This week, we're exploring one of the biggest movements influencing marketing right now: nostalgia.
From McDonald's revealing that Grimace is actually a taste bud, to Fishwife's wildly successful New York pop-up, analogue photography, independent magazines and London's Moodboard Making & Coffee Atelier, brands are increasingly looking backwards to create stronger emotional connections with today's consumers.
Esther shares why Fishwife has become one of the most talked about consumer brands in the US, generating more than $100,000 in sales in six days through an experiential retail activation that blended beautiful packaging, storytelling and community, in NYC.
Meanwhile, Kate explores why creators like Rossi D are capturing millions of views by reintroducing nostalgic cultural conversations, proving that memory, humour and shared experiences remain some of the internet's most powerful currencies.
The discussion also explores how brands including Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok are influencing a return to analogue creativity, while communities like Girls Who Meet and Lucky Duck are encouraging people to slow down through craft workshops, snail mail, book swaps and offline connection. Bring back the independent magazines for the win, like the Teen magazine recently launched by Refinery29 ex-alumna, Paula James-Martinez.
The conversation spans everything from Pellegrini's Espresso Bar, HuTong Dumpling Bar, the State Library Victoria, Geelong Gallery's Discovering the Impressionists exhibition, London's Borough Market, and Richard Glover's book The Land Before Avocado to unpack why consumers are craving familiarity, ritual and tangible experiences in an increasingly digital world.
In Well Played or No lay, Esther and Kate take on QOVES, a facial analysis platform going hard on paid advertising, raising important questions about beauty standards, fear-based marketing and the ethics of AI in branding.
Together they unpack:
✨ The return of analogue culture
✨ Fishwife's colourful retail strategy
✨ McDonald's iconic brand characters
✨ Why magazines are making a comeback
✨ Slow living and community-led businesses
✨ Mood boards, craft and creativity
✨ The rise of nostalgia marketing
✨ AI-powered beauty marketing and ethics
✨ How emotional connection influences consumer behaviour
If you're interested in marketing strategy, consumer behaviour, branding, digital culture, nostalgia marketing, experiential marketing and customer experience, subscribe to Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand.
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Well Played: Conversations on Marketing and Brand is an Australian marketing podcast where Esther Kelleher and Kate Ware unpack the cultural trends, consumer behaviour and brand strategies shaping modern business.
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