Pushing Nostalgia Buttons - with the Nokia 3310

Yogesh Babu

We all know that brands have - since forever - used all means necessary to spread a new idea or thought that would engage their target audience, sometimes by stating the obvious that we often take for granted. (Yes, P&G did a great job with the “mom campaign”.)

Talking about the obvious, who does not want to go back in time and do some of the more memorable things they did when they were younger? Who does not want return to their school to relive a little nostalgia? Who does not drive past the playground they used to frequent as kids and not think about the childhood games they played then?

You know that feeling? The one you are experiencing right now? That feeling where you want to go back in time and do something you used to do.

Nokia tapped into just that nostalgia with the re-launch of the iconic Nokia 3310. It raised the eyebrows of every 80’s kid because there was a time in their lives when the Nokia 3310 was their dream-phone.

Now, that, children, is nostalgia marketing

HMD Global, the company that is responsible for Nokia’s marketing, brought back the Nokia 3310 - the world’s best-selling mobile phone, selling 12.6 crore units worldwide - from the dead after a gap of 12 years. All set to roll out sometime between April and June this year, the new Nokia 3310 leverages nostalgia. Yet, without doubt, it is far from productive in today’s world to be viewed as a success.

Or is it? #

I am going to do my best to speculate why.

According to Forbes, “the game has been given a makeover that hardcore fans just might not appreciate.” However, the sentiment received from the Influx market research team say otherwise. We spoke to over 600 people across urban India asking for their opinion about the launch of the Nokia 3310 and whether they would consider buying the phone. Looks like Indians are more than eager to snatch the phone off store shelves.

Currently, with the smartphone penetration in the world, launching another new smartphone is hardly an earth-shaking feat . Even your grandmother is bored of seeing new smart phones because - to her - every such new device looks exactly like 500 other phones currently sold in the market. In fact, she is likely angry with every new one that launches because she wants to spend some time talking with you and you are probably a screen-slave who cannot keep your hands off your phone.

HMD Global, during the launch of the new Nokia 3310, positioned this phone as the “detox phone” — meaning a phone that will help you look away from the screen.

Let’s be honest; broadly speaking, there isn’t a great deal that a company can innovate on a smartphone. Like me, other users are fed up with variants of the same “new” smartphone launch and the demand is in fact plateauing, making us willing to trust any dream-like promise of nostalgia that harks back to simpler times. This is especially so if said dream-like promise comes from a brand we’ve known to make robust phones that work just fine even after being dropped from the top of a four- storey building. A brand like Nokia.

The decision to bring back the Nokia 3310 is an outstanding marketing move, one that accomplishes two goals at once:

First, it grabs the attention of present-day teens whose attention span is, sadly, quite slim.

Second, it reinforces the true essence of Nokia and its legacy in making iconic phones.

3310.PNG

Having said that, we just have to admit that it is not the best -looking phone out there. The new Nokia 3310 has a design that only a grandparent would love. But that does not stop me from looking at it over and over again and comparing it to how my old Nokia 3310 looked and how closely the upgrade resembles its predecessor.

The Nokia 3310 is the closest you are getting to time-travel for at least a few decades to come. Just imagine—they even left out 3G while launching a phone in 2017. Let that sink in for a bit.

By the way, there were a few other phones that were released on the same day as the new Nokia 3310. Do you recall any of them?

I thought so.

Hence, proved!

Hail Nokia!

P.S.: Snake is back.

Yogesh Babu is our Key Account Manager and plays an active role in Business Development at Influx’s Chennai office. An avid marketing guy, Yogesh has his own blog, where he jots down his thoughts on all things marketing.

 
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