Episode 1: Nostalgia

This is the first episode from our short documentary ‘Cultural Fluency: Merchandise’ which we created to give insight into our philosophy and approach to research.

In this documentary, we meet and develop connections with fans, subcultures and communities, gaining deep insight into what matters to them. Whilst we looked at the rise of brand merchandise, several themes emerged which we explore in each episode.

In the first episode we focus on Nostalgia which became a recurring theme as to why people develop collections of items. But why is nostalgia seemingly everywhere right now?

In the face of rapid technological change, political and societal unrest, nostalgia has flourished; from Stranger Things, to indie-sleaze and the return of vinyl records and analogue synthesisers. We hold on to these fragments of simpler times to comfort ourselves as they offer something familiar in an otherwise unpredictable world. 

Learning 1:

Nostalgia resonates now because it offers people a much-needed way to escape, slow down and find comfort. Use storytelling and campaigns that evoke nostalgic emotion to create meaningful connections with your audience. By creating a route for audiences to savour and share fond memories, brands can resonate and be deeply in-tune with their audience’s emotions.

Learning 2:

Nostalgic objects are important because of what they represent. They are often reminders of home and spending time with family. This resonates deeply, transporting people back to their youth. When incorporating memories and nostalgia, the key to cultural fluency is to make it feel personal and emotionally engaging rather than purely aesthetic.

We look forward to sharing more episodes and insights from our documentary with you over the coming weeks!

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