Nostalgia for stories that are not left in the past is a matter of marketing: marketing emotions. The Super Mario movie appeals to nostalgia and childhood memories right from the trailer! A flash of childhood memories invades the mind and the most famous song in the world of video games begins to play. Are you listening to it yet?
You’ve probably heard about the new Super Mario Bros. movie, which has broken box office records. If you haven’t, just do a Google search and hundreds of links and different subjects about the mustachioed character’s universe will pop up.
Speaking of records, Super Mario Bros.: The Movie has already grossed approximately 1 million euros in cinemas around the world, and only in the first week of its release. In other words, in less than 7 days the movie has entered the top 10 most profitable films animation ever!
The numbers have already given this feature the title of the movie with the biggest debut in the history of animated films. Leaving the acclaimed Frozen 2 (Disney), released in 2019, behind.
But why? Our Team, a film and marketing expert, explains!
This success is explained by emotional marketing since different generations are impacted by visiting the places where they were happy in the past – their childhood. It’s no coincidence that the most successful campaigns ever, whether digital, on television or even in print, are those that have some connection to our values and experiences (positive or negative).
Bringing together people from all generations, this box office phenomenon flooded social media for more than 30 days, being a trend on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube. Everyone (companies and users) wanted to capitalize on the success and ranking your platforms the cost of the world’s most charismatic plumber.
After all, what can this gaming classic teach us about emotional marketing and the importance of generations in our lives? No spoilers!
Emotional Marketing: From Storytelling to Remembering
The new Super Mario movie reminds us of many things, but the most striking is that, even with the passage of time, we can still learn and grow from the new generations and their ideas.
Not unlike the game, the movie follows the story of brothers Mario and Luigi, two plumbers of Italian origin who are trying to launch their own business in Brooklyn. During a severe flood in the city, the brothers are thrown into a parallel world where talking mushrooms are led by Princess Peach and are about to get into trouble because of the villain Bowser.
Se está à procura de referências, há muitas ligações no filme. E, para quem nunca jogou esse clássico, muitos detalhes poderão não fazer sentido – jogue o quanto antes! O mundo sem Super Mario é um mundo sem magia.
Why has a story from the past worked so well for the future?
Nostalgia is a powerful emotion that evokes memories and positive feelings from the past. That’s why, when used strategically, it can create emotional connections with the target audience and generate even more engagement on your brand or product. In digital marketing nostalgia is a catalyst for emotions and driving desire.
Want to know more? Here are some steps to start activating nostalgia in your publications, incorporating it into your digital marketing strategy and becoming even more relevant.
- Know your target audience: first of all, it’s essential to understand who your customers are and what their relevant past experiences are. Research your personas, targeting their preferences and the cultural events that were important during their childhood and adolescence
- Identify the nostalgic elementsonce you’ve done this preliunderminey research, try to identify the elements that can arouse nostalgia in your target audience. There’s a world of possibilities: music, films, TV shows, toys or any other cultural aspect that can revive the past.
- Use visual and sound references: Incorporating visual and sound elements reminiscent of the past can be very effective in arousing nostalgia. Create content for your social networks or advertisements using filters or visual styles capable of triggering memories of the past. In addition, choose soundtracks or jingles that have a connection to the past or that are trending in the media trends.
- Tell emotional stories: storytelling is the most powerful tool in communication. And if we’re talking about nostalgia, this is an effective strategy for evoking emotions related to the past. This will help establish an emotional connection with the audience.
- Involve the public: if you’ve decided to activate nostalgia in people, it’s also important to encourage interaction and engagement on the platforms. The idea is to generate content encouraging people to share their nostalgic references. This should encourage participation and strengthen the emotional bond with your brand, generating even more organic engagement on social networks.
Always bear in mind that each marketing strategy is unique, so it’s very important to know how to adapt these tips to the context closest to your brand and target audience.
We all know that social networks play a fundamental role in the way we consume content today.
In the case of the Super Mario Bros. film, its strong popularity and the nostalgia associated with the characters provide an excellent opportunity for the companies generate engagement and attract new audiences on social networks.
Remember: nostalgia can be a very powerful marketing tool, as long as it is used authentically and is always relevant to your audience.
See also the recent volksWagen campaign which brought back the singer Elis Regina using Artificial Intelligence.
