The heart-tugging pull of nostalgia tugs hardest on Gen Z, according to a study involving three generations of consumers in the U.S., U.K. and Australia.
“Then is Now: A Study on Modern Nostalgia” surveyed 1,800 people, evenly divided among the U.S., U.K. and Australia and among Gen X, Millennial and Gen Z consumers. The study was commissioned by Vevo, the music video streaming service owned by Sony Music and Universal Music Group.
Vevo has been active in the upfront marketplace in recent weeks touting the growth of its streaming service around moments in pop culture driven by nostalgia or nostalgic content. The platform is well stocked with the 1980s, ‘90s and 2000s tunes the enliven movies as well as scripted and unscripted TV series. When a new series packed with needle-drops such as Netflix’s “Stranger Things” or FX’s “Love Story: John F. Kennedy and Carolyn Bessette,” Vevo’s views see a related spike: To wit, views of Sade’s “No Ordinary Love” spiked 52% after “Love Story” bowed in February.
Consumers that come to Vevo from the pull of nostalgia or from discovering a vintage tune in a movie or TV show are increasingly likely to search for more material. The study documents the accelerating trend of Gen Z embracing “borrowed” nostalgia, or a yearning for the trappings of times that they never experienced. The typical 20 to 25-year cycle for nostalgic windows in pop culture is also accelerating thanks to Gen Z and younger millennials who grew up as digital natives. In the study, Gen X was defined as adults between the ages of 46-61, Millennials are 30-45 and Gen Z is 14-29.
