Nostalgia, autobiographical memories and brand communication: a semiotic analysis

摘要

Based on a semiotic analysis, this paper con-tibutes to a better understanding of how to use nostalgia in brand communication. The study is based on 3 series of interviews with the same sample. First, 20 subjects were asked to discuss the products and brands connected with a pleasant moment in their lives as a way to grasp nostalgic associations without mentioning. A year later, 16 out of the original 20 subjects were interviewed again and shown the pictures of the nostalgic brands previously mentioned. They associat-ed what came to mind when they saw these visuals. Finally 17 months later, 13 of these participants discussed the memories they as-sociated with 4 photographic forms repre-senting four important stages in life. The study resulted in a classification of 4 profiles of nostalgic consumers ("kidults, traditional, transitional and transgenerational"). It identi-fied 4 possible nostalgia applications for brand communication that are related to the stages in life and to consumers profiles.