‘When there’s large question marks looming over culture, people like to have a foot in yesterday’: Fender president says brands should embrace nostalgia
Nostalgia continues to surge as a significant consumer trend across categories, and for legacy brands like Fender, it is so important to lean into that, according to the music giant’s APAC president.
According to Edward ‘Bud’ Cole, people love big doses of what they’ve come to know, with smaller doses of the new, so it’s no surprise that nostalgia – in whatever form it is for an individual – is omnipresent.
Whether its in the products they use, the travels they take or the media they engage with, nostalgia is hugely profound in the lives of consumers – it’s in the cyclical nature of life.
Edward ‘Bud’ Cole
“Every 30 or 40 years, fashion, trends, and everything really, kind of repeats itself,” he told Mumbrella. “And I think especially during times in our history where there are trials and tribulations of life going on, when things seems to be a bit unsure, people like to cling onto things that give them comfort.
“It’s the natural human condition – when there’s large question marks looming over culture, countries, people, economics, people like to have a foot in yesterday, and a foot in the future.
“It gives them confidence that going forward, everything will be okay.”
2024 in particular has seen a number of nostalgic trends or moments rise to the surface in music and media – Oasis’ reunion announcement, revamped advertising jingles such as from McDonald’s and Praise Mayonnaise, Network Ten’s revival of classic television formats, reworked ’80s campaigns from Levi’s, just to name a few – showcasing that while this industry is one often fixated on the newest tech, the newest trends, or the newest strategies, there will always be a time to look in the rear view mirror.
For Fender, which has been around since 1946, leaning into nostalgia is necessary. But Cole stressed that its equally vital to balance that with innovation and moving forward.
“We have always had an incredible respect for our history,” he continued. “As well as for the countless nostalgic moments we’ve had through our 78 years of existence.
“But we’re also fully embracing the new, supporting the cutting edge. We’ve always been at the tip of the spear of that in music.”
The music giant has been doing collaborations with artists and brands since its beginnings, so that in itself brings a sense of nostalgia, but its recent collaboration with Sanrio’s pop culture icon, Hello Kitty, is a perfect example of reminiscing.
In 2006, the original Squier Hello Kitty Strat was released – a cute, pink electric guitar with the icon’s face on it. It hit the market without much fanfare, and was eventually discontinued, but by the late 2010s, that changed.
YouTuber, ‘TheDooo’, started creating videos with the guitar, playing to random people on the now-shut down online chat platform, Omegle. His videos started garnering millions of views and soon after, demand for the Squier Hello Kitty Strat skyrocketed.
Between 2019-2022, prices increased from US$175 to US$700 – a growth of 254%. It essentially became impossible to get one unless you forked out good money. On Reverb – an online marketplace for instruments and musical gear – some of the original guitars are currently being re-sold for close to AU$2,000.
“Those guitars have only grow in value over the last 18 years,” Cole reflected. “People are still – in a very positive way – talking about that original collaboration.
“When we first got together, we said ‘Hey let’s just have some fun’, and now we’re doing that again. And it leans into that nostalgia that people crave.”
But now, in 2024, the collaboration has expanded to include a new guitar, new accessories, and new merchandise.
“It seemed right to revisit that this year – it’s the 70th anniversary of the Stratocaster, the 50th anniversary of Hello Kitty, so why not?” Cole continued.
“We did it in 2006 and it worked… there’s a whole group of people that loved it back in 2006 and will love it now. We couldn’t be more excited about this collaboration.”
Mumbrella attended the Fender x Hello Kitty launch event as a guest of Fender Music Australia.
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Marketer with an extremely iconic brand and product, with a powerful legacy and long history of association with legendary pop culture icons, suggests that all marketers should lean on nostalgia