January 3, 2026 • 49 mins
Nostalgia doesn’t just sell; it sticks. We sat down with Sarah Gillmer to explore how memory, family ritual, and pop culture can turn everyday products into emotional anchors, and why that approach still beats a thousand loud impressions. From Barbie’s cross-generational comeback to Nike’s retro magic and McDonald’s adult Happy Meal, we map when heritage fuels love and when brands risk costume-playing a past they never owned.
We also tackle the elephant in the media room: is traditional media dead? Not quite. Print catalogs with QR stickers are back on kitchen counters, local radio still drives action, and the right billboard can outwork a dozen forgettable banner ads. The smartest plans now pair tactile, trusted channels with digital precision. We talk about how to choose moments where analog wins; regional launches, community trust, and high-frequency routes, and how to keep the art in marketing without ignoring the numbers.
In quick hits, we react to Instacart’s variable pricing controversy and the transparency gap it exposes. Then we look ahead as Google signals ads inside Gemini AI chat, debating what “useful” looks like in an answer-first interface. Finally, we swap campaigns we love: Chevy’s memory-rich family spot that sells without shouting, and Dunkin’s munchkin tale that turns a donut hole into a holiday hero. If you care about brand building, media mix strategy, and the next wave of ad experiences, this one’s for you.
Enjoyed the conversation? Follow and share the show, and leave a review so more curious marketers can find us.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:08):
What's up, Party Beeple?
BV here, and welcome to anotherepisode of Retail Media Vibes, a
doing business in Bentonvillepodcast.
We are recording live in Rogers,Arkansas at Podcast Video
Studio.
If you would like to start yourown podcast, please reach out to
the fine folks here at PodcastVideos.
(00:28):
They are absolutely amazing athelping you get your podcast off
the ground and doing all thelegwork.
So you can just focus on havinga wonderful show.
Today, my guest is Sarah Gilmer,and we're going to get to meet
her in just a minute.
But our main topics today are isgoing to be the power of
nostalgia marketing.
And is traditional media reallydead?
(00:50):
All right.
We're going to have some fun andtalk about quick hits.
So we got a few quick hitstories we're going to touch on.
And then we're going to wrapthings up with some campaigns we
love.
So with that out of the way, weare going to now meet Sarah.
So, all right, well, welcome tothe show, Sarah.
It's good to have you.
SPEAKER_01 (01:06):
It's great to be here.
SPEAKER_00 (01:08):
Uh well, I appreciate you taking the time
to be on the show today.
So, you know, so those thatdon't know you, our listeners
and viewers, uh, let's learn alittle bit about Sarah and get
to know you a bit.
SPEAKER_01 (01:19):
Yeah.
Um, I think I like to think ofmyself a little bit as um
coaching human potential, right?
Okay.
So parent.
Yeah.
Um, I am a certified Enneagramcoach.
SPEAKER_00 (01:35):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (01:36):
And then I am a sales leader for a digital
content content company calledBreaktime.
SPEAKER_00 (01:42):
Yep.
Yeah, very familiar with breaktime.
Yeah.
It's cool.
So um, you know, if you weren'tdoing what you're doing now,
what would be like analternative universe career for
you?
SPEAKER_01 (01:54):
It's a great question.
I've actually thought a lotabout that and whether that's my
age or stage of life.
Perhaps we all go through timeslike that where where you think
about like, what would I bedoing if not this?
Yeah.
If if I were to go back toschool, I think I would probably
do something in the realm ofcounseling or psychology.
(02:18):
Um what I really love to do issitting with others and helping
them learn more about who theyare.
Yeah.
I think the greatest gift youcan give yourself is knowing who
you are, um, which as a resultis a gift to a lot of other
people, which is we love theEnneagram.
SPEAKER_00 (02:34):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I I mean, I like, I like thatthe Enneagram quite a bit as
well.
Um Yeah, there's a you know, acertain level of psychology, it
sounds like that you're, youknow, human psychology and
behavior that you're veryinterested in.
SPEAKER_01 (02:48):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (02:48):
Yeah.
Awesome.
Awesome.
Well, if we were, you know, solet's we're gonna talk a little
bit about retail and and youknow, obviously we're gonna talk
about nostalgia and traditionalmedia.
So, you know, around that space,like what is a trend in retail
or marketing that you reallyfeel like is really exciting
right now from your perspective.
SPEAKER_01 (03:08):
Exciting is the interesting word, right?
Because that could mean a lot ofdifferent things.
So obviously the biggest trendright now, I think, in retail is
is AI.
Everybody's trying to figure outwhat to do with AI and how to
utilize it best.
So from an excitement that couldbe excitement in terms of
anxiety, it could be excitementin terms of creativity and what
(03:30):
you're gonna do with it.
Um, I think we're all grapplingwith what is its relevancy in my
line of work.
And then from our own worlds ofwhere we deal with brands and
shoppers, how does that bestcommunicate with shoppers and
how do they feel about that?
So no matter what you see ontrend, whether that's nostalgia,
(03:51):
which we'll talk about herelater, or not, AI is AI is the
buzz and on trend.
SPEAKER_00 (03:58):
Well, we're gonna talk about traditional media as
well, right?
And so, you know, these are youknow legacy media channels that
have been around for years,right?
And so fast forward to today,you know, AI has is a you know a
new whole new uh landscape andyou know technology that's going
to be used in a lot of differentways in in media and
(04:19):
advertising.
And you know, obviously the thestory there is still yet to be
written as well.
So yeah, it's interesting, youknow, you brought up AI.
I mean, everybody, it's oneverybody's mind.
That is not the topic that we'recovering today, but um, that's
probably an opportunity for atopic in the future.
But yeah, I I think AI isdefinitely on everybody's mind,
(04:39):
and it is very exciting andinteresting on where it could
potentially go.
All right.
So, first up, our first quickhit story this week is uh
Instacart has been testing, airquotes, testing variable
pricing.
So there was a recent story thatInstacart may be a we'll call it
(05:02):
adjusting, all right.
So we don't want we we want tobe kind here, right?
Adjusting pricing um andincreasing prices uh to
different shoppers.
You know, uh the test was donewhere you know several different
shoppers shopping the sameproduct at the same store.
There were some pricedifferences for each individual
(05:24):
shopper.
Um, Instacart, you know, waskind of the center of that.
And, you know, they said theywere, you know, testing this
model out.
So, you know, same product, samestore, different prices.
You know, I think there's a lotof perception around uh an
activity such as this.
But just like what's your gutreaction on some on something
(05:45):
like this?
SPEAKER_01 (05:45):
I think you can look at it a couple of different
ways.
My gut reaction as a consumer isI don't like it.
It it kind of infuriates me.
SPEAKER_00 (05:53):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (05:54):
Um I you know, it it goes down to like what is fair
and reasonable, um, and that canbe debated as well as what is
fair and reasonable.
If I take a step back, however,and look at it um at the dynamic
pricing, uh, you know, it issomething that's happening all
(06:20):
the time, whether we realize itor not.
SPEAKER_00 (06:22):
Yeah, especially like in e-commerce channels,
right?
Who can you can adjust pricingall the time?
SPEAKER_01 (06:27):
Yeah, e-commerce.
Also just look at it from likewhere do you live in the in the
country?
States, taxes, all that kind ofstuff.
So while it seems like offensivethat you're gonna do this to me,
that's also the realization thatit's happening already and we
don't even know about.
I think that's that is thekicker though.
I know about different statesand different pricing.
(06:49):
This was unknown, right?
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (06:52):
It wasn't transparent.
SPEAKER_01 (06:53):
It wasn't disclosed to the consumer.
Right.
And so that of course can drivethat rage and irritation from
that kind of and I think whensome a lot of these things and
they happen in this black box,right?
SPEAKER_00 (07:05):
And so like the there's not a that transparency
to the consumer.
Well, all right, well, what isthe you know, what is the cause
of the price difference?
You know, what is that, what isthe stimulus there?
You know, I remember back whenWendy's got a lot of pushback um
a while, you know, a while agowhen they were have when they
had like dynamic pricing.
And so, you know, costs of foodwould vary based upon time of
(07:30):
day, right?
And you can only go into a youknow a some supply and demand
mentality or you know, Uber hasyou know surge pricing, right?
When there's a high demand forUbers, the price goes up, less
demand, you know, price goesdown.
So we do live in this supply anddemand, uh, capitalism, you
know, uh economy.
(07:51):
And so you see these thingshappening, but I think what I
think transparency is is isimportant.
I also think that you knowthings that are necessities
should have a lot more stabilitythan things that are elective.
SPEAKER_01 (08:06):
I agree with that.
I also think what's interestingabout this is it also can train
the shopper's behavior differentthan you anticipated it to be.
SPEAKER_00 (08:14):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (08:14):
If I know Wendy's that you're gonna charge me more
during peak times and I wantWendy's, I'm gonna go get it
elsewhere.
Right.
Think of it also about thinkabout airlines, right?
We all know right, we got toclear the cache or you know,
like to go look for airline.
SPEAKER_00 (08:35):
Sure.
SPEAKER_01 (08:36):
So if if Instacart's gonna do this, well, can I log
in under a different emailaddress and look at it for a
different price?
So I think it's gonna be a goodthing.
SPEAKER_00 (08:44):
Okay, well, they're gaming you.
Now you're trying to get themoney.
But you're trying to game them,right?
And so there is this, you know,competitive uh relationship then
right between the consumer andthe retailer.
Right.
So very, you know, veryinteresting.
I think you also, if you lookat, you know, the future, uh,
the future in-store where youhave you know debt digital shelf
(09:04):
labels that obviously areconnected and you know, is there
that opportunity for dynamicpricing?
You know, what is the stimulusfor that?
So I think there's a lot more tobe figured out in this, uh in
this future, you know, futurestate of of you know supply and
demand and you know, purchaseeconomy and in and how prices
get set.
(09:25):
Um, and so it's it's justinteresting to really see you
know uh a platform likeInstacart do this again, air
quotes test um in order to seeyou know what the what the
appetite was or what they couldget away with, right?
And you know, and so it's uhit's an interesting one.
All right, moving on to our ourour next story.
(09:47):
So um Dateline ad week, right?
So ad week had a story whereGoogle is uh telling advertisers
that it's planning to bring adsto their Gemini AI chat platform
in the coming, in the in thecoming year 2026.
So this, you know, these are allI think ads in AI, ads in
(10:10):
chatbot, AI chatbots, et cetera,has always been something that's
been discussed.
But this is like the first timethat somebody, whether
intentional or not, has isactually having a conversation
about actually advertising inthese uh in these channels.
I mean, how surprised are you,though, that you know Google is
(10:31):
already trying to make thishappen?
SPEAKER_01 (10:33):
I'm not surprised.
They have to make a profit.
Um, the top every you know, buzzright now is we're in the AI
bubble and it's gonna burst,right?
All the things that we use itfor is for free.
Now it's costing us something,it's costing our data and our
privacy.
unknown (10:48):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (10:49):
Yeah.
However, I don't pay every timeI use Gemini.
I don't pay.
I mean, uh yes, your businesscould have a different model and
subscription, but for the mostpart, everybody is using the
free versions of those models.
Right.
So no, it doesn't surprise me.
Um I think it'll be time willtell.
I think it goes back to what isit gonna look like.
SPEAKER_00 (11:12):
Yeah.
Well, yeah, that was yeah, mynext question is like, you know,
how invasive are these ads goingto be?
Are they just going to be likesponsored listings that are
interspersed?
Like, you know, what put on youryour forward thinking hat.
What do you what do you thinkthese ads could potentially look
like?
SPEAKER_01 (11:30):
I mean, if if if we're smart and we're using AI
as it is, it's to me, what wouldbe brilliant is whatever I am
asking it to do, somehow theadvertisement is affiliated to
it.
SPEAKER_00 (11:47):
Right.
Right?
Yeah, of course, yeah,irrelevancy, right?
SPEAKER_01 (11:49):
If I'm going through and I'm like, hey, um looking
for some high-level ideas for astrategy discussion around, I
don't know, Pringles.
Yeah, right.
Is it gonna serve me an ad forPringles that I can then go
purchase at a at a retailer?
Like that would be smart, youknow?
(12:10):
Or is it going to who who knows?
But to me, that if it's AI andit's advertising, I would hope
it's dynamic and can think onits feet and serve it back that
way.
SPEAKER_00 (12:22):
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm I'm hoping that itadvances advertising in a new
way.
And it it's a new format, it'sjust not another sponsored
listening listing or a sponsoredcard or something.
Like, you know, here's here'sthe sponsor result, and then
here's what you really wanted atthe, you know, like, you know,
accompanying that.
And so like it, I I'm hoping,and I don't have the vision of
(12:45):
what it will be, but I'm I'm I'mreally hoping it's more than
what we currently see today andis done in a much uh much
smarter way.
SPEAKER_01 (12:54):
Smarter way, something that's not gonna force
me to watch something dosomething before you're gonna
give me the output.
Right.
Is you know, how how what isthat initial frustration gonna
be for those who are using it?
And then will people jump todifferent things that don't have
that yet?
SPEAKER_00 (13:10):
But I don't know if the average person who is using
it more casually has reallybought in on the usage of this
tool in a way that you startserving me ads, then all of a
sudden I'm gonna stick with youand I'm gonna find that as
continue to stick stick it out.
I think that's you know, goingback a few years, back to um
(13:34):
Instagram, Instagram was soadamant about not having ads,
right?
Because it really wanted todrive that stickiness and
ensuring that you know the usersof that platform were engaging,
they were taking a lot ofpictures, they were sharing
those pictures.
Like you get it to the point,like there's gotta be this
curve, and you've got to reachthat curve.
(13:56):
And then then you put in ads,and people are, oh well, it's
ads, but I'm still getting thevalue out of this this platform
in a way that gets me, you know,gets me what I want.
And so, okay, I'll I'll I'll putup with some ads, right?
So not sure that's there yet.
And I and I but I don't know,you know, we'll see how this all
plays out.
SPEAKER_01 (14:14):
I would agree.
SPEAKER_00 (14:15):
All right.
So you were talking about chipsearlier.
You said Pringles, right?
Uh well, I'm I'm gonna talkabout chips on this third story
here, and which is Lay's, Lay'spotato chips.
We all know Lay's probably had afew in in in our lives, right?
And so what's really fun andinteresting to me, and of
course, you know, I'm a sneakerguy, so anytime I see a sneaker,
it's not a surprising topic foryou at all.
(14:37):
You combine a little CPG withsome sneakers, and of course,
it's gonna get my attention,right?
So Lay's is partnering up withSaucany to have their own
chip-inspired collection.
Now, unfortunately, this is onlyin China, so I guess they're you
know, they're trying to makesome uh brand, they're doing
some brand building in China,Lay's is with Saucony, and so
(14:58):
there's a nice little collabthere.
Um, you know, there's threesneakers, they're gonna be in
the Chinese market.
Uh, pretty cool, you know,pretty cool uh sneakers.
I I like the yellow ones thebest, the ones that really
mirror the Lay's potato chip uhaesthetic.
So I like that quite a bit.
But uh in your from your pointof view, and I know you're
(15:19):
you're a huge chip eater, right?
You Pringles, right?
SPEAKER_01 (15:22):
Listen, chips and salsa are thing, yes.
SPEAKER_00 (15:25):
Okay, so in your in your mind, what chip should have
its uh have a collabcollaboration with a sneaker
brand?
SPEAKER_01 (15:34):
Yes.
I actually thought about this,and I was I think everybody's
gonna go the athletic shoe lane.
Yeah.
So if you're gonna go that lane,I'm gonna go if you're gonna go
that lane, I'm also like, whatis the most relevant thing
happening in 2026?
It's the World Cup.
So I'm I'm thinking like, okay,is there a fun, loud brand that
(15:57):
would make sense around theheight of the World Cup?
And maybe you could even do itby like country team, all the
kind of stuff.
So like Takis.
SPEAKER_00 (16:05):
Talkies was like the first thing that came from.
SPEAKER_01 (16:07):
Talkies, pair it with like an Adidas, some kind
of classic locker shoot.
Yeah, yeah.
To bring it home.
SPEAKER_00 (16:14):
Yeah, I like it.
SPEAKER_01 (16:15):
You could go that round for me.
I like a chip that's got somecrunch.
I need some density.
SPEAKER_00 (16:22):
Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_01 (16:24):
I like it.
I like a kettle, a good oldkettle chip.
Okay, yeah.
And when I think about kettlebrands, I think of like Cape
Cod.
SPEAKER_00 (16:30):
Yeah, Cape Cod.
SPEAKER_01 (16:30):
And I was gonna say, if we're gonna go Cape Cod, I
like what about a Cape Cod and asperry?
Kind of have like thatpotentious, like Oh, like the
docksider shoes.
Yeah, like it'd be a boat shoeor a canvas shoe and a Cape Cod.
SPEAKER_00 (16:46):
Yeah.
Yeah, I like that.
I like that.
Yeah, I could I could see thosetwo actually coming together.
SPEAKER_01 (16:52):
It's classy.
Uh if I want a shoe, I want aclassy shoe.
A classy shoe, classic.
You know, if I'm going athleticshoe, I'm going Nike.
Um I want that classic, triedand true.
So if I'm thinking about thatfor myself, I'm I'm thinking
more of like, why not dosomething that would be classic,
more of a neutrality?
(17:13):
Yeah, goes with everything, canbe on trend no matter what.
SPEAKER_00 (17:17):
Yeah, Pringles did a Crocs collab, you know, uh a
while back as well.
So, you know, that's that thatwas fun too.
So yeah, it's always interestingto me when these, you know,
food, food brands, food andbeverage brands partner up with
a shoe, and does the does thecollab, you know, really work?
Does it bring the ethos, totruly bring the ethos in to the
(17:38):
to the shoe?
Um, you know, there was uh acollaboration a while back with
Kyrie Irving shoe with Nike, um,with General Mills and like
Cinnamon Toast Crunch and KicksUm and Lucky Charms.
And so there were these, youknow, these cereal brands that
like integrated you know theirtheir ethos into the Kyrie
(18:00):
Irving shoe.
And then a couple of years agothere was a Fruity Pebbles, uh,
a Fruity Pebbles cereal uh withcollaboration with a LeBron shoe
as well.
It's the Fruity Pebbles.
So yeah, and I think there was acouple different designs of
that.
So anyway, it's alwaysinteresting to see, you know,
how you know these these brandscan integrate, you know, within
(18:21):
uh a collaboration like asneaker or another product to
kind of you know, I think insome cases both brands can help
themselves, help, help eachother, right?
You know, so you're bringingthat relevancy of of street
streetwear culture to thecereal, and then you have the
the strong branding of thecereal, elevate the shoe.
And I think in a lot of casesit's a it's a great, great
(18:42):
partnership.
And if nothing else, it's fun,right?
So it's fun.
SPEAKER_01 (18:45):
It creates that once in a once-in-a-lifetime limited
offer.
SPEAKER_00 (18:49):
Yes, yeah, yeah, drives that urgency.
Great.
All right, cool.
Well, that was quick hits.
Now we're gonna move on to ourtwo main stories today.
All right.
So the the first main story thatwe're gonna talk about today is
the power of nostalgiamarketing.
What I like about nostalgia islike you can stimulate nostalgia
(19:10):
in a lot of different ways,visually, sensorially, you know,
through through through uhscent, through audio, through
music.
Like there's a so many ways thatnostalgia can come, you know,
come in.
And you know, why I wanted to dothis topic is you know, right
now, Stranger Things is goingthrough their final season.
(19:31):
And I think they do such a greatjob with nostalgia.
Nostalgia can be one of thosereally emotional ways to tap
into, you know, tap into theconsumer.
Um, and it's it just it, youknow, shopping, a lot of it is
about psychology, right?
(19:52):
You were talking about early onin your introduction, like you
you you like the psychology of alot of things and uh and the
emotional side of that.
And You know, to me, you know,having this conversation with
you about, you know, nostalgiais like just fits fits so well.
And, you know, when I thinkabout some of the emotional
(20:12):
connections that, you know,brands can have with consumers,
and I think also about hypemarketing, right?
Hype marketing is not likenostalgia marketing because hype
marketing is about like buildingexcitement, building a lot of
energy, you know, um, andnostalgia is more of that
feeling of familiarity.
And I think you know, nostalgiaworks really well when you take
(20:35):
something that was, you know,from the past or gives you a
nostalgic feeling and you pullit forward and you reintroduce
it, like as a parent, forexample, for for me, right?
You know, I grew up, you know,Star Wars, right?
Star Wars, right?
And love Star Wars.
And, you know, when Star Wars,when they re-release new toys or
a new movie, you know, thatbrings that nostalgia uh to me.
(20:58):
And then I want to share thatwith my kid.
Yes.
Then they get involved, right?
And so then that brand, youknow, um, in this case, Star
Wars, has a new, you know,cohort of people that they can
market to in the future.
And then they bring a nostalgia.
So it's almost like it's it canlike build upon it itself.
Yeah.
And so I think it's you knowreally about just ensuring that
(21:23):
like connecting in thatemotional way of feelings and
and thoughts of the past inorder to, you know, get
shoppers, consumers to look atyour product in a in a in a
certain light and get thatfamiliarity as well.
You know, from from you know,from your standpoint, like what
is how does nostalgia marketingreally you know work for you?
(21:47):
Or how do you how do you seethat working in the in the space
that we work in on a dailybasis?
SPEAKER_01 (21:52):
There's something so incredibly powerful about um
tradition and story.
The amount of times that my kidswill ask me a story about, tell
me about when you were younger,that the nostalgia marketing
plays into.
And so when you talk aboutfeeling, it is the feeling,
right?
It is it whether that's youknow, it's baking something that
(22:16):
brings you back to that timeframe or using something.
So I think it it's a reallypowerful tool when it's used in
the right way, right?
When it fits the brand or itfits the overall story really
well, versus a lot of peoplejumping on the bandwagon that
may not have a clear tie eitherto the thing, the entity that's
(22:41):
pulling into nostalgia, whichnostalgia is usually some kind
of pop culture, right?
Yeah.
Something of that manner.
And in a and some kind of mediumof media.
SPEAKER_00 (22:52):
Yeah.
unknown (22:53):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (22:53):
That brings you into it.
Um, and so if somebody, ifsomething or a brand can can
sync in with that and thataligns well with them, um, then
it works.
unknown (23:04):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (23:04):
Yeah.
You know, when I was thinkingabout this conversation, you
know, I was thinking about,okay, who does it really well?
I think Barbie does it the best.
Oh, that's interesting.
Uh, you know, because likeBarbie is obviously a a legacy,
you know, a legacy toy, right?
Legacy brand, right?
(23:26):
That's been around for years.
And then there's always, youknow, that that mom that
introduces, you know, Barbie toto their child at some point.
And then most recently, right,they had the Barbie movie,
right?
And so it exposed Barbie to awhole new and then it like
reinvigorates the excitement,the interest, the love, you
(23:47):
know, and because it is anemotional thing, the love for a
particular brand.
So I think Barbie does a really,really great job of that.
Um, you know, from yourstandpoint, like, you know, you
can you think of other otherbrands that actually do do a
good job of that?
SPEAKER_01 (24:06):
Well, when you said Barbie, what I immediately
counterthought through that wasum were Hot Wheels, only because
like even when you talk aboutBarbie and Hot Wheels, like my
parents kept those for mybrother and I.
So, like, at you know, it wasit's great to introduce, like,
pull out Barbies that were mineand let my daughter play with
(24:28):
them, or son, or you know, fromfrom that context.
SPEAKER_00 (24:31):
I did the same as Star Wars.
SPEAKER_01 (24:32):
Yeah, for from a Star Wars standpoint.
In terms of other brands that doit really well, what comes to
mind, although I'm trying tothink of like a specific
example, um I kind of go back tosome of the serial brands that
(24:53):
capitalize on a lot of thosethings because they've been
around for a long time.
SPEAKER_00 (24:59):
Yes, yeah, there's a certain legacy.
SPEAKER_01 (25:01):
There's legacies with it.
So um, but I was sitting heretrying to think of is that
nostalgia or is that justbranding, right?
SPEAKER_00 (25:09):
But it can be both.
SPEAKER_01 (25:10):
It can be both.
So, right?
When I think about likeWheaties, yeah.
Who's on the Wheaties box?
How does that carry it through?
Um, you know, that's somethingthat's lasted a long time.
Does it still have the same,like, I, you know, from an
athlete standpoint, do theyreally want to be on a Wheaties
box now?
I don't know.
That carries the same weight asit did before.
SPEAKER_00 (25:29):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (25:30):
Um, but I don't know.
Something I want to do.
SPEAKER_00 (25:34):
I I mean, from you know, for me with nostalgia,
like, you know, again, I hatemaking this a sneaker podcast.
It's yeah, intended to be asneaker podcast, but like Nike,
they re-release sneakers fromyears past, right?
And so they, you know, they theycall them retros, right?
They retro a sneaker.
They'll have a sneaker thatreleased, you know, back in
1988, and then they will redo itand release it in 2025, right?
(25:57):
And so it gives you thatopportunity to really relive
that magic of whether you hadthat sneaker in 1988 or not, you
relive it again, you know,relive it in 2025, and either
you get it for the first time in2025 or you get it again,
because by the time that 1980,you know, you probably don't
have that pair in 1980.
So, like there is that nostalgiacomponent with with with retro
(26:21):
as well.
SPEAKER_01 (26:21):
Yeah.
Well, and if I think aboutbrands who've who've tried to
play into that a lot, I mean,Coca-Cola classically comes in,
you know, holiday time frame,they're always gonna pull in,
bring in the classic Coke withthe classic Santa with that
piece of it.
Um, but even as they introducethings like new Coke, right?
Right.
They pull in the old with thenew and try to reintroduce it um
(26:44):
back.
SPEAKER_00 (26:45):
Well, yeah, and they had that in in Stranger Things,
right?
So that was the season before.
And so exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (26:51):
So that's a good play.
And you know, what's been in thenews now too is is McDonald's
with their adult happy meal,right?
Yes.
You get the play on happy mealswere a big deal.
Like we didn't go out to eat awhole lot.
So that you know, getting ahappy meal with my orange high C
and the toy, like a little bitof nostalgia there, that's a big
deal.
SPEAKER_00 (27:10):
You know, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (27:11):
So having the play into it now, right?
SPEAKER_00 (27:15):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (27:16):
To kind of bring it back.
SPEAKER_00 (27:17):
Yeah.
So when I was doing some, youknow, some research on, you
know, like, you know, what doeswhat are some strategies to
ensure like a brand canparticipate in a nostalgic, you
know, type of marketingcampaign, right?
So one of a few of these arelike knowing your audience's
timeline, right?
And so there are definitelygoing to be different properties
(27:38):
and different nostalgicexperiences based upon, you
know, somebody's, you know,timeline, right?
And so millennial versus Gen Xversus Gen Z, et cetera, right?
Um, I like this one where you'reyou're blending the the retro
with modern, right?
So it's kind of like you know,what we're talking about
earlier, where you'reintroducing, you know, this
(28:00):
retro brand in a retro way, butyou're doing it in a modern,
modern style.
And then so you're bringing likebringing people today into your
brand.
So it's a good, it's a goodcombination.
Um, and then anchoring in sharedauthentic shared experiences.
So that's that was another onethat was identified as well,
where you know, um, it could befamily traditions, because I
(28:23):
also think that's a reallyimportant part, you know, is is
the can be the family dynamic.
Like it's if it's a sharedexperience, like everybody is
doing it together and they'resharing in that, those memories
can last for when they getolder, right?
And then there's thatopportunity to come back to it
again.
Are there any of those thingsthat stand out for you, like
(28:45):
experiences like with your withyour kids that, you know, um
maybe related to a brand orproduct that could be, you know,
uh nostalgic in some way in thefuture?
SPEAKER_01 (28:57):
Some of it goes back to, I think we talked a little
bit about toys.
Some of it goes back to liketried and true recipes for me.
There were certain things, youknow, sometimes I think for
recipes, uh I was always toldthere are certain ingredients
that you buy the name brand.
You do not do not go get thestore brought brand.
(29:20):
Like it's very important for therecipe.
And I as I've shared some ofthat, my daughter loves baking
now too.
And as we go shopping for thosethings, if we're going in store
or online, and I remember herpointing out once about a
chocolate chip or whatever, anduh, she put something I was
like, no, no, we must have theNestle Toll House.
SPEAKER_00 (29:40):
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01 (29:41):
For this, yes, for this recipe, we must have um
because it makes a difference.
Whether it does it make adifference, makes a difference
in my heart.
Makes a difference in the memoryof whoever made it.
Um, so those are things thatthat carry down the line in
terms of Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (29:58):
So I think you know, we your daughter goes to, you
know, that's right, he's in thefuture with her, you know, her
family.
And so that's pro that isprobably something that's going
to stick with them.
SPEAKER_01 (30:07):
That recipe, yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (30:09):
And then the last one was you know, stay true to
your brand's identity, right?
And I think sometimes like, oh,I've got this new brand and I
want to play into nostalgia, andI'm trying to do this weird fit
of nostalgic with a new brand.
And I don't know if that works,right?
You have to have, I feel likewith nostalgia and branding and
marketing, you have to kind ofhave a legacy in a way, right?
SPEAKER_01 (30:31):
It feels like that's an important thing you have to
have a legacy.
I I also think what'sinteresting is brands who try to
to, it's a miss because they tryto modernize without
understanding their legacy andthe nostalgia they carry.
So, like case in point this yearwas the cracker barrel logo.
SPEAKER_00 (30:46):
Oh, yeah, that's a great one.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (30:48):
So like they got rid of grandpa, right?
They got rid of and the outrageof the Cracker Barrel logo.
Like they they missed, but whata miss to not think through like
old timey store clap, like, youknow, to not understand the
nostalgia of what they carry umwithin that piece of it.
SPEAKER_00 (31:10):
Yeah.
I mean, you go to Cracker Barreland I just think about the
little peg game.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (31:15):
Old candy that you would get in there.
SPEAKER_00 (31:18):
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (31:18):
Um, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (31:19):
Yeah.
So that's yeah, that's that's athat's that's a really good one.
So yeah, I think, I mean, Ithink, you know, nostalgia is
obviously a very powerfulemotion.
I think there are ways forbrands to do it and do it, do
it, do it well.
And there's so many brands thatthat do.
Um, I think new brands have toestablish their their identity
and as as they grow, and thenmaybe there's those those
(31:41):
opportunities.
But I think leaning into anostalgia can definitely bring
families together, bring storiestogether, and bring
opportunities for nostalgicmoments again in the future.
So great.
All right.
That was that was awesome.
So we're gonna move on now toour our next story.
All right.
So, you know, for our nexttopic, um, we're gonna talk
(32:02):
about traditional media.
Is traditional media dead?
I always feel like in my worldthat I've I've worked in over
time, the word trend traditionalmedia has a bias to it.
When you bring it up in aconversation, hey, let's put
together a marketing, marketingplan and you know, a form of
(32:25):
traditional media comes up.
There's usually some sort ofbias or I don't want to say a
visceral reaction because it'sbut I do think it gets it gets
pushed aside pretty quickly.
And and just to be clear on whenwe're talking about traditional
media, we're talking aboutprint, radio, broadcast TV, and
out of home.
(32:46):
I don't know.
So those are the those are thefour.
I I think there's going to be anew wave of a different type of
traditional media, but we'llwe'll get to that in the uh in
the future.
But I think you know, you getthe get the the same same ideas.
All of these things are outdatedin some way.
And some of them have comealong, right?
Come along for the ride.
(33:06):
Some of them have morphed intosomething a little bit
different, like of course, likeTV, you know, from broadcast TV
to more, you know, streaming andand connected TV and podcasting
with radio, and like a lot ofthese kind of evolved into these
new wave, new age um digital,digital formats in some way.
(33:27):
But there is something to besaid for some of these mediums
when done at in a certain way,right?
Under certain circumstances.
You know, is do you want to havea print ad uh in a magazine for
every single campaign that yourun moving forward?
No, probably not.
But in the right case, it might.
But it is funny though.
Like you if you went to amarket, modern marketer today
(33:50):
and said you're gonna do aprint, you know, you're gonna do
a print ad in a magazine, butit's just as an example.
SPEAKER_01 (33:55):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (33:56):
You'd probably not even get in front of the client
because some as a when you'resomebody, a leader would
probably stop you and say,they'll get that off the plan
immediately.
But you know, there could besome white space there that
you're not tapping into and inright, and the whole idea of
omnichannel is multi-channel,right?
Exactly.
You know, are there are therereally the right times and
(34:20):
places and situations where someof these forms of traditional
media could exist and be smart?
You know, um, I've said in aprevious podcast, sometimes I
like to zig when people arezagging, right?
So when when you know, everthere's so much push into
digital, one form or another.
Can you go into one of thesetraditional media channels and
(34:42):
make a splash because everybodyelse's attention is somewhere
else, right?
So, you know, from from yourstandpoint, you know, where do
you see the usage of traditionalmedia and and the value it can
bring to to a marketing plan?
SPEAKER_01 (34:59):
Consumers are looking for some of these
traditional options for that.
And also the younger generation.
So, like my daughter, a coupleyears ago for Christmas, my
sister gave her a subscriptionto a travel magazine because she
loves to travel.
SPEAKER_00 (35:15):
Awesome.
SPEAKER_01 (35:16):
She still has those magazines, she still goes
through when this subscriptionand flips through them because
she's looking for things.
She looks for average, you know,what to wear.
Like I every time I get amagazine, a clothing magazine,
she's always like, Don't throwthat out.
Cause you can look through itand touch and feel like she's
not seeing that, right?
(35:37):
You know, anywhere else.
So I think that there is powerin that.
There's power in havingsomething that you can that's
not just digital, but that'ssomething that you can touch and
feel and take with you and umleave by your bed.
Um, or you know, going homeevery time I go to see my
parents, they live in a smalltown um in northern Arkansas,
(36:02):
they still will get theirsouthern living and their better
homes and garden.
It is the first thing I will goto the coffee table and be like,
oh yeah, I want to go read mygruppy gardener.
I want to go look at thosethings.
So there's there's I think itgoes back to like the nostalgia
play too.
SPEAKER_00 (36:16):
Yeah, it can be, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (36:17):
Also think about like other ways that you're
gonna meet your consumer thatyou wouldn't do it anywhere
else.
Look at my kids look atbillboards all the time.
SPEAKER_00 (36:29):
Yeah, I mean, yeah.
Who's yeah, everyone seesbillboards.
So actually, my my favoritebillboard example, and this is I
don't most people will not beable to relate to this one um
unless they've been to SouthDakota.
So there is a there is adrugstore in South Dakota called
Wall.
It's a town called Wall, andit's called Wall Drug.
(36:51):
And, you know, for hundreds ofmiles, there is billboard after
billboard after billboard.
And you're driving in the middleof nowhere.
That's that is really literallyyour only form of entertainment
other than what you have on yourradio, right?
It's looking at thosebillboards, you know, free ice
water, you know, at Wall Drug,you know, truckers get coffee.
(37:13):
Yeah, you know, see the 50-footrabbit at Wall Drug.
Like it, and I mean literallyit's all of these, like all
these billboards, right?
And you obviously, you know,that's a high level of
frequency, uh-huh.
A lot of messages.
Sure.
It does have an influence onconsidering whether you stop at
Wall Drug.
And that will, I mean, Wall Drugis there and has been there for
absolutely forever.
And so, you know, I I think itcan have a role, right?
(37:38):
It can it can have a role.
I think with like localadvertising for sure, I think
some of these traditionalmediums like local radio, you
know, local TV, you know,however it comes through
broadcast TV.
I think, you know, if you're,you know, if you're an H VAC
company in the northwestArkansas area, like, you know,
having a local TV spot is ishelpful.
(38:01):
I think having a billboard inthe area is helpful, right?
You know, are you doing anational program?
Probably not, right?
So I think there's a certainlevel of localization, but I
also think there's like sometrust and credibility as well.
Like, you know, hey, my brand ison a billboard, my brand is on a
TV.
Like, and so there is a littlebit of that.
It obviously was much more backin the day than it is today, but
(38:24):
I still think it has a littlebit of that credibility.
This year, prior to the holidayseason, I received two toy
catalogs from mass retailers.
Um, and well, one was Amazon,which was totally e-commerce
print catalog, had QR codes init, but it was still a print
(38:46):
catalog.
I received one from Target.
I didn't get the Walmart one,but there were some other people
who had so even these retailersare still printing something,
right?
It's somewhat disruptive.
You know, and I get, hey, I getthe Sam's Club ISB every, you
know, every month as well.
SPEAKER_01 (39:02):
Because it also plays on nostalgia.
Yeah, because yeah, true.
We went back, I earmarked allthose toy catalogs that we used
to get.
SPEAKER_00 (39:11):
Yeah, I used to circle in the Sears catalog,
yeah.
For sure.
SPEAKER_01 (39:14):
Somewhere where mom and dad might pick it up, see
it, turn to it.
SPEAKER_00 (39:18):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (39:19):
Um, so there's there's it's it's that kind of
power play as well, thenostalgia to it, and my kids
look forward to it.
And I I don't it might be one ofthem has like stickers.
Like so, like you each child canget a set of stickers, and so
you can put your sticker on it.
So I mean it's a complete pullinto that as well.
SPEAKER_00 (39:40):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I mean, I think again beingat the right place with the
right medium with a specific,you know, cut customer.
I think when we're we weretalking prior to the show and we
were talking about direct mail.
If everybody else is online,maybe that is a space you can
You know, own for a moment,right?
SPEAKER_01 (40:02):
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (40:02):
You know, and so it is, it is, it is interesting.
I think, you know, myperspective here, and I look, I
get the measurement side ofthings for sure, but I think
sometimes we lose the art ofmarketing if all we're chasing
is a number.
SPEAKER_01 (40:16):
I agree.
I agree.
SPEAKER_00 (40:18):
We got into the space because it's a creative
space, right?
Right.
And we wanted to help brandsbuild, help build brands, help
build products, right?
You know, product, you know, thethe products that those brands
um sell in in in retail.
And if we just continue to chasethe click or chase the
(40:40):
impression or chase the ROAS,we're gonna lose the art of
omnichannel marketing becausenot all of that stuff is gonna
be able to be measured.
Well, people are not gonnabelieve that, right?
So we we get into this weirdspace of we've pushed marketing
all the way down to this numberversus the art of marketing.
(41:01):
You know, you want to find outwhether or not media channel
works, stop marketing.
You'll find out really quickwhether or not your marketing
was doing anything, right?
And so, but I I get it, right?
Because there is the dynamic of,you know, you want to make sure
that where you're investing yourdollars is really driving your
(41:22):
business, right?
There's the old saying, youknow, I uh 50% of my of my uh
marketing budget is working.
I just don't know where, youknow, or how it's working,
right?
So I think I think there'sthere's there's a lot to be said
when you start just chasingnumbers, but obviously there's a
requirement to do so because ofthat's how things get that get
(41:45):
funded.
But don't lose out on some ofthese opportunities that can
also be a complement to youroverall strategy, just because
uh traditional media, that'sold, old news.
You know, I alluded to thisearlier.
I think there's going to be anew wave of what is considered
traditional media, and thatcould be display banner ads.
(42:05):
It could be email, it could bepromotions, right?
And so, like as we get into newforms of, and we were talking
about, you know, Google and uhGemini and advertising, you
know, within chat chat umchatbots, you know, those may
become traditional.
And I I think you know, you youhave to really consider the
full, you know, the fullopportunity.
SPEAKER_01 (42:26):
Yeah.
Everything goes back to how canwe best tell the story that we
want people to grasp with ourbrand.
And you have to do that in a lotof different ways.
SPEAKER_00 (42:37):
And you have to, and I get it, you have to make
decisions, right?
You don't have unlimited budget.
You don't like you can't doeverything.
Like I totally get it.
So there are times where I thinkit makes sense, and there are
times where where where itdoesn't.
If you're a brand and you're,you know, you're getting your
your product into a localmarket, you know, and you're
only at a you know a few hundredstores, like and you're really
trying to drive volume withinthose markets.
(43:00):
I think you know, some of theforms of traditional market
would work in those in thosemarkets instead of just trying,
well, I just want to, you know,run some banner ads and some
social ads, you know, in thosein those markets.
What are some other ways thatyou can continue to build
attention and build your brandand build build your product at
those in those locations aswell?
So so traditional is not dead.
(43:22):
No, it's not um it's changed abit.
I think it's you can you knowselect when the best time to do
it, but you know, don't laughsomeone out of the room because
they brought you know a print adto a discussion about a
marketing mix for a specificobjective.
(43:43):
Those were our main stories.
Now we're gonna jump intocampaigns we love.
All right, we're gonna wrap theshow with campaigns we love.
Uh so Sarah and I are gonna talkabout campaigns or ads that we
have seen out in the world andwe are digging right now.
And uh I obviously part of thisshow was talking about
nostalgia.
And I understand, Sarah, you'vegot an amazing example in that
(44:05):
in that realm.
SPEAKER_01 (44:06):
I do.
So we're we're coming offholiday, and so the one thing
the the ad that just tugs on myown heartstring was was Chevy's
ad this year with the family.
Um, and it just shows all thememories that they've captured
while driving their suburban umover the years.
(44:27):
Um, and it kind of shows thelegacy of having, you know,
obviously a car that will last.
Um but if you think about justdriving in the amazing
discussions that I've had in myown vehicle with friends and
family, it captures all of thatum beautifully well.
(44:48):
Um it does what I think isreally brilliant marketing
because it sells without overtlyselling.
There was no part of that adthat was like, go to your local
Chevrolet dealership right now.
And it is truly about enjoy thememory of what this time brings.
unknown (45:08):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (45:08):
And that is like powerful brand building, you
know, using nostalgia.
And I think, you know, some ofthe things that we talked about
earlier about, you know, mmhaving the family involved
there, right?
Is it brings that brings thatlevel of emotion and
storytelling.
I think sometimes, you know, wewe don't get enough, we don't do
enough of the storytelling, youknow, to really kind of build
(45:29):
that, build that platform.
And obviously, you know, itseems like they told that story
in a really compelling way.
Yeah.
All right.
So my campaign I love um is isaround a Duncan Munchkin.
So I am a huge Duncan donuts,Duncan fan.
Um, I absolutely love.
And so there is uh an ad rightnow um around a Duncan Munchkin
(45:52):
is a brand's unlikely festiveholiday hero.
And so it's uh narrated by MindyKaling.
And what I also love about it islike I love when brands like do
a 360, where they also includemerchandise along with their
storytelling.
And so you can really buy intothe full, you know, into the
(46:13):
full story.
And so this this is actually achildren's book, right?
And they they've actually evenmade it into a spot.
Um, but it's it's reallycentered around a a Duncan
Munchkin, which is their theirdonut hole, if those of you that
don't know.
Yeah.
Um, and it's a a journey ofbelonging.
So the character, our little,our little powdered uh munchkin
(46:38):
uh feels discarded and and andforgotten because all of his
compadres that are inside the uhinside the munchkin box are
getting selected uh by people.
Um and he's the the last thelast one left.
Um and then a a child scoops inand uh grabs that last munchkin,
(46:59):
and it's the most special bestbite of all.
So it's it's kind of so here'show I feel about it.
SPEAKER_01 (47:05):
Tell me how you feel, because I have feelings
too, baby.
I have feelings.
SPEAKER_00 (47:08):
I have some feelings on this, but uh so I love
Duncan, I love what they did, Ilove the children's book.
I totally understand whatthey're trying to do with the
story.
SPEAKER_01 (47:15):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (47:16):
But it could go a little dark, right?
Yeah, so you've got all thesepersonalities on each of these
little munchkins, right?
They all have faces and they'rewhat do you do with the
munchkin?
You're not you're not you're notputting it on your shelf.
SPEAKER_01 (47:28):
Eating it.
You're you're killing it.
You were killing the beautifullittle cute munchkin.
SPEAKER_00 (47:34):
Right.
So, you know, uh, so again, I Ihave mixed, mixed feelings,
yeah, but I I do I love I lovewhat they were were trying to
trying to do there.
Um I've had a few of my I've hada few munchkins in my life, um,
and I don't think I've left anyat the bottom of the box.
So uh obviously some some kidhas now come along and you know
(47:57):
this this lonely little munchkinwhere all his friends have been
eaten now has been consumed bythis child and everything is
good again.
SPEAKER_01 (48:06):
So is it is it good?
Well is it good for that's thatis that is the emotion of the
story that is, you know, but thethe play on that that was his
purpose that he needed to liveinto his purpose.
I don't know.
SPEAKER_00 (48:21):
I don't know, but anyway, that's so that's that's
that's the one I brought to theto the table today.
All right.
So all right, let's wrap thingsup.
Um, so that is uh a wrap on thisepisode of Retail Media Vibes.
I want to thank Sarah for comingin and you know sharing your
thoughts and ideas with ustoday.
Uh anything that you want toshout out or plug or anything
(48:44):
before we wrap it up today?
SPEAKER_01 (48:46):
I I love connecting with others.
Um, would love to connect withyou all.
Find me on LinkedIn, SarahGilmer.
Um, if you have any interest atall in anything with Enneagram,
I'd love to speak with you aboutthat as well.
Um, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (48:59):
Okay.
Well, awesome.
Well, if you've enjoyed theshow, then you know be sure to
like it.
If you're on, you know, like iton YouTube, share it, um, let a
friend know about it.
Um, the more people we can getuh watching and listening, uh
that would be that would begreat.
Um and then if you have aquestion or feedback, you can
shoot me over a note atretailmedia vibes at gmail.com.
(49:23):
So I want to thank you all forlistening and watching.
And as always, I will promise,this is yeah, I know you hate
this one, but I promise I willdo better next time.
B V outfit.
What's up, Party Beeple?
BV here, and welcome to anotherepisode of Retail Media Vibes, a
doing business in Bentonvillepodcast.
We are recording live in Rogers,Arkansas at Podcast Video
Studio.
If you would like to start yourown podcast, please reach out to
the fine folks here at PodcastVideos.
(00:28):
They are absolutely amazing athelping you get your podcast off
the ground and doing all thelegwork.
So you can just focus on havinga wonderful show.
Today, my guest is Sarah Gilmer,and we're going to get to meet
her in just a minute.
But our main topics today are isgoing to be the power of
nostalgia marketing.
And is traditional media reallydead?
(00:50):
All right.
We're going to have some fun andtalk about quick hits.
So we got a few quick hitstories we're going to touch on.
And then we're going to wrapthings up with some campaigns we
love.
So with that out of the way, weare going to now meet Sarah.
So, all right, well, welcome tothe show, Sarah.
It's good to have you.
SPEAKER_01 (01:06):
It's great to be here.
SPEAKER_00 (01:08):
Uh well, I appreciate you taking the time
to be on the show today.
So, you know, so those thatdon't know you, our listeners
and viewers, uh, let's learn alittle bit about Sarah and get
to know you a bit.
SPEAKER_01 (01:19):
Yeah.
Um, I think I like to think ofmyself a little bit as um
coaching human potential, right?
Okay.
So parent.
Yeah.
Um, I am a certified Enneagramcoach.
SPEAKER_00 (01:35):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (01:36):
And then I am a sales leader for a digital
content content company calledBreaktime.
SPEAKER_00 (01:42):
Yep.
Yeah, very familiar with breaktime.
Yeah.
It's cool.
So um, you know, if you weren'tdoing what you're doing now,
what would be like analternative universe career for
you?
SPEAKER_01 (01:54):
It's a great question.
I've actually thought a lotabout that and whether that's my
age or stage of life.
Perhaps we all go through timeslike that where where you think
about like, what would I bedoing if not this?
Yeah.
If if I were to go back toschool, I think I would probably
do something in the realm ofcounseling or psychology.
(02:18):
Um what I really love to do issitting with others and helping
them learn more about who theyare.
Yeah.
I think the greatest gift youcan give yourself is knowing who
you are, um, which as a resultis a gift to a lot of other
people, which is we love theEnneagram.
SPEAKER_00 (02:34):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I I mean, I like, I like thatthe Enneagram quite a bit as
well.
Um Yeah, there's a you know, acertain level of psychology, it
sounds like that you're, youknow, human psychology and
behavior that you're veryinterested in.
SPEAKER_01 (02:48):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (02:48):
Yeah.
Awesome.
Awesome.
Well, if we were, you know, solet's we're gonna talk a little
bit about retail and and youknow, obviously we're gonna talk
about nostalgia and traditionalmedia.
So, you know, around that space,like what is a trend in retail
or marketing that you reallyfeel like is really exciting
right now from your perspective.
SPEAKER_01 (03:08):
Exciting is the interesting word, right?
Because that could mean a lot ofdifferent things.
So obviously the biggest trendright now, I think, in retail is
is AI.
Everybody's trying to figure outwhat to do with AI and how to
utilize it best.
So from an excitement that couldbe excitement in terms of
anxiety, it could be excitementin terms of creativity and what
(03:30):
you're gonna do with it.
Um, I think we're all grapplingwith what is its relevancy in my
line of work.
And then from our own worlds ofwhere we deal with brands and
shoppers, how does that bestcommunicate with shoppers and
how do they feel about that?
So no matter what you see ontrend, whether that's nostalgia,
(03:51):
which we'll talk about herelater, or not, AI is AI is the
buzz and on trend.
SPEAKER_00 (03:58):
Well, we're gonna talk about traditional media as
well, right?
And so, you know, these are youknow legacy media channels that
have been around for years,right?
And so fast forward to today,you know, AI has is a you know a
new whole new uh landscape andyou know technology that's going
to be used in a lot of differentways in in media and
(04:19):
advertising.
And you know, obviously the thestory there is still yet to be
written as well.
So yeah, it's interesting, youknow, you brought up AI.
I mean, everybody, it's oneverybody's mind.
That is not the topic that we'recovering today, but um, that's
probably an opportunity for atopic in the future.
But yeah, I I think AI isdefinitely on everybody's mind,
(04:39):
and it is very exciting andinteresting on where it could
potentially go.
All right.
So, first up, our first quickhit story this week is uh
Instacart has been testing, airquotes, testing variable
pricing.
So there was a recent story thatInstacart may be a we'll call it
(05:02):
adjusting, all right.
So we don't want we we want tobe kind here, right?
Adjusting pricing um andincreasing prices uh to
different shoppers.
You know, uh the test was donewhere you know several different
shoppers shopping the sameproduct at the same store.
There were some pricedifferences for each individual
(05:24):
shopper.
Um, Instacart, you know, waskind of the center of that.
And, you know, they said theywere, you know, testing this
model out.
So, you know, same product, samestore, different prices.
You know, I think there's a lotof perception around uh an
activity such as this.
But just like what's your gutreaction on some on something
(05:45):
like this?
SPEAKER_01 (05:45):
I think you can look at it a couple of different
ways.
My gut reaction as a consumer isI don't like it.
It it kind of infuriates me.
SPEAKER_00 (05:53):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (05:54):
Um I you know, it it goes down to like what is fair
and reasonable, um, and that canbe debated as well as what is
fair and reasonable.
If I take a step back, however,and look at it um at the dynamic
pricing, uh, you know, it issomething that's happening all
(06:20):
the time, whether we realize itor not.
SPEAKER_00 (06:22):
Yeah, especially like in e-commerce channels,
right?
Who can you can adjust pricingall the time?
SPEAKER_01 (06:27):
Yeah, e-commerce.
Also just look at it from likewhere do you live in the in the
country?
States, taxes, all that kind ofstuff.
So while it seems like offensivethat you're gonna do this to me,
that's also the realization thatit's happening already and we
don't even know about.
I think that's that is thekicker though.
I know about different statesand different pricing.
(06:49):
This was unknown, right?
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (06:52):
It wasn't transparent.
SPEAKER_01 (06:53):
It wasn't disclosed to the consumer.
Right.
And so that of course can drivethat rage and irritation from
that kind of and I think whensome a lot of these things and
they happen in this black box,right?
SPEAKER_00 (07:05):
And so like the there's not a that transparency
to the consumer.
Well, all right, well, what isthe you know, what is the cause
of the price difference?
You know, what is that, what isthe stimulus there?
You know, I remember back whenWendy's got a lot of pushback um
a while, you know, a while agowhen they were have when they
had like dynamic pricing.
And so, you know, costs of foodwould vary based upon time of
(07:30):
day, right?
And you can only go into a youknow a some supply and demand
mentality or you know, Uber hasyou know surge pricing, right?
When there's a high demand forUbers, the price goes up, less
demand, you know, price goesdown.
So we do live in this supply anddemand, uh, capitalism, you
know, uh economy.
(07:51):
And so you see these thingshappening, but I think what I
think transparency is is isimportant.
I also think that you knowthings that are necessities
should have a lot more stabilitythan things that are elective.
SPEAKER_01 (08:06):
I agree with that.
I also think what's interestingabout this is it also can train
the shopper's behavior differentthan you anticipated it to be.
SPEAKER_00 (08:14):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (08:14):
If I know Wendy's that you're gonna charge me more
during peak times and I wantWendy's, I'm gonna go get it
elsewhere.
Right.
Think of it also about thinkabout airlines, right?
We all know right, we got toclear the cache or you know,
like to go look for airline.
SPEAKER_00 (08:35):
Sure.
SPEAKER_01 (08:36):
So if if Instacart's gonna do this, well, can I log
in under a different emailaddress and look at it for a
different price?
So I think it's gonna be a goodthing.
SPEAKER_00 (08:44):
Okay, well, they're gaming you.
Now you're trying to get themoney.
But you're trying to game them,right?
And so there is this, you know,competitive uh relationship then
right between the consumer andthe retailer.
Right.
So very, you know, veryinteresting.
I think you also, if you lookat, you know, the future, uh,
the future in-store where youhave you know debt digital shelf
(09:04):
labels that obviously areconnected and you know, is there
that opportunity for dynamicpricing?
You know, what is the stimulusfor that?
So I think there's a lot more tobe figured out in this, uh in
this future, you know, futurestate of of you know supply and
demand and you know, purchaseeconomy and in and how prices
get set.
(09:25):
Um, and so it's it's justinteresting to really see you
know uh a platform likeInstacart do this again, air
quotes test um in order to seeyou know what the what the
appetite was or what they couldget away with, right?
And you know, and so it's uhit's an interesting one.
All right, moving on to our ourour next story.
(09:47):
So um Dateline ad week, right?
So ad week had a story whereGoogle is uh telling advertisers
that it's planning to bring adsto their Gemini AI chat platform
in the coming, in the in thecoming year 2026.
So this, you know, these are allI think ads in AI, ads in
(10:10):
chatbot, AI chatbots, et cetera,has always been something that's
been discussed.
But this is like the first timethat somebody, whether
intentional or not, has isactually having a conversation
about actually advertising inthese uh in these channels.
I mean, how surprised are you,though, that you know Google is
(10:31):
already trying to make thishappen?
SPEAKER_01 (10:33):
I'm not surprised.
They have to make a profit.
Um, the top every you know, buzzright now is we're in the AI
bubble and it's gonna burst,right?
All the things that we use itfor is for free.
Now it's costing us something,it's costing our data and our
privacy.
unknown (10:48):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (10:49):
Yeah.
However, I don't pay every timeI use Gemini.
I don't pay.
I mean, uh yes, your businesscould have a different model and
subscription, but for the mostpart, everybody is using the
free versions of those models.
Right.
So no, it doesn't surprise me.
Um I think it'll be time willtell.
I think it goes back to what isit gonna look like.
SPEAKER_00 (11:12):
Yeah.
Well, yeah, that was yeah, mynext question is like, you know,
how invasive are these ads goingto be?
Are they just going to be likesponsored listings that are
interspersed?
Like, you know, what put on youryour forward thinking hat.
What do you what do you thinkthese ads could potentially look
like?
SPEAKER_01 (11:30):
I mean, if if if we're smart and we're using AI
as it is, it's to me, what wouldbe brilliant is whatever I am
asking it to do, somehow theadvertisement is affiliated to
it.
SPEAKER_00 (11:47):
Right.
Right?
Yeah, of course, yeah,irrelevancy, right?
SPEAKER_01 (11:49):
If I'm going through and I'm like, hey, um looking
for some high-level ideas for astrategy discussion around, I
don't know, Pringles.
Yeah, right.
Is it gonna serve me an ad forPringles that I can then go
purchase at a at a retailer?
Like that would be smart, youknow?
(12:10):
Or is it going to who who knows?
But to me, that if it's AI andit's advertising, I would hope
it's dynamic and can think onits feet and serve it back that
way.
SPEAKER_00 (12:22):
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm I'm hoping that itadvances advertising in a new
way.
And it it's a new format, it'sjust not another sponsored
listening listing or a sponsoredcard or something.
Like, you know, here's here'sthe sponsor result, and then
here's what you really wanted atthe, you know, like, you know,
accompanying that.
And so like it, I I'm hoping,and I don't have the vision of
(12:45):
what it will be, but I'm I'm I'mreally hoping it's more than
what we currently see today andis done in a much uh much
smarter way.
SPEAKER_01 (12:54):
Smarter way, something that's not gonna force
me to watch something dosomething before you're gonna
give me the output.
Right.
Is you know, how how what isthat initial frustration gonna
be for those who are using it?
And then will people jump todifferent things that don't have
that yet?
SPEAKER_00 (13:10):
But I don't know if the average person who is using
it more casually has reallybought in on the usage of this
tool in a way that you startserving me ads, then all of a
sudden I'm gonna stick with youand I'm gonna find that as
continue to stick stick it out.
I think that's you know, goingback a few years, back to um
(13:34):
Instagram, Instagram was soadamant about not having ads,
right?
Because it really wanted todrive that stickiness and
ensuring that you know the usersof that platform were engaging,
they were taking a lot ofpictures, they were sharing
those pictures.
Like you get it to the point,like there's gotta be this
curve, and you've got to reachthat curve.
(13:56):
And then then you put in ads,and people are, oh well, it's
ads, but I'm still getting thevalue out of this this platform
in a way that gets me, you know,gets me what I want.
And so, okay, I'll I'll I'll putup with some ads, right?
So not sure that's there yet.
And I and I but I don't know,you know, we'll see how this all
plays out.
SPEAKER_01 (14:14):
I would agree.
SPEAKER_00 (14:15):
All right.
So you were talking about chipsearlier.
You said Pringles, right?
Uh well, I'm I'm gonna talkabout chips on this third story
here, and which is Lay's, Lay'spotato chips.
We all know Lay's probably had afew in in in our lives, right?
And so what's really fun andinteresting to me, and of
course, you know, I'm a sneakerguy, so anytime I see a sneaker,
it's not a surprising topic foryou at all.
(14:37):
You combine a little CPG withsome sneakers, and of course,
it's gonna get my attention,right?
So Lay's is partnering up withSaucany to have their own
chip-inspired collection.
Now, unfortunately, this is onlyin China, so I guess they're you
know, they're trying to makesome uh brand, they're doing
some brand building in China,Lay's is with Saucony, and so
(14:58):
there's a nice little collabthere.
Um, you know, there's threesneakers, they're gonna be in
the Chinese market.
Uh, pretty cool, you know,pretty cool uh sneakers.
I I like the yellow ones thebest, the ones that really
mirror the Lay's potato chip uhaesthetic.
So I like that quite a bit.
But uh in your from your pointof view, and I know you're
(15:19):
you're a huge chip eater, right?
You Pringles, right?
SPEAKER_01 (15:22):
Listen, chips and salsa are thing, yes.
SPEAKER_00 (15:25):
Okay, so in your in your mind, what chip should have
its uh have a collabcollaboration with a sneaker
brand?
SPEAKER_01 (15:34):
Yes.
I actually thought about this,and I was I think everybody's
gonna go the athletic shoe lane.
Yeah.
So if you're gonna go that lane,I'm gonna go if you're gonna go
that lane, I'm also like, whatis the most relevant thing
happening in 2026?
It's the World Cup.
So I'm I'm thinking like, okay,is there a fun, loud brand that
(15:57):
would make sense around theheight of the World Cup?
And maybe you could even do itby like country team, all the
kind of stuff.
So like Takis.
SPEAKER_00 (16:05):
Talkies was like the first thing that came from.
SPEAKER_01 (16:07):
Talkies, pair it with like an Adidas, some kind
of classic locker shoot.
Yeah, yeah.
To bring it home.
SPEAKER_00 (16:14):
Yeah, I like it.
SPEAKER_01 (16:15):
You could go that round for me.
I like a chip that's got somecrunch.
I need some density.
SPEAKER_00 (16:22):
Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_01 (16:24):
I like it.
I like a kettle, a good oldkettle chip.
Okay, yeah.
And when I think about kettlebrands, I think of like Cape
Cod.
SPEAKER_00 (16:30):
Yeah, Cape Cod.
SPEAKER_01 (16:30):
And I was gonna say, if we're gonna go Cape Cod, I
like what about a Cape Cod and asperry?
Kind of have like thatpotentious, like Oh, like the
docksider shoes.
Yeah, like it'd be a boat shoeor a canvas shoe and a Cape Cod.
SPEAKER_00 (16:46):
Yeah.
Yeah, I like that.
I like that.
Yeah, I could I could see thosetwo actually coming together.
SPEAKER_01 (16:52):
It's classy.
Uh if I want a shoe, I want aclassy shoe.
A classy shoe, classic.
You know, if I'm going athleticshoe, I'm going Nike.
Um I want that classic, triedand true.
So if I'm thinking about thatfor myself, I'm I'm thinking
more of like, why not dosomething that would be classic,
more of a neutrality?
(17:13):
Yeah, goes with everything, canbe on trend no matter what.
SPEAKER_00 (17:17):
Yeah, Pringles did a Crocs collab, you know, uh a
while back as well.
So, you know, that's that thatwas fun too.
So yeah, it's always interestingto me when these, you know,
food, food brands, food andbeverage brands partner up with
a shoe, and does the does thecollab, you know, really work?
Does it bring the ethos, totruly bring the ethos in to the
(17:38):
to the shoe?
Um, you know, there was uh acollaboration a while back with
Kyrie Irving shoe with Nike, um,with General Mills and like
Cinnamon Toast Crunch and KicksUm and Lucky Charms.
And so there were these, youknow, these cereal brands that
like integrated you know theirtheir ethos into the Kyrie
(18:00):
Irving shoe.
And then a couple of years agothere was a Fruity Pebbles, uh,
a Fruity Pebbles cereal uh withcollaboration with a LeBron shoe
as well.
It's the Fruity Pebbles.
So yeah, and I think there was acouple different designs of
that.
So anyway, it's alwaysinteresting to see, you know,
how you know these these brandscan integrate, you know, within
(18:21):
uh a collaboration like asneaker or another product to
kind of you know, I think insome cases both brands can help
themselves, help, help eachother, right?
You know, so you're bringingthat relevancy of of street
streetwear culture to thecereal, and then you have the
the strong branding of thecereal, elevate the shoe.
And I think in a lot of casesit's a it's a great, great
(18:42):
partnership.
And if nothing else, it's fun,right?
So it's fun.
SPEAKER_01 (18:45):
It creates that once in a once-in-a-lifetime limited
offer.
SPEAKER_00 (18:49):
Yes, yeah, yeah, drives that urgency.
Great.
All right, cool.
Well, that was quick hits.
Now we're gonna move on to ourtwo main stories today.
All right.
So the the first main story thatwe're gonna talk about today is
the power of nostalgiamarketing.
What I like about nostalgia islike you can stimulate nostalgia
(19:10):
in a lot of different ways,visually, sensorially, you know,
through through through uhscent, through audio, through
music.
Like there's a so many ways thatnostalgia can come, you know,
come in.
And you know, why I wanted to dothis topic is you know, right
now, Stranger Things is goingthrough their final season.
(19:31):
And I think they do such a greatjob with nostalgia.
Nostalgia can be one of thosereally emotional ways to tap
into, you know, tap into theconsumer.
Um, and it's it just it, youknow, shopping, a lot of it is
about psychology, right?
(19:52):
You were talking about early onin your introduction, like you
you you like the psychology of alot of things and uh and the
emotional side of that.
And You know, to me, you know,having this conversation with
you about, you know, nostalgiais like just fits fits so well.
And, you know, when I thinkabout some of the emotional
(20:12):
connections that, you know,brands can have with consumers,
and I think also about hypemarketing, right?
Hype marketing is not likenostalgia marketing because hype
marketing is about like buildingexcitement, building a lot of
energy, you know, um, andnostalgia is more of that
feeling of familiarity.
And I think you know, nostalgiaworks really well when you take
(20:35):
something that was, you know,from the past or gives you a
nostalgic feeling and you pullit forward and you reintroduce
it, like as a parent, forexample, for for me, right?
You know, I grew up, you know,Star Wars, right?
Star Wars, right?
And love Star Wars.
And, you know, when Star Wars,when they re-release new toys or
a new movie, you know, thatbrings that nostalgia uh to me.
(20:58):
And then I want to share thatwith my kid.
Yes.
Then they get involved, right?
And so then that brand, youknow, um, in this case, Star
Wars, has a new, you know,cohort of people that they can
market to in the future.
And then they bring a nostalgia.
So it's almost like it's it canlike build upon it itself.
Yeah.
And so I think it's you knowreally about just ensuring that
(21:23):
like connecting in thatemotional way of feelings and
and thoughts of the past inorder to, you know, get
shoppers, consumers to look atyour product in a in a in a
certain light and get thatfamiliarity as well.
You know, from from you know,from your standpoint, like what
is how does nostalgia marketingreally you know work for you?
(21:47):
Or how do you how do you seethat working in the in the space
that we work in on a dailybasis?
SPEAKER_01 (21:52):
There's something so incredibly powerful about um
tradition and story.
The amount of times that my kidswill ask me a story about, tell
me about when you were younger,that the nostalgia marketing
plays into.
And so when you talk aboutfeeling, it is the feeling,
right?
It is it whether that's youknow, it's baking something that
(22:16):
brings you back to that timeframe or using something.
So I think it it's a reallypowerful tool when it's used in
the right way, right?
When it fits the brand or itfits the overall story really
well, versus a lot of peoplejumping on the bandwagon that
may not have a clear tie eitherto the thing, the entity that's
(22:41):
pulling into nostalgia, whichnostalgia is usually some kind
of pop culture, right?
Yeah.
Something of that manner.
And in a and some kind of mediumof media.
SPEAKER_00 (22:52):
Yeah.
unknown (22:53):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (22:53):
That brings you into it.
Um, and so if somebody, ifsomething or a brand can can
sync in with that and thataligns well with them, um, then
it works.
unknown (23:04):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (23:04):
Yeah.
You know, when I was thinkingabout this conversation, you
know, I was thinking about,okay, who does it really well?
I think Barbie does it the best.
Oh, that's interesting.
Uh, you know, because likeBarbie is obviously a a legacy,
you know, a legacy toy, right?
Legacy brand, right?
(23:26):
That's been around for years.
And then there's always, youknow, that that mom that
introduces, you know, Barbie toto their child at some point.
And then most recently, right,they had the Barbie movie,
right?
And so it exposed Barbie to awhole new and then it like
reinvigorates the excitement,the interest, the love, you
(23:47):
know, and because it is anemotional thing, the love for a
particular brand.
So I think Barbie does a really,really great job of that.
Um, you know, from yourstandpoint, like, you know, you
can you think of other otherbrands that actually do do a
good job of that?
SPEAKER_01 (24:06):
Well, when you said Barbie, what I immediately
counterthought through that wasum were Hot Wheels, only because
like even when you talk aboutBarbie and Hot Wheels, like my
parents kept those for mybrother and I.
So, like, at you know, it wasit's great to introduce, like,
pull out Barbies that were mineand let my daughter play with
(24:28):
them, or son, or you know, fromfrom that context.
SPEAKER_00 (24:31):
I did the same as Star Wars.
SPEAKER_01 (24:32):
Yeah, for from a Star Wars standpoint.
In terms of other brands that doit really well, what comes to
mind, although I'm trying tothink of like a specific
example, um I kind of go back tosome of the serial brands that
(24:53):
capitalize on a lot of thosethings because they've been
around for a long time.
SPEAKER_00 (24:59):
Yes, yeah, there's a certain legacy.
SPEAKER_01 (25:01):
There's legacies with it.
So um, but I was sitting heretrying to think of is that
nostalgia or is that justbranding, right?
SPEAKER_00 (25:09):
But it can be both.
SPEAKER_01 (25:10):
It can be both.
So, right?
When I think about likeWheaties, yeah.
Who's on the Wheaties box?
How does that carry it through?
Um, you know, that's somethingthat's lasted a long time.
Does it still have the same,like, I, you know, from an
athlete standpoint, do theyreally want to be on a Wheaties
box now?
I don't know.
That carries the same weight asit did before.
SPEAKER_00 (25:29):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (25:30):
Um, but I don't know.
Something I want to do.
SPEAKER_00 (25:34):
I I mean, from you know, for me with nostalgia,
like, you know, again, I hatemaking this a sneaker podcast.
It's yeah, intended to be asneaker podcast, but like Nike,
they re-release sneakers fromyears past, right?
And so they, you know, they theycall them retros, right?
They retro a sneaker.
They'll have a sneaker thatreleased, you know, back in
1988, and then they will redo itand release it in 2025, right?
(25:57):
And so it gives you thatopportunity to really relive
that magic of whether you hadthat sneaker in 1988 or not, you
relive it again, you know,relive it in 2025, and either
you get it for the first time in2025 or you get it again,
because by the time that 1980,you know, you probably don't
have that pair in 1980.
So, like there is that nostalgiacomponent with with with retro
(26:21):
as well.
SPEAKER_01 (26:21):
Yeah.
Well, and if I think aboutbrands who've who've tried to
play into that a lot, I mean,Coca-Cola classically comes in,
you know, holiday time frame,they're always gonna pull in,
bring in the classic Coke withthe classic Santa with that
piece of it.
Um, but even as they introducethings like new Coke, right?
Right.
They pull in the old with thenew and try to reintroduce it um
(26:44):
back.
SPEAKER_00 (26:45):
Well, yeah, and they had that in in Stranger Things,
right?
So that was the season before.
And so exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (26:51):
So that's a good play.
And you know, what's been in thenews now too is is McDonald's
with their adult happy meal,right?
Yes.
You get the play on happy mealswere a big deal.
Like we didn't go out to eat awhole lot.
So that you know, getting ahappy meal with my orange high C
and the toy, like a little bitof nostalgia there, that's a big
deal.
SPEAKER_00 (27:10):
You know, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (27:11):
So having the play into it now, right?
SPEAKER_00 (27:15):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (27:16):
To kind of bring it back.
SPEAKER_00 (27:17):
Yeah.
So when I was doing some, youknow, some research on, you
know, like, you know, what doeswhat are some strategies to
ensure like a brand canparticipate in a nostalgic, you
know, type of marketingcampaign, right?
So one of a few of these arelike knowing your audience's
timeline, right?
And so there are definitelygoing to be different properties
(27:38):
and different nostalgicexperiences based upon, you
know, somebody's, you know,timeline, right?
And so millennial versus Gen Xversus Gen Z, et cetera, right?
Um, I like this one where you'reyou're blending the the retro
with modern, right?
So it's kind of like you know,what we're talking about
earlier, where you'reintroducing, you know, this
(28:00):
retro brand in a retro way, butyou're doing it in a modern,
modern style.
And then so you're bringing likebringing people today into your
brand.
So it's a good, it's a goodcombination.
Um, and then anchoring in sharedauthentic shared experiences.
So that's that was another onethat was identified as well,
where you know, um, it could befamily traditions, because I
(28:23):
also think that's a reallyimportant part, you know, is is
the can be the family dynamic.
Like it's if it's a sharedexperience, like everybody is
doing it together and they'resharing in that, those memories
can last for when they getolder, right?
And then there's thatopportunity to come back to it
again.
Are there any of those thingsthat stand out for you, like
(28:45):
experiences like with your withyour kids that, you know, um
maybe related to a brand orproduct that could be, you know,
uh nostalgic in some way in thefuture?
SPEAKER_01 (28:57):
Some of it goes back to, I think we talked a little
bit about toys.
Some of it goes back to liketried and true recipes for me.
There were certain things, youknow, sometimes I think for
recipes, uh I was always toldthere are certain ingredients
that you buy the name brand.
You do not do not go get thestore brought brand.
(29:20):
Like it's very important for therecipe.
And I as I've shared some ofthat, my daughter loves baking
now too.
And as we go shopping for thosethings, if we're going in store
or online, and I remember herpointing out once about a
chocolate chip or whatever, anduh, she put something I was
like, no, no, we must have theNestle Toll House.
SPEAKER_00 (29:40):
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01 (29:41):
For this, yes, for this recipe, we must have um
because it makes a difference.
Whether it does it make adifference, makes a difference
in my heart.
Makes a difference in the memoryof whoever made it.
Um, so those are things thatthat carry down the line in
terms of Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (29:58):
So I think you know, we your daughter goes to, you
know, that's right, he's in thefuture with her, you know, her
family.
And so that's pro that isprobably something that's going
to stick with them.
SPEAKER_01 (30:07):
That recipe, yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (30:09):
And then the last one was you know, stay true to
your brand's identity, right?
And I think sometimes like, oh,I've got this new brand and I
want to play into nostalgia, andI'm trying to do this weird fit
of nostalgic with a new brand.
And I don't know if that works,right?
You have to have, I feel likewith nostalgia and branding and
marketing, you have to kind ofhave a legacy in a way, right?
SPEAKER_01 (30:31):
It feels like that's an important thing you have to
have a legacy.
I I also think what'sinteresting is brands who try to
to, it's a miss because they tryto modernize without
understanding their legacy andthe nostalgia they carry.
So, like case in point this yearwas the cracker barrel logo.
SPEAKER_00 (30:46):
Oh, yeah, that's a great one.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (30:48):
So like they got rid of grandpa, right?
They got rid of and the outrageof the Cracker Barrel logo.
Like they they missed, but whata miss to not think through like
old timey store clap, like, youknow, to not understand the
nostalgia of what they carry umwithin that piece of it.
SPEAKER_00 (31:10):
Yeah.
I mean, you go to Cracker Barreland I just think about the
little peg game.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (31:15):
Old candy that you would get in there.
SPEAKER_00 (31:18):
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (31:18):
Um, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (31:19):
Yeah.
So that's yeah, that's that's athat's that's a really good one.
So yeah, I think, I mean, Ithink, you know, nostalgia is
obviously a very powerfulemotion.
I think there are ways forbrands to do it and do it, do
it, do it well.
And there's so many brands thatthat do.
Um, I think new brands have toestablish their their identity
and as as they grow, and thenmaybe there's those those
(31:41):
opportunities.
But I think leaning into anostalgia can definitely bring
families together, bring storiestogether, and bring
opportunities for nostalgicmoments again in the future.
So great.
All right.
That was that was awesome.
So we're gonna move on now toour our next story.
All right.
So, you know, for our nexttopic, um, we're gonna talk
(32:02):
about traditional media.
Is traditional media dead?
I always feel like in my worldthat I've I've worked in over
time, the word trend traditionalmedia has a bias to it.
When you bring it up in aconversation, hey, let's put
together a marketing, marketingplan and you know, a form of
(32:25):
traditional media comes up.
There's usually some sort ofbias or I don't want to say a
visceral reaction because it'sbut I do think it gets it gets
pushed aside pretty quickly.
And and just to be clear on whenwe're talking about traditional
media, we're talking aboutprint, radio, broadcast TV, and
out of home.
(32:46):
I don't know.
So those are the those are thefour.
I I think there's going to be anew wave of a different type of
traditional media, but we'llwe'll get to that in the uh in
the future.
But I think you know, you getthe get the the same same ideas.
All of these things are outdatedin some way.
And some of them have comealong, right?
Come along for the ride.
(33:06):
Some of them have morphed intosomething a little bit
different, like of course, likeTV, you know, from broadcast TV
to more, you know, streaming andand connected TV and podcasting
with radio, and like a lot ofthese kind of evolved into these
new wave, new age um digital,digital formats in some way.
(33:27):
But there is something to besaid for some of these mediums
when done at in a certain way,right?
Under certain circumstances.
You know, is do you want to havea print ad uh in a magazine for
every single campaign that yourun moving forward?
No, probably not.
But in the right case, it might.
But it is funny though.
Like you if you went to amarket, modern marketer today
(33:50):
and said you're gonna do aprint, you know, you're gonna do
a print ad in a magazine, butit's just as an example.
SPEAKER_01 (33:55):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (33:56):
You'd probably not even get in front of the client
because some as a when you'resomebody, a leader would
probably stop you and say,they'll get that off the plan
immediately.
But you know, there could besome white space there that
you're not tapping into and inright, and the whole idea of
omnichannel is multi-channel,right?
Exactly.
You know, are there are therereally the right times and
(34:20):
places and situations where someof these forms of traditional
media could exist and be smart?
You know, um, I've said in aprevious podcast, sometimes I
like to zig when people arezagging, right?
So when when you know, everthere's so much push into
digital, one form or another.
Can you go into one of thesetraditional media channels and
(34:42):
make a splash because everybodyelse's attention is somewhere
else, right?
So, you know, from from yourstandpoint, you know, where do
you see the usage of traditionalmedia and and the value it can
bring to to a marketing plan?
SPEAKER_01 (34:59):
Consumers are looking for some of these
traditional options for that.
And also the younger generation.
So, like my daughter, a coupleyears ago for Christmas, my
sister gave her a subscriptionto a travel magazine because she
loves to travel.
SPEAKER_00 (35:15):
Awesome.
SPEAKER_01 (35:16):
She still has those magazines, she still goes
through when this subscriptionand flips through them because
she's looking for things.
She looks for average, you know,what to wear.
Like I every time I get amagazine, a clothing magazine,
she's always like, Don't throwthat out.
Cause you can look through itand touch and feel like she's
not seeing that, right?
(35:37):
You know, anywhere else.
So I think that there is powerin that.
There's power in havingsomething that you can that's
not just digital, but that'ssomething that you can touch and
feel and take with you and umleave by your bed.
Um, or you know, going homeevery time I go to see my
parents, they live in a smalltown um in northern Arkansas,
(36:02):
they still will get theirsouthern living and their better
homes and garden.
It is the first thing I will goto the coffee table and be like,
oh yeah, I want to go read mygruppy gardener.
I want to go look at thosethings.
So there's there's I think itgoes back to like the nostalgia
play too.
SPEAKER_00 (36:16):
Yeah, it can be, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (36:17):
Also think about like other ways that you're
gonna meet your consumer thatyou wouldn't do it anywhere
else.
Look at my kids look atbillboards all the time.
SPEAKER_00 (36:29):
Yeah, I mean, yeah.
Who's yeah, everyone seesbillboards.
So actually, my my favoritebillboard example, and this is I
don't most people will not beable to relate to this one um
unless they've been to SouthDakota.
So there is a there is adrugstore in South Dakota called
Wall.
It's a town called Wall, andit's called Wall Drug.
(36:51):
And, you know, for hundreds ofmiles, there is billboard after
billboard after billboard.
And you're driving in the middleof nowhere.
That's that is really literallyyour only form of entertainment
other than what you have on yourradio, right?
It's looking at thosebillboards, you know, free ice
water, you know, at Wall Drug,you know, truckers get coffee.
(37:13):
Yeah, you know, see the 50-footrabbit at Wall Drug.
Like it, and I mean literallyit's all of these, like all
these billboards, right?
And you obviously, you know,that's a high level of
frequency, uh-huh.
A lot of messages.
Sure.
It does have an influence onconsidering whether you stop at
Wall Drug.
And that will, I mean, Wall Drugis there and has been there for
absolutely forever.
And so, you know, I I think itcan have a role, right?
(37:38):
It can it can have a role.
I think with like localadvertising for sure, I think
some of these traditionalmediums like local radio, you
know, local TV, you know,however it comes through
broadcast TV.
I think, you know, if you're,you know, if you're an H VAC
company in the northwestArkansas area, like, you know,
having a local TV spot is ishelpful.
(38:01):
I think having a billboard inthe area is helpful, right?
You know, are you doing anational program?
Probably not, right?
So I think there's a certainlevel of localization, but I
also think there's like sometrust and credibility as well.
Like, you know, hey, my brand ison a billboard, my brand is on a
TV.
Like, and so there is a littlebit of that.
It obviously was much more backin the day than it is today, but
(38:24):
I still think it has a littlebit of that credibility.
This year, prior to the holidayseason, I received two toy
catalogs from mass retailers.
Um, and well, one was Amazon,which was totally e-commerce
print catalog, had QR codes init, but it was still a print
(38:46):
catalog.
I received one from Target.
I didn't get the Walmart one,but there were some other people
who had so even these retailersare still printing something,
right?
It's somewhat disruptive.
You know, and I get, hey, I getthe Sam's Club ISB every, you
know, every month as well.
SPEAKER_01 (39:02):
Because it also plays on nostalgia.
Yeah, because yeah, true.
We went back, I earmarked allthose toy catalogs that we used
to get.
SPEAKER_00 (39:11):
Yeah, I used to circle in the Sears catalog,
yeah.
For sure.
SPEAKER_01 (39:14):
Somewhere where mom and dad might pick it up, see
it, turn to it.
SPEAKER_00 (39:18):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (39:19):
Um, so there's there's it's it's that kind of
power play as well, thenostalgia to it, and my kids
look forward to it.
And I I don't it might be one ofthem has like stickers.
Like so, like you each child canget a set of stickers, and so
you can put your sticker on it.
So I mean it's a complete pullinto that as well.
SPEAKER_00 (39:40):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I mean, I think again beingat the right place with the
right medium with a specific,you know, cut customer.
I think when we're we weretalking prior to the show and we
were talking about direct mail.
If everybody else is online,maybe that is a space you can
You know, own for a moment,right?
SPEAKER_01 (40:02):
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (40:02):
You know, and so it is, it is, it is interesting.
I think, you know, myperspective here, and I look, I
get the measurement side ofthings for sure, but I think
sometimes we lose the art ofmarketing if all we're chasing
is a number.
SPEAKER_01 (40:16):
I agree.
I agree.
SPEAKER_00 (40:18):
We got into the space because it's a creative
space, right?
Right.
And we wanted to help brandsbuild, help build brands, help
build products, right?
You know, product, you know, thethe products that those brands
um sell in in in retail.
And if we just continue to chasethe click or chase the
(40:40):
impression or chase the ROAS,we're gonna lose the art of
omnichannel marketing becausenot all of that stuff is gonna
be able to be measured.
Well, people are not gonnabelieve that, right?
So we we get into this weirdspace of we've pushed marketing
all the way down to this numberversus the art of marketing.
(41:01):
You know, you want to find outwhether or not media channel
works, stop marketing.
You'll find out really quickwhether or not your marketing
was doing anything, right?
And so, but I I get it, right?
Because there is the dynamic of,you know, you want to make sure
that where you're investing yourdollars is really driving your
(41:22):
business, right?
There's the old saying, youknow, I uh 50% of my of my uh
marketing budget is working.
I just don't know where, youknow, or how it's working,
right?
So I think I think there'sthere's there's a lot to be said
when you start just chasingnumbers, but obviously there's a
requirement to do so because ofthat's how things get that get
(41:45):
funded.
But don't lose out on some ofthese opportunities that can
also be a complement to youroverall strategy, just because
uh traditional media, that'sold, old news.
You know, I alluded to thisearlier.
I think there's going to be anew wave of what is considered
traditional media, and thatcould be display banner ads.
(42:05):
It could be email, it could bepromotions, right?
And so, like as we get into newforms of, and we were talking
about, you know, Google and uhGemini and advertising, you
know, within chat chat umchatbots, you know, those may
become traditional.
And I I think you know, you youhave to really consider the
full, you know, the fullopportunity.
SPEAKER_01 (42:26):
Yeah.
Everything goes back to how canwe best tell the story that we
want people to grasp with ourbrand.
And you have to do that in a lotof different ways.
SPEAKER_00 (42:37):
And you have to, and I get it, you have to make
decisions, right?
You don't have unlimited budget.
You don't like you can't doeverything.
Like I totally get it.
So there are times where I thinkit makes sense, and there are
times where where where itdoesn't.
If you're a brand and you're,you know, you're getting your
your product into a localmarket, you know, and you're
only at a you know a few hundredstores, like and you're really
trying to drive volume withinthose markets.
(43:00):
I think you know, some of theforms of traditional market
would work in those in thosemarkets instead of just trying,
well, I just want to, you know,run some banner ads and some
social ads, you know, in thosein those markets.
What are some other ways thatyou can continue to build
attention and build your brandand build build your product at
those in those locations aswell?
So so traditional is not dead.
(43:22):
No, it's not um it's changed abit.
I think it's you can you knowselect when the best time to do
it, but you know, don't laughsomeone out of the room because
they brought you know a print adto a discussion about a
marketing mix for a specificobjective.
(43:43):
Those were our main stories.
Now we're gonna jump intocampaigns we love.
All right, we're gonna wrap theshow with campaigns we love.
Uh so Sarah and I are gonna talkabout campaigns or ads that we
have seen out in the world andwe are digging right now.
And uh I obviously part of thisshow was talking about
nostalgia.
And I understand, Sarah, you'vegot an amazing example in that
(44:05):
in that realm.
SPEAKER_01 (44:06):
I do.
So we're we're coming offholiday, and so the one thing
the the ad that just tugs on myown heartstring was was Chevy's
ad this year with the family.
Um, and it just shows all thememories that they've captured
while driving their suburban umover the years.
(44:27):
Um, and it kind of shows thelegacy of having, you know,
obviously a car that will last.
Um but if you think about justdriving in the amazing
discussions that I've had in myown vehicle with friends and
family, it captures all of thatum beautifully well.
(44:48):
Um it does what I think isreally brilliant marketing
because it sells without overtlyselling.
There was no part of that adthat was like, go to your local
Chevrolet dealership right now.
And it is truly about enjoy thememory of what this time brings.
unknown (45:08):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (45:08):
And that is like powerful brand building, you
know, using nostalgia.
And I think, you know, some ofthe things that we talked about
earlier about, you know, mmhaving the family involved
there, right?
Is it brings that brings thatlevel of emotion and
storytelling.
I think sometimes, you know, wewe don't get enough, we don't do
enough of the storytelling, youknow, to really kind of build
(45:29):
that, build that platform.
And obviously, you know, itseems like they told that story
in a really compelling way.
Yeah.
All right.
So my campaign I love um is isaround a Duncan Munchkin.
So I am a huge Duncan donuts,Duncan fan.
Um, I absolutely love.
And so there is uh an ad rightnow um around a Duncan Munchkin
(45:52):
is a brand's unlikely festiveholiday hero.
And so it's uh narrated by MindyKaling.
And what I also love about it islike I love when brands like do
a 360, where they also includemerchandise along with their
storytelling.
And so you can really buy intothe full, you know, into the
(46:13):
full story.
And so this this is actually achildren's book, right?
And they they've actually evenmade it into a spot.
Um, but it's it's reallycentered around a a Duncan
Munchkin, which is their theirdonut hole, if those of you that
don't know.
Yeah.
Um, and it's a a journey ofbelonging.
So the character, our little,our little powdered uh munchkin
(46:38):
uh feels discarded and and andforgotten because all of his
compadres that are inside the uhinside the munchkin box are
getting selected uh by people.
Um and he's the the last thelast one left.
Um and then a a child scoops inand uh grabs that last munchkin,
(46:59):
and it's the most special bestbite of all.
So it's it's kind of so here'show I feel about it.
SPEAKER_01 (47:05):
Tell me how you feel, because I have feelings
too, baby.
I have feelings.
SPEAKER_00 (47:08):
I have some feelings on this, but uh so I love
Duncan, I love what they did, Ilove the children's book.
I totally understand whatthey're trying to do with the
story.
SPEAKER_01 (47:15):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (47:16):
But it could go a little dark, right?
Yeah, so you've got all thesepersonalities on each of these
little munchkins, right?
They all have faces and they'rewhat do you do with the
munchkin?
You're not you're not you're notputting it on your shelf.
SPEAKER_01 (47:28):
Eating it.
You're you're killing it.
You were killing the beautifullittle cute munchkin.
SPEAKER_00 (47:34):
Right.
So, you know, uh, so again, I Ihave mixed, mixed feelings,
yeah, but I I do I love I lovewhat they were were trying to
trying to do there.
Um I've had a few of my I've hada few munchkins in my life, um,
and I don't think I've left anyat the bottom of the box.
So uh obviously some some kidhas now come along and you know
(47:57):
this this lonely little munchkinwhere all his friends have been
eaten now has been consumed bythis child and everything is
good again.
SPEAKER_01 (48:06):
So is it is it good?
Well is it good for that's thatis that is the emotion of the
story that is, you know, but thethe play on that that was his
purpose that he needed to liveinto his purpose.
I don't know.
SPEAKER_00 (48:21):
I don't know, but anyway, that's so that's that's
that's the one I brought to theto the table today.
All right.
So all right, let's wrap thingsup.
Um, so that is uh a wrap on thisepisode of Retail Media Vibes.
I want to thank Sarah for comingin and you know sharing your
thoughts and ideas with ustoday.
Uh anything that you want toshout out or plug or anything
(48:44):
before we wrap it up today?
SPEAKER_01 (48:46):
I I love connecting with others.
Um, would love to connect withyou all.
Find me on LinkedIn, SarahGilmer.
Um, if you have any interest atall in anything with Enneagram,
I'd love to speak with you aboutthat as well.
Um, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (48:59):
Okay.
Well, awesome.
Well, if you've enjoyed theshow, then you know be sure to
like it.
If you're on, you know, like iton YouTube, share it, um, let a
friend know about it.
Um, the more people we can getuh watching and listening, uh
that would be that would begreat.
Um and then if you have aquestion or feedback, you can
shoot me over a note atretailmedia vibes at gmail.com.
(49:23):
So I want to thank you all forlistening and watching.
And as always, I will promise,this is yeah, I know you hate
this one, but I promise I willdo better next time.
B V outfit.
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