Stamina Asia x Marketbuzzz Unveil Nostalgia Marketing Strategies: A New Opportunity for Thai Brands to Balance Memories and Modernity

Stamina Asia x Marketbuzzz Unveil Nostalgia Marketing Strategies: A New Opportunity for Thai Brands to Balance Memories and Modernity

A Stamina Asia and Marketbuzzz study on the power of nostalgia in Thailand reveals that while Thais have strong emotional connections to the past, successful brands must carefully balance nostalgic elements with contemporary relevance.

The research, conducted in late 2024, interviewed n=400 Thais from different lifestages and different demographic groups, shows that 83% of participants believe the past was better than the present. However, the study also found that Thais remain strongly future-oriented, with 79% preferring the future over the present, indicating that pure retrospection isn’t the answer for brands.

“What we’re seeing is a nuanced relationship with nostalgia,” says Mr. Jerome Hervio, CEO & Founder of Stamina Asia. “While Thais deeply value their memories and past experiences, they’re not looking to live in the past. They want brands that can bridge their cherished memories with modern innovations and values.”

Hervio added “Nostalgia has been widely used in Western market, sometimes overused, but it may be a new opportunity for Thailand. For long time Thai people were not willing to remember the past, synonym of poverty. Now all adults can remember positively way as the country was enjoying growth and prosperity.  The combination of a better past and an uncertain present create the opportunity.”.

Other key findings from the research include clear differences between how Thais react to Nostalgia:

• Men miss something, typically the way society was while women miss someone, typically someone to rely on.
• Younger adults are more prone to personal nostalgia while older adults are more sensitive to representations or items from the past

For brands looking to leverage nostalgia, these findings also highlights the key distinction between using nostalgia and the way its used with different target audiences. So brands targeting younger ages or women would be more effective if they focused on the recent past rather than distant history, particularly when using personal or interpersonal nostalgia. Cultural nostalgia from more distant time periods, using society and places would be more effectively for older ages and men.

“The key is not to simply recreate the past,” adds Mr. Grant Bertoli, CEO of Marketbuzzz. “Successful brands will use nostalgia as a bridge, connecting people’s cherished memories with contemporary needs and aspirations and use it in a way in which it creates the appropriate emotional resonance with the key target audience.”

There have been many brands in Thailand, both international and local, that have been able to leverage their heritage, however there are very few which have been able to use nostalgia in an effective way through its marketing.

For brands seeking to harness nostalgia effectively, success lies not in simply revisiting history, but in crafting narratives that weave cherished memories into contemporary relevance. As Thailand continues to evolve, those brands that can authentically bridge the gap between treasured past experiences and modern aspirations will find themselves uniquely positioned to create meaningful, lasting connections with their increasingly age-diverse audiences.

This research underscores that nostalgia marketing in Thailand requires a delicate balance – one that honors the emotional power of the past while embracing future progress. With Thailand’s rapidly aging population, the role of nostalgia in marketing is set to become even more significant, as older consumers demonstrate stronger connections to cultural memories and traditional values.