Abstract

Although the existing marketing research on nostalgia has provided an understanding of nostalgia from different perspectives, it remains scattered. The confusion on the nature of nostalgia and a lack of theoretical framework on nostalgic marketing greatly restrains our understanding of nostalgic marketing. To contribute to the gaps in the marketing literature on nostalgia, this research aims to clarify the nature of nostalgia through combined effort of literature review and exploratory interviews with participants of different cultural backgrounds. Five major dimensions of nostalgia in the general sense are identified, namely emotional, attitudinal, cognitive, behavioural, and symbolic dimensions. Based on the five major dimensions that emerged for nostalgia in the general sense, nostalgia in marketing is distinguished for its unique characteristics of its separation from direct personal experiences, the dominantly positive emotion imbued, and the promotion of the imagined past. Nostalgic marketing is then defined, as well as its classification and major forms. In reference to the interviews conducted, the underlying working mechanisms of different forms of nostalgic marketing are proposed. Some pitfalls related to the application of nostalgic marketing disclosed by our interviews are also presented. The scope of this research project is extended by examining the theoretical framework empirically on three cultural groups: Canadians, Chinese, and Chinese immigrants to Canada. The findings indicate that (1) nostalgic marketing is overall more positively evaluated by Chinese and Chinese immigrants to Canada than by Canadians; (2) different cultural groups have varied preference for certain nostalgic marketing forms; and (3) a same nostalgic marketing form can be equally effective for different cultural groups but for different reasons. In explaining the findings, nostalgia proneness and individuals' general attitude toward advertising and marketing are identified as the two major influential variables. However, while nostalgia proneness should be examined within a particular cultural group, the general attitude toward advertising and marketing should be investigated across cultures