Back in the day

Entrepreneur, May, 2002 by Nichole L. Torres

What is it about nostalgic advertisements that makes people feel so warm and cozy? it seems that consumers across America are warming up to old, familiar brands and embracing all things that evoke a traditional, homey feeling.

"It actually started well before 9/11 with a return to more traditional values," says T. Scott Gross, author of MicroBranding: How to Create a Powerful, Personal Brand & Beat Your Competition (Leading Authorities Press). "It comes from being overwhelmed by the pace of life as we know it."

A return to the good old days is just what PostMark Press Inc. in Watertown, Massachusetts, promises with its nostalgia-themed greeting Cards. Turn-of-the-century-inspired cards have proved very lucrative for founder Kathy Alpert, 50, who projects 2002 sales into the six-Figure range. "The image markets itself," she says. "It makes [people] fell good, reminds then of the good old days or just evokes memories from childhood."

But you don't have to sell vintage antique products to ride the trend. You can also capture that nostalgic feeling with your company's marketing campaign by studying old advertisements from the 1920s, '305, ' 40s and even through the '60s and '705. As Gross explains, "You want to position it as an old feeling--not an old product."