they felt emotionally connected to eras and decades they did not live through.
Speaking to Variety, executive VP of global sales for Vevo, Rob Christensen, said that the company is looking to leverage nostalgia in a similar way to live events, sports, and other big ‘moments’ that capture public attention.
‘We don’t like to say that we compete with sport,’ he explained, ‘but marrying music and pop culture in the right way with a sports strategy [using] current and nostalgic content, you see great results.’
What does that mean, in real terms?
It seems likely that music video distributors such as Vevo will look to anticipate and provide services that best serve a particular cultural moment. This could mean using tactics like stealth marketing to push specific content, such as Justin Bieber at Coachella, or promoting its own music videos through clips and archived footage.
