Campa Cola To Chetak: Is Nostalgia Enough To Revive And Sustain Classic Brands?

Pratima Chaturvedi, who lives in New Delhi is thrilled that Campa Cola will make a come back this year. It is a soft drink brand that holds countless memories and is a cherished part of her childhood. "We used to drink it a lot. It is great that it is back as there is a sense of attachment to things associated with our childhood. It reminds me of those days when we would hang out with our friends and most of us would ask for Campa Cola."

Like Chaturvedi, Campa Cola is fondly remembered by many who are in their 40s and 50s, due to their childhood association with the soft drink brand. Reliance Industries acquired Campa Cola from Pure Drinks Group for a sum of ₹22 crore in 2022. This year, the brand that enjoyed massive popularity in the 70s has made a comeback and is currently in its launch phase. While the product is available online in some regions in New Delhi, our check at some of the stores in Noida and Delhi revealed that it is yet to make an appearance in the offline stores.

Reliance's revival of the iconic brand is not an isolated instance driven by nostalgia. Several other companies have also launched and relaunched products to try and tap into the power of nostalgia. 

In 2019, owing to the power of social media and nostalgia, Parle's Rol-a-Cola candy made an ideal comeback, garnering a massive response from its loyal consumers. All it took was a tweet that asked for the brand's revival, over 10k retweets, and soon "The Solid Cola #RolaColaIsBack" was trending online and offline in the market.

Parle's Rol-a-Cola was relaunched in India in 2019 after a gap of 13 years.

Vipin, who rents a confectionary shop in Sector 15, Noida said that the sales of Rol-a-Cola have been quite decent ever since it was relaunched. "Customers who have an acquired taste for the brand return to buy the candy. Once, a customer saw it kept outside the shop and especially got down to buy it. He has been a regular buyer since then."

‘Nostalgia': Is the emotion strong enough to drive sales?

Geet Sawhney, a senior marketing manager with a leading consumer goods company, explained how ‘nostalgia' plays a role in making purchasing decisions. "Familiarity breeds comfort. If I'm familiar and comfortable with something, I wouldn't want to experiment too much and those brands would remain in my memory. Most consumers and customers rely on tried and tested things. Once you have a good experience with a product, it becomes a part of your memory and you get drawn to it. That is the reason that more often than not, you end up buying those products."

But is nostalgia a strong enough standalone factor to sustain the buzz around these brands and products? The launch and branding strategy plays a crucial role in setting the tone for the revival of nostalgia-driven products. The decisions made in these key areas also tend to determine if the comeback will be a hit or a miss.

Contemporisation is the key

Speaking on how the launch strategy of nostalgia-driven products differs from that of other products, business and brand strategy expert, Harish Bijoor said that nostalgia is a brand residuary item, left behind by successful brands of the past. 

Brands that tend to use nostalgia, begin with the brand name. "Using an old name is a great thing to do. Some brands bring the old design back. And this is where nostalgia marketing makes its first mistake. When it comes to design, product offering, product efficiency and price, re-invention and fitting the nostalgia-brand name to the contemporary day is important. Most brands fail on this count." 

Sawhney also emphasised the contemporisation of older products for them to be relatable for newer audiences too. According to him, the challenge remains whether that memory or that particular association is relevant to the target audience or not. "While an 80s or 90s kid might remember Campa, a kid born in the 21st century wouldn't even know what Campa is. So, nostalgia doesn't hold any value for them." Sawhney said that in order to be relevant for the audience who do not have an association with an older brand, contemporisation is the immediate step.

Mansi Sharma from Noida fondly recalls the joy of reading comic books with her sister during her childhood. The contemporisation of those into a movie (‘The Adventures of Tintin') sparked a wave of nostalgia within her. "It was really nostalgic to watch the movie based on the comic in 2011. I hope people continue to find ways to bring back old favorites for the new generations to explore and enjoy." 

Bijoor's mantra in the brand strategy space is that companies should embrace nostalgia when it comes to the use of the brand name and the awareness it enjoyed in the past. "Once that task is done, get contemporized and bleeding-edge to the current day."

Limitations and challenges with nostalgia-driven products

Sawhney said that while relaunching an older and once much-loved product, it is very important to know the target audience of the brand and whether the consumer has moved on from it or not. 

"For example, a brand called Boomer when launched back then targeted a certain set of young kids. Today, if Boomer comes back with a similar campaign, those kids back then have now evolved to adults and the newer generation would not resonate with the nostalgia. So the challenge remains whether that nostalgia or that memory is relevant to the target audience or not. If it is not, then it needs to be established first, which itself is a challenging task," Sawhney said.

While ‘nostalgia' can give a head start to a relaunched classic product in comparison to its competitors in the market, experts say that despite being a powerful tool, it cannot be used beyond a certain extent.

"Nostalgia brands give an immediate recognition cue. They pack brand chemistry that is superior to newly invented names for a start. It is for sure a leg-up on newer brands in the market. Once you have this leg-up, it is important for you to make everything else fall into place and work for you," Bijoor said.

For example, Rahila Khan, a marketing executive from Patna, Bihar said that she would love for Bytes Choco Crunch to be relaunched. But despite several versions of it being available in the market today, she doesn't prefer it over any other product because it had a unique taste which other companies tried to replicate but couldn't even get close to.

According to Sawhney, the entire nostalgia strategy is good enough just for a launch phase or when a brand wants to create a bank. After that, the brand becomes a regular only and needs to be treated as any other brand. "The nostalgia factor may guarantee a good launch but that's it," he added.

Bijoor too suggested that in a cluttered market, nostalgia is that clutter-breaker. It should be used as just that. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Nostalgia is a forever trend

"A product from my childhood that I wish would return to the market is Atlas cycle. It was known for its strong build and was one of the most economical options available. It is unfortunate that products like those aren't available anymore. Once bought by a family, the cycle was used for generations. Ambassador cars were also quite popular back then and were considered to be a sign of prestige," Sangeet Sharma (58), who lives in Meerut recalled. 

Whether it is a 20-year-old or a 40-year-old, we all have our own set of things, which we feel nostalgic about. Not just in the food and beverage space, but the automobile industry too fuels nostalgia from time to time. In the auto space, Bajaj relaunched its Chetak scooter in a new electric model in 2020. Other brands like Yezdi, Jawa and Vespa have also joined the nostalgia bandwagon since then, making a comeback to the market. 

Speaking on how nostalgia continues to contribute to businesses and brands, Bijoor said, "Consumers love the old, as the old packs memories. Using a toothpaste your grandma used, using a talcum powder your grandad smelled of, and items of its ilk mean superior brand chemistry. Nostalgia brands are about this chemistry that can get re-stoked. Use it intelligently."