It Reminds Me of My Happy Childhood: The Influence of a Brand Logo’s Holiday Atmosphere on Merchandise-Related Nostalgic Preference

Abstract

The holiday atmosphere abounds in marketing campaigns. The present research examines how the holiday atmosphere of a brand logo influences consumers’ merchandise-related nostalgic preference. Across three studies, the authors find that when consumers are exposed to brand logos with a strong (vs. weak) holiday atmosphere, they prefer nostalgic products (Study 1). This effect occurs because consumers exposed to a strong (vs. weak) holiday atmosphere generate more childhood imagery, resulting in significantly more choices of nostalgic products (Study 2). Additionally, the paper finds that the effect of the holiday atmosphere of a brand logo on merchandise-related nostalgic preference—here, the preference for products of nostalgic brands—does not occur for non-traditional holidays (Study 3). These findings make important contributions to the literature on holiday marketing, logo design and nostalgic marketing.