Retail Media Vibes
Retail Media Vibes is your marketing lens on the world of shopping, commerce, and culture. Each episode brings fresh conversations with industry insiders who break down the stories driving how brands reach shoppers and how shoppers connect with brands. From big retail moments to the latest shifts in digital media, it’s your front-row seat to the strategies shaping the future of commerce.
We keep it smart, energetic, and actionable, mixing sharp analysis with good vibes so you walk away informed and inspired. Whether you’re a retail pro, a marketer looking for an edge, or simply curious about where the industry is headed, this podcast is made for you.
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Retail Media Vibes
Ep. 9 - When Ads Tap the Heartstrings
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Nostalgia doesn’t just sell; it sticks. We sat down with Sarah Gillmer to explore how memory, family ritual, and pop culture can turn everyday products into emotional anchors, and why that approach still beats a thousand loud impressions. From Barbie’s cross-generational comeback to Nike’s retro magic and McDonald’s adult Happy Meal, we map when heritage fuels love and when brands risk costume-playing a past they never owned.
We also tackle the elephant in the media room: is traditional media dead? Not quite. Print catalogs with QR stickers are back on kitchen counters, local radio still drives action, and the right billboard can outwork a dozen forgettable banner ads. The smartest plans now pair tactile, trusted channels with digital precision. We talk about how to choose moments where analog wins; regional launches, community trust, and high-frequency routes, and how to keep the art in marketing without ignoring the numbers.
In quick hits, we react to Instacart’s variable pricing controversy and the transparency gap it exposes. Then we look ahead as Google signals ads inside Gemini AI chat, debating what “useful” looks like in an answer-first interface. Finally, we swap campaigns we love: Chevy’s memory-rich family spot that sells without shouting, and Dunkin’s munchkin tale that turns a donut hole into a holiday hero. If you care about brand building, media mix strategy, and the next wave of ad experiences, this one’s for you.
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What's up, Party Beeple? BV here, and welcome to another episode of Retail Media Vibes, a doing business in Bentonville podcast. We are recording live in Rogers, Arkansas at Podcast Video Studio. If you would like to start your own podcast, please reach out to the fine folks here at Podcast Videos. They are absolutely amazing at helping you get your podcast off the ground and doing all the legwork. So you can just focus on having a wonderful show. Today, my guest is Sarah Gilmer, and we're going to get to meet her in just a minute. But our main topics today are is going to be the power of nostalgia marketing. And is traditional media really dead? All right. We're going to have some fun and talk about quick hits. So we got a few quick hit stories we're going to touch on. And then we're going to wrap things up with some campaigns we love. So with that out of the way, we are going to now meet Sarah. So, all right, well, welcome to the show, Sarah. It's good to have you.
SPEAKER_01:It's great to be here.
SPEAKER_00:Uh well, I appreciate you taking the time to be on the show today. So, you know, so those that don't know you, our listeners and viewers, uh, let's learn a little bit about Sarah and get to know you a bit.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Um, I think I like to think of myself a little bit as um coaching human potential, right? Okay. So parent. Yeah. Um, I am a certified Enneagram coach.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:And then I am a sales leader for a digital content content company called Breaktime.
SPEAKER_00:Yep. Yeah, very familiar with break time. Yeah. It's cool. So um, you know, if you weren't doing what you're doing now, what would be like an alternative universe career for you?
SPEAKER_01:It's a great question. I've actually thought a lot about that and whether that's my age or stage of life. Perhaps we all go through times like that where where you think about like, what would I be doing if not this? Yeah. If if I were to go back to school, I think I would probably do something in the realm of counseling or psychology. Um what I really love to do is sitting with others and helping them learn more about who they are. Yeah. I think the greatest gift you can give yourself is knowing who you are, um, which as a result is a gift to a lot of other people, which is we love the Enneagram.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah, yeah. I I mean, I like, I like that the Enneagram quite a bit as well. Um Yeah, there's a you know, a certain level of psychology, it sounds like that you're, you know, human psychology and behavior that you're very interested in.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. Well, if we were, you know, so let's we're gonna talk a little bit about retail and and you know, obviously we're gonna talk about nostalgia and traditional media. So, you know, around that space, like what is a trend in retail or marketing that you really feel like is really exciting right now from your perspective.
SPEAKER_01:Exciting is the interesting word, right? Because that could mean a lot of different things. So obviously the biggest trend right now, I think, in retail is is AI. Everybody's trying to figure out what to do with AI and how to utilize it best. So from an excitement that could be excitement in terms of anxiety, it could be excitement in terms of creativity and what you're gonna do with it. Um, I think we're all grappling with what is its relevancy in my line of work. And then from our own worlds of where we deal with brands and shoppers, how does that best communicate with shoppers and how do they feel about that? So no matter what you see on trend, whether that's nostalgia, which we'll talk about here later, or not, AI is AI is the buzz and on trend.
SPEAKER_00:Well, we're gonna talk about traditional media as well, right? And so, you know, these are you know legacy media channels that have been around for years, right? And so fast forward to today, you know, AI has is a you know a new whole new uh landscape and you know technology that's going to be used in a lot of different ways in in media and advertising. And you know, obviously the the story there is still yet to be written as well. So yeah, it's interesting, you know, you brought up AI. I mean, everybody, it's on everybody's mind. That is not the topic that we're covering today, but um, that's probably an opportunity for a topic in the future. But yeah, I I think AI is definitely on everybody's mind, and it is very exciting and interesting on where it could potentially go. All right. So, first up, our first quick hit story this week is uh Instacart has been testing, air quotes, testing variable pricing. So there was a recent story that Instacart may be a we'll call it adjusting, all right. So we don't want we we want to be kind here, right? Adjusting pricing um and increasing prices uh to different shoppers. You know, uh the test was done where you know several different shoppers shopping the same product at the same store. There were some price differences for each individual shopper. Um, Instacart, you know, was kind of the center of that. And, you know, they said they were, you know, testing this model out. So, you know, same product, same store, different prices. You know, I think there's a lot of perception around uh an activity such as this. But just like what's your gut reaction on some on something like this?
SPEAKER_01:I think you can look at it a couple of different ways. My gut reaction as a consumer is I don't like it. It it kind of infuriates me.
SPEAKER_00:Right.
SPEAKER_01:Um I you know, it it goes down to like what is fair and reasonable, um, and that can be debated as well as what is fair and reasonable. If I take a step back, however, and look at it um at the dynamic pricing, uh, you know, it is something that's happening all the time, whether we realize it or not.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, especially like in e-commerce channels, right? Who can you can adjust pricing all the time?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, e-commerce. Also just look at it from like where do you live in the in the country? States, taxes, all that kind of stuff. So while it seems like offensive that you're gonna do this to me, that's also the realization that it's happening already and we don't even know about. I think that's that is the kicker though. I know about different states and different pricing. This was unknown, right? Right.
SPEAKER_00:It wasn't transparent.
SPEAKER_01:It wasn't disclosed to the consumer. Right. And so that of course can drive that rage and irritation from that kind of and I think when some a lot of these things and they happen in this black box, right?
SPEAKER_00:And so like the there's not a that transparency to the consumer. Well, all right, well, what is the you know, what is the cause of the price difference? You know, what is that, what is the stimulus there? You know, I remember back when Wendy's got a lot of pushback um a while, you know, a while ago when they were have when they had like dynamic pricing. And so, you know, costs of food would vary based upon time of day, right? And you can only go into a you know a some supply and demand mentality or you know, Uber has you know surge pricing, right? When there's a high demand for Ubers, the price goes up, less demand, you know, price goes down. So we do live in this supply and demand, uh, capitalism, you know, uh economy. And so you see these things happening, but I think what I think transparency is is is important. I also think that you know things that are necessities should have a lot more stability than things that are elective.
SPEAKER_01:I agree with that. I also think what's interesting about this is it also can train the shopper's behavior different than you anticipated it to be.
SPEAKER_00:Right.
SPEAKER_01:If I know Wendy's that you're gonna charge me more during peak times and I want Wendy's, I'm gonna go get it elsewhere. Right. Think of it also about think about airlines, right? We all know right, we got to clear the cache or you know, like to go look for airline.
SPEAKER_00:Sure.
SPEAKER_01:So if if Instacart's gonna do this, well, can I log in under a different email address and look at it for a different price? So I think it's gonna be a good thing.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, well, they're gaming you. Now you're trying to get the money. But you're trying to game them, right? And so there is this, you know, competitive uh relationship then right between the consumer and the retailer. Right. So very, you know, very interesting. I think you also, if you look at, you know, the future, uh, the future in-store where you have you know debt digital shelf labels that obviously are connected and you know, is there that opportunity for dynamic pricing? You know, what is the stimulus for that? So I think there's a lot more to be figured out in this, uh in this future, you know, future state of of you know supply and demand and you know, purchase economy and in and how prices get set. Um, and so it's it's just interesting to really see you know uh a platform like Instacart do this again, air quotes test um in order to see you know what the what the appetite was or what they could get away with, right? And you know, and so it's uh it's an interesting one. All right, moving on to our our our next story. So um Dateline ad week, right? So ad week had a story where Google is uh telling advertisers that it's planning to bring ads to their Gemini AI chat platform in the coming, in the in the coming year 2026. So this, you know, these are all I think ads in AI, ads in chatbot, AI chatbots, et cetera, has always been something that's been discussed. But this is like the first time that somebody, whether intentional or not, has is actually having a conversation about actually advertising in these uh in these channels. I mean, how surprised are you, though, that you know Google is already trying to make this happen?
SPEAKER_01:I'm not surprised. They have to make a profit. Um, the top every you know, buzz right now is we're in the AI bubble and it's gonna burst, right? All the things that we use it for is for free. Now it's costing us something, it's costing our data and our privacy.
unknown:Right.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. However, I don't pay every time I use Gemini. I don't pay. I mean, uh yes, your business could have a different model and subscription, but for the most part, everybody is using the free versions of those models. Right. So no, it doesn't surprise me. Um I think it'll be time will tell. I think it goes back to what is it gonna look like.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Well, yeah, that was yeah, my next question is like, you know, how invasive are these ads going to be? Are they just going to be like sponsored listings that are interspersed? Like, you know, what put on your your forward thinking hat. What do you what do you think these ads could potentially look like?
SPEAKER_01:I mean, if if if we're smart and we're using AI as it is, it's to me, what would be brilliant is whatever I am asking it to do, somehow the advertisement is affiliated to it.
SPEAKER_00:Right. Right? Yeah, of course, yeah, irrelevancy, right?
SPEAKER_01:If I'm going through and I'm like, hey, um looking for some high-level ideas for a strategy discussion around, I don't know, Pringles. Yeah, right. Is it gonna serve me an ad for Pringles that I can then go purchase at a at a retailer? Like that would be smart, you know? Or is it going to who who knows? But to me, that if it's AI and it's advertising, I would hope it's dynamic and can think on its feet and serve it back that way.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah, I'm I'm hoping that it advances advertising in a new way. And it it's a new format, it's just not another sponsored listening listing or a sponsored card or something. Like, you know, here's here's the sponsor result, and then here's what you really wanted at the, you know, like, you know, accompanying that. And so like it, I I'm hoping, and I don't have the vision of what it will be, but I'm I'm I'm really hoping it's more than what we currently see today and is done in a much uh much smarter way.
SPEAKER_01:Smarter way, something that's not gonna force me to watch something do something before you're gonna give me the output. Right. Is you know, how how what is that initial frustration gonna be for those who are using it? And then will people jump to different things that don't have that yet?
SPEAKER_00:But I don't know if the average person who is using it more casually has really bought in on the usage of this tool in a way that you start serving me ads, then all of a sudden I'm gonna stick with you and I'm gonna find that as continue to stick stick it out. I think that's you know, going back a few years, back to um Instagram, Instagram was so adamant about not having ads, right? Because it really wanted to drive that stickiness and ensuring that you know the users of that platform were engaging, they were taking a lot of pictures, they were sharing those pictures. Like you get it to the point, like there's gotta be this curve, and you've got to reach that curve. And then then you put in ads, and people are, oh well, it's ads, but I'm still getting the value out of this this platform in a way that gets me, you know, gets me what I want. And so, okay, I'll I'll I'll put up with some ads, right? So not sure that's there yet. And I and I but I don't know, you know, we'll see how this all plays out.
SPEAKER_01:I would agree.
SPEAKER_00:All right. So you were talking about chips earlier. You said Pringles, right? Uh well, I'm I'm gonna talk about chips on this third story here, and which is Lay's, Lay's potato chips. We all know Lay's probably had a few in in in our lives, right? And so what's really fun and interesting to me, and of course, you know, I'm a sneaker guy, so anytime I see a sneaker, it's not a surprising topic for you at all. You combine a little CPG with some sneakers, and of course, it's gonna get my attention, right? So Lay's is partnering up with Saucany to have their own chip-inspired collection. Now, unfortunately, this is only in China, so I guess they're you know, they're trying to make some uh brand, they're doing some brand building in China, Lay's is with Saucony, and so there's a nice little collab there. Um, you know, there's three sneakers, they're gonna be in the Chinese market. Uh, pretty cool, you know, pretty cool uh sneakers. I I like the yellow ones the best, the ones that really mirror the Lay's potato chip uh aesthetic. So I like that quite a bit. But uh in your from your point of view, and I know you're you're a huge chip eater, right? You Pringles, right?
SPEAKER_01:Listen, chips and salsa are thing, yes.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, so in your in your mind, what chip should have its uh have a collab collaboration with a sneaker brand?
SPEAKER_01:Yes. I actually thought about this, and I was I think everybody's gonna go the athletic shoe lane. Yeah. So if you're gonna go that lane, I'm gonna go if you're gonna go that lane, I'm also like, what is the most relevant thing happening in 2026? It's the World Cup. So I'm I'm thinking like, okay, is there a fun, loud brand that would make sense around the height of the World Cup? And maybe you could even do it by like country team, all the kind of stuff. So like Takis.
SPEAKER_00:Talkies was like the first thing that came from.
SPEAKER_01:Talkies, pair it with like an Adidas, some kind of classic locker shoot. Yeah, yeah. To bring it home.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I like it.
SPEAKER_01:You could go that round for me. I like a chip that's got some crunch. I need some density.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_01:I like it. I like a kettle, a good old kettle chip. Okay, yeah. And when I think about kettle brands, I think of like Cape Cod.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, Cape Cod.
SPEAKER_01:And I was gonna say, if we're gonna go Cape Cod, I like what about a Cape Cod and a sperry? Kind of have like that potentious, like Oh, like the docksider shoes. Yeah, like it'd be a boat shoe or a canvas shoe and a Cape Cod.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah, I like that. I like that. Yeah, I could I could see those two actually coming together.
SPEAKER_01:It's classy. Uh if I want a shoe, I want a classy shoe. A classy shoe, classic. You know, if I'm going athletic shoe, I'm going Nike. Um I want that classic, tried and true. So if I'm thinking about that for myself, I'm I'm thinking more of like, why not do something that would be classic, more of a neutrality? Yeah, goes with everything, can be on trend no matter what.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, Pringles did a Crocs collab, you know, uh a while back as well. So, you know, that's that that was fun too. So yeah, it's always interesting to me when these, you know, food, food brands, food and beverage brands partner up with a shoe, and does the does the collab, you know, really work? Does it bring the ethos, to truly bring the ethos in to the to the shoe? Um, you know, there was uh a collaboration a while back with Kyrie Irving shoe with Nike, um, with General Mills and like Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Kicks Um and Lucky Charms. And so there were these, you know, these cereal brands that like integrated you know their their ethos into the Kyrie Irving shoe. And then a couple of years ago there was a Fruity Pebbles, uh, a Fruity Pebbles cereal uh with collaboration with a LeBron shoe as well. It's the Fruity Pebbles. So yeah, and I think there was a couple different designs of that. So anyway, it's always interesting to see, you know, how you know these these brands can integrate, you know, within uh a collaboration like a sneaker or another product to kind of you know, I think in some cases both brands can help themselves, help, help each other, right? You know, so you're bringing that relevancy of of street streetwear culture to the cereal, and then you have the the strong branding of the cereal, elevate the shoe. And I think in a lot of cases it's a it's a great, great partnership. And if nothing else, it's fun, right? So it's fun.
SPEAKER_01:It creates that once in a once-in-a-lifetime limited offer.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, yeah, yeah, drives that urgency. Great. All right, cool. Well, that was quick hits. Now we're gonna move on to our two main stories today. All right. So the the first main story that we're gonna talk about today is the power of nostalgia marketing. What I like about nostalgia is like you can stimulate nostalgia in a lot of different ways, visually, sensorially, you know, through through through uh scent, through audio, through music. Like there's a so many ways that nostalgia can come, you know, come in. And you know, why I wanted to do this topic is you know, right now, Stranger Things is going through their final season. And I think they do such a great job with nostalgia. Nostalgia can be one of those really emotional ways to tap into, you know, tap into the consumer. Um, and it's it just it, you know, shopping, a lot of it is about psychology, right? You were talking about early on in your introduction, like you you you like the psychology of a lot of things and uh and the emotional side of that. And You know, to me, you know, having this conversation with you about, you know, nostalgia is like just fits fits so well. And, you know, when I think about some of the emotional connections that, you know, brands can have with consumers, and I think also about hype marketing, right? Hype marketing is not like nostalgia marketing because hype marketing is about like building excitement, building a lot of energy, you know, um, and nostalgia is more of that feeling of familiarity. And I think you know, nostalgia works really well when you take something that was, you know, from the past or gives you a nostalgic feeling and you pull it forward and you reintroduce it, like as a parent, for example, for for me, right? You know, I grew up, you know, Star Wars, right? Star Wars, right? And love Star Wars. And, you know, when Star Wars, when they re-release new toys or a new movie, you know, that brings that nostalgia uh to me. And then I want to share that with my kid. Yes. Then they get involved, right? And so then that brand, you know, um, in this case, Star Wars, has a new, you know, cohort of people that they can market to in the future. And then they bring a nostalgia. So it's almost like it's it can like build upon it itself. Yeah. And so I think it's you know really about just ensuring that like connecting in that emotional way of feelings and and thoughts of the past in order to, you know, get shoppers, consumers to look at your product in a in a in a certain light and get that familiarity as well. You know, from from you know, from your standpoint, like what is how does nostalgia marketing really you know work for you? Or how do you how do you see that working in the in the space that we work in on a daily basis?
SPEAKER_01:There's something so incredibly powerful about um tradition and story. The amount of times that my kids will ask me a story about, tell me about when you were younger, that the nostalgia marketing plays into. And so when you talk about feeling, it is the feeling, right? It is it whether that's you know, it's baking something that brings you back to that time frame or using something. So I think it it's a really powerful tool when it's used in the right way, right? When it fits the brand or it fits the overall story really well, versus a lot of people jumping on the bandwagon that may not have a clear tie either to the thing, the entity that's pulling into nostalgia, which nostalgia is usually some kind of pop culture, right? Yeah. Something of that manner. And in a and some kind of medium of media.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:That brings you into it. Um, and so if somebody, if something or a brand can can sync in with that and that aligns well with them, um, then it works.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. You know, when I was thinking about this conversation, you know, I was thinking about, okay, who does it really well? I think Barbie does it the best. Oh, that's interesting. Uh, you know, because like Barbie is obviously a a legacy, you know, a legacy toy, right? Legacy brand, right? That's been around for years. And then there's always, you know, that that mom that introduces, you know, Barbie to to their child at some point. And then most recently, right, they had the Barbie movie, right? And so it exposed Barbie to a whole new and then it like reinvigorates the excitement, the interest, the love, you know, and because it is an emotional thing, the love for a particular brand. So I think Barbie does a really, really great job of that. Um, you know, from your standpoint, like, you know, you can you think of other other brands that actually do do a good job of that?
SPEAKER_01:Well, when you said Barbie, what I immediately counterthought through that was um were Hot Wheels, only because like even when you talk about Barbie and Hot Wheels, like my parents kept those for my brother and I. So, like, at you know, it was it's great to introduce, like, pull out Barbies that were mine and let my daughter play with them, or son, or you know, from from that context.
SPEAKER_00:I did the same as Star Wars.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, for from a Star Wars standpoint. In terms of other brands that do it really well, what comes to mind, although I'm trying to think of like a specific example, um I kind of go back to some of the serial brands that capitalize on a lot of those things because they've been around for a long time.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, yeah, there's a certain legacy.
SPEAKER_01:There's legacies with it. So um, but I was sitting here trying to think of is that nostalgia or is that just branding, right?
SPEAKER_00:But it can be both.
SPEAKER_01:It can be both. So, right? When I think about like Wheaties, yeah. Who's on the Wheaties box? How does that carry it through? Um, you know, that's something that's lasted a long time. Does it still have the same, like, I, you know, from an athlete standpoint, do they really want to be on a Wheaties box now? I don't know. That carries the same weight as it did before.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Um, but I don't know. Something I want to do.
SPEAKER_00:I I mean, from you know, for me with nostalgia, like, you know, again, I hate making this a sneaker podcast. It's yeah, intended to be a sneaker podcast, but like Nike, they re-release sneakers from years past, right? And so they, you know, they they call them retros, right? They retro a sneaker. They'll have a sneaker that released, you know, back in 1988, and then they will redo it and release it in 2025, right? And so it gives you that opportunity to really relive that magic of whether you had that sneaker in 1988 or not, you relive it again, you know, relive it in 2025, and either you get it for the first time in 2025 or you get it again, because by the time that 1980, you know, you probably don't have that pair in 1980. So, like there is that nostalgia component with with with retro as well.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Well, and if I think about brands who've who've tried to play into that a lot, I mean, Coca-Cola classically comes in, you know, holiday time frame, they're always gonna pull in, bring in the classic Coke with the classic Santa with that piece of it. Um, but even as they introduce things like new Coke, right? Right. They pull in the old with the new and try to reintroduce it um back.
SPEAKER_00:Well, yeah, and they had that in in Stranger Things, right? So that was the season before. And so exactly.
SPEAKER_01:So that's a good play. And you know, what's been in the news now too is is McDonald's with their adult happy meal, right? Yes. You get the play on happy meals were a big deal. Like we didn't go out to eat a whole lot. So that you know, getting a happy meal with my orange high C and the toy, like a little bit of nostalgia there, that's a big deal.
SPEAKER_00:You know, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So having the play into it now, right?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:To kind of bring it back.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So when I was doing some, you know, some research on, you know, like, you know, what does what are some strategies to ensure like a brand can participate in a nostalgic, you know, type of marketing campaign, right? So one of a few of these are like knowing your audience's timeline, right? And so there are definitely going to be different properties and different nostalgic experiences based upon, you know, somebody's, you know, timeline, right? And so millennial versus Gen X versus Gen Z, et cetera, right? Um, I like this one where you're you're blending the the retro with modern, right? So it's kind of like you know, what we're talking about earlier, where you're introducing, you know, this retro brand in a retro way, but you're doing it in a modern, modern style. And then so you're bringing like bringing people today into your brand. So it's a good, it's a good combination. Um, and then anchoring in shared authentic shared experiences. So that's that was another one that was identified as well, where you know, um, it could be family traditions, because I also think that's a really important part, you know, is is the can be the family dynamic. Like it's if it's a shared experience, like everybody is doing it together and they're sharing in that, those memories can last for when they get older, right? And then there's that opportunity to come back to it again. Are there any of those things that stand out for you, like experiences like with your with your kids that, you know, um maybe related to a brand or product that could be, you know, uh nostalgic in some way in the future?
SPEAKER_01:Some of it goes back to, I think we talked a little bit about toys. Some of it goes back to like tried and true recipes for me. There were certain things, you know, sometimes I think for recipes, uh I was always told there are certain ingredients that you buy the name brand. You do not do not go get the store brought brand. Like it's very important for the recipe. And I as I've shared some of that, my daughter loves baking now too. And as we go shopping for those things, if we're going in store or online, and I remember her pointing out once about a chocolate chip or whatever, and uh, she put something I was like, no, no, we must have the Nestle Toll House.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01:For this, yes, for this recipe, we must have um because it makes a difference. Whether it does it make a difference, makes a difference in my heart. Makes a difference in the memory of whoever made it. Um, so those are things that that carry down the line in terms of Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So I think you know, we your daughter goes to, you know, that's right, he's in the future with her, you know, her family. And so that's pro that is probably something that's going to stick with them.
SPEAKER_01:That recipe, yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_00:And then the last one was you know, stay true to your brand's identity, right? And I think sometimes like, oh, I've got this new brand and I want to play into nostalgia, and I'm trying to do this weird fit of nostalgic with a new brand. And I don't know if that works, right? You have to have, I feel like with nostalgia and branding and marketing, you have to kind of have a legacy in a way, right?
SPEAKER_01:It feels like that's an important thing you have to have a legacy. I I also think what's interesting is brands who try to to, it's a miss because they try to modernize without understanding their legacy and the nostalgia they carry. So, like case in point this year was the cracker barrel logo.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, yeah, that's a great one. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So like they got rid of grandpa, right? They got rid of and the outrage of the Cracker Barrel logo. Like they they missed, but what a miss to not think through like old timey store clap, like, you know, to not understand the nostalgia of what they carry um within that piece of it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. I mean, you go to Cracker Barrel and I just think about the little peg game. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Old candy that you would get in there.
SPEAKER_00:Yep.
SPEAKER_01:Um, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So that's yeah, that's that's a that's that's a really good one. So yeah, I think, I mean, I think, you know, nostalgia is obviously a very powerful emotion. I think there are ways for brands to do it and do it, do it, do it well. And there's so many brands that that do. Um, I think new brands have to establish their their identity and as as they grow, and then maybe there's those those opportunities. But I think leaning into a nostalgia can definitely bring families together, bring stories together, and bring opportunities for nostalgic moments again in the future. So great. All right. That was that was awesome. So we're gonna move on now to our our next story. All right. So, you know, for our next topic, um, we're gonna talk about traditional media. Is traditional media dead? I always feel like in my world that I've I've worked in over time, the word trend traditional media has a bias to it. When you bring it up in a conversation, hey, let's put together a marketing, marketing plan and you know, a form of traditional media comes up. There's usually some sort of bias or I don't want to say a visceral reaction because it's but I do think it gets it gets pushed aside pretty quickly. And and just to be clear on when we're talking about traditional media, we're talking about print, radio, broadcast TV, and out of home. I don't know. So those are the those are the four. I I think there's going to be a new wave of a different type of traditional media, but we'll we'll get to that in the uh in the future. But I think you know, you get the get the the same same ideas. All of these things are outdated in some way. And some of them have come along, right? Come along for the ride. Some of them have morphed into something a little bit different, like of course, like TV, you know, from broadcast TV to more, you know, streaming and and connected TV and podcasting with radio, and like a lot of these kind of evolved into these new wave, new age um digital, digital formats in some way. But there is something to be said for some of these mediums when done at in a certain way, right? Under certain circumstances. You know, is do you want to have a print ad uh in a magazine for every single campaign that you run moving forward? No, probably not. But in the right case, it might. But it is funny though. Like you if you went to a market, modern marketer today and said you're gonna do a print, you know, you're gonna do a print ad in a magazine, but it's just as an example.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:You'd probably not even get in front of the client because some as a when you're somebody, a leader would probably stop you and say, they'll get that off the plan immediately. But you know, there could be some white space there that you're not tapping into and in right, and the whole idea of omnichannel is multi-channel, right? Exactly. You know, are there are there really the right times and places and situations where some of these forms of traditional media could exist and be smart? You know, um, I've said in a previous podcast, sometimes I like to zig when people are zagging, right? So when when you know, ever there's so much push into digital, one form or another. Can you go into one of these traditional media channels and make a splash because everybody else's attention is somewhere else, right? So, you know, from from your standpoint, you know, where do you see the usage of traditional media and and the value it can bring to to a marketing plan?
SPEAKER_01:Consumers are looking for some of these traditional options for that. And also the younger generation. So, like my daughter, a couple years ago for Christmas, my sister gave her a subscription to a travel magazine because she loves to travel.
SPEAKER_00:Awesome.
SPEAKER_01:She still has those magazines, she still goes through when this subscription and flips through them because she's looking for things. She looks for average, you know, what to wear. Like I every time I get a magazine, a clothing magazine, she's always like, Don't throw that out. Cause you can look through it and touch and feel like she's not seeing that, right? You know, anywhere else. So I think that there is power in that. There's power in having something that you can that's not just digital, but that's something that you can touch and feel and take with you and um leave by your bed. Um, or you know, going home every time I go to see my parents, they live in a small town um in northern Arkansas, they still will get their southern living and their better homes and garden. It is the first thing I will go to the coffee table and be like, oh yeah, I want to go read my gruppy gardener. I want to go look at those things. So there's there's I think it goes back to like the nostalgia play too.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it can be, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Also think about like other ways that you're gonna meet your consumer that you wouldn't do it anywhere else. Look at my kids look at billboards all the time.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I mean, yeah. Who's yeah, everyone sees billboards. So actually, my my favorite billboard example, and this is I don't most people will not be able to relate to this one um unless they've been to South Dakota. So there is a there is a drugstore in South Dakota called Wall. It's a town called Wall, and it's called Wall Drug. And, you know, for hundreds of miles, there is billboard after billboard after billboard. And you're driving in the middle of nowhere. That's that is really literally your only form of entertainment other than what you have on your radio, right? It's looking at those billboards, you know, free ice water, you know, at Wall Drug, you know, truckers get coffee. Yeah, you know, see the 50-foot rabbit at Wall Drug. Like it, and I mean literally it's all of these, like all these billboards, right? And you obviously, you know, that's a high level of frequency, uh-huh. A lot of messages. Sure. It does have an influence on considering whether you stop at Wall Drug. And that will, I mean, Wall Drug is there and has been there for absolutely forever. And so, you know, I I think it can have a role, right? It can it can have a role. I think with like local advertising for sure, I think some of these traditional mediums like local radio, you know, local TV, you know, however it comes through broadcast TV. I think, you know, if you're, you know, if you're an H VAC company in the northwest Arkansas area, like, you know, having a local TV spot is is helpful. I think having a billboard in the area is helpful, right? You know, are you doing a national program? Probably not, right? So I think there's a certain level of localization, but I also think there's like some trust and credibility as well. Like, you know, hey, my brand is on a billboard, my brand is on a TV. Like, and so there is a little bit of that. It obviously was much more back in the day than it is today, but I still think it has a little bit of that credibility. This year, prior to the holiday season, I received two toy catalogs from mass retailers. Um, and well, one was Amazon, which was totally e-commerce print catalog, had QR codes in it, but it was still a print catalog. I received one from Target. I didn't get the Walmart one, but there were some other people who had so even these retailers are still printing something, right? It's somewhat disruptive. You know, and I get, hey, I get the Sam's Club ISB every, you know, every month as well.
SPEAKER_01:Because it also plays on nostalgia. Yeah, because yeah, true. We went back, I earmarked all those toy catalogs that we used to get.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I used to circle in the Sears catalog, yeah. For sure.
SPEAKER_01:Somewhere where mom and dad might pick it up, see it, turn to it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Um, so there's there's it's it's that kind of power play as well, the nostalgia to it, and my kids look forward to it. And I I don't it might be one of them has like stickers. Like so, like you each child can get a set of stickers, and so you can put your sticker on it. So I mean it's a complete pull into that as well.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, I think again being at the right place with the right medium with a specific, you know, cut customer. I think when we're we were talking prior to the show and we were talking about direct mail. If everybody else is online, maybe that is a space you can You know, own for a moment, right?
SPEAKER_01:Yes.
SPEAKER_00:You know, and so it is, it is, it is interesting. I think, you know, my perspective here, and I look, I get the measurement side of things for sure, but I think sometimes we lose the art of marketing if all we're chasing is a number.
SPEAKER_01:I agree. I agree.
SPEAKER_00:We got into the space because it's a creative space, right? Right. And we wanted to help brands build, help build brands, help build products, right? You know, product, you know, the the products that those brands um sell in in in retail. And if we just continue to chase the click or chase the impression or chase the ROAS, we're gonna lose the art of omnichannel marketing because not all of that stuff is gonna be able to be measured. Well, people are not gonna believe that, right? So we we get into this weird space of we've pushed marketing all the way down to this number versus the art of marketing. You know, you want to find out whether or not media channel works, stop marketing. You'll find out really quick whether or not your marketing was doing anything, right? And so, but I I get it, right? Because there is the dynamic of, you know, you want to make sure that where you're investing your dollars is really driving your business, right? There's the old saying, you know, I uh 50% of my of my uh marketing budget is working. I just don't know where, you know, or how it's working, right? So I think I think there's there's there's a lot to be said when you start just chasing numbers, but obviously there's a requirement to do so because of that's how things get that get funded. But don't lose out on some of these opportunities that can also be a complement to your overall strategy, just because uh traditional media, that's old, old news. You know, I alluded to this earlier. I think there's going to be a new wave of what is considered traditional media, and that could be display banner ads. It could be email, it could be promotions, right? And so, like as we get into new forms of, and we were talking about, you know, Google and uh Gemini and advertising, you know, within chat chat um chatbots, you know, those may become traditional. And I I think you know, you you have to really consider the full, you know, the full opportunity.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Everything goes back to how can we best tell the story that we want people to grasp with our brand. And you have to do that in a lot of different ways.
SPEAKER_00:And you have to, and I get it, you have to make decisions, right? You don't have unlimited budget. You don't like you can't do everything. Like I totally get it. So there are times where I think it makes sense, and there are times where where where it doesn't. If you're a brand and you're, you know, you're getting your your product into a local market, you know, and you're only at a you know a few hundred stores, like and you're really trying to drive volume within those markets. I think you know, some of the forms of traditional market would work in those in those markets instead of just trying, well, I just want to, you know, run some banner ads and some social ads, you know, in those in those markets. What are some other ways that you can continue to build attention and build your brand and build build your product at those in those locations as well? So so traditional is not dead. No, it's not um it's changed a bit. I think it's you can you know select when the best time to do it, but you know, don't laugh someone out of the room because they brought you know a print ad to a discussion about a marketing mix for a specific objective. Those were our main stories. Now we're gonna jump into campaigns we love. All right, we're gonna wrap the show with campaigns we love. Uh so Sarah and I are gonna talk about campaigns or ads that we have seen out in the world and we are digging right now. And uh I obviously part of this show was talking about nostalgia. And I understand, Sarah, you've got an amazing example in that in that realm.
SPEAKER_01:I do. So we're we're coming off holiday, and so the one thing the the ad that just tugs on my own heartstring was was Chevy's ad this year with the family. Um, and it just shows all the memories that they've captured while driving their suburban um over the years. Um, and it kind of shows the legacy of having, you know, obviously a car that will last. Um but if you think about just driving in the amazing discussions that I've had in my own vehicle with friends and family, it captures all of that um beautifully well. Um it does what I think is really brilliant marketing because it sells without overtly selling. There was no part of that ad that was like, go to your local Chevrolet dealership right now. And it is truly about enjoy the memory of what this time brings.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And that is like powerful brand building, you know, using nostalgia. And I think, you know, some of the things that we talked about earlier about, you know, mm having the family involved there, right? Is it brings that brings that level of emotion and storytelling. I think sometimes, you know, we we don't get enough, we don't do enough of the storytelling, you know, to really kind of build that, build that platform. And obviously, you know, it seems like they told that story in a really compelling way. Yeah. All right. So my campaign I love um is is around a Duncan Munchkin. So I am a huge Duncan donuts, Duncan fan. Um, I absolutely love. And so there is uh an ad right now um around a Duncan Munchkin is a brand's unlikely festive holiday hero. And so it's uh narrated by Mindy Kaling. And what I also love about it is like I love when brands like do a 360, where they also include merchandise along with their storytelling. And so you can really buy into the full, you know, into the full story. And so this this is actually a children's book, right? And they they've actually even made it into a spot. Um, but it's it's really centered around a a Duncan Munchkin, which is their their donut hole, if those of you that don't know. Yeah. Um, and it's a a journey of belonging. So the character, our little, our little powdered uh munchkin uh feels discarded and and and forgotten because all of his compadres that are inside the uh inside the munchkin box are getting selected uh by people. Um and he's the the last the last one left. Um and then a a child scoops in and uh grabs that last munchkin, and it's the most special best bite of all. So it's it's kind of so here's how I feel about it.
SPEAKER_01:Tell me how you feel, because I have feelings too, baby. I have feelings.
SPEAKER_00:I have some feelings on this, but uh so I love Duncan, I love what they did, I love the children's book. I totally understand what they're trying to do with the story.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:But it could go a little dark, right? Yeah, so you've got all these personalities on each of these little munchkins, right? They all have faces and they're what do you do with the munchkin? You're not you're not you're not putting it on your shelf.
SPEAKER_01:Eating it. You're you're killing it. You were killing the beautiful little cute munchkin.
SPEAKER_00:Right. So, you know, uh, so again, I I have mixed, mixed feelings, yeah, but I I do I love I love what they were were trying to trying to do there. Um I've had a few of my I've had a few munchkins in my life, um, and I don't think I've left any at the bottom of the box. So uh obviously some some kid has now come along and you know this this lonely little munchkin where all his friends have been eaten now has been consumed by this child and everything is good again.
SPEAKER_01:So is it is it good? Well is it good for that's that is that is the emotion of the story that is, you know, but the the play on that that was his purpose that he needed to live into his purpose. I don't know.
SPEAKER_00:I don't know, but anyway, that's so that's that's that's the one I brought to the to the table today. All right. So all right, let's wrap things up. Um, so that is uh a wrap on this episode of Retail Media Vibes. I want to thank Sarah for coming in and you know sharing your thoughts and ideas with us today. Uh anything that you want to shout out or plug or anything before we wrap it up today?
SPEAKER_01:I I love connecting with others. Um, would love to connect with you all. Find me on LinkedIn, Sarah Gilmer. Um, if you have any interest at all in anything with Enneagram, I'd love to speak with you about that as well. Um, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. Well, awesome. Well, if you've enjoyed the show, then you know be sure to like it. If you're on, you know, like it on YouTube, share it, um, let a friend know about it. Um, the more people we can get uh watching and listening, uh that would be that would be great. Um and then if you have a question or feedback, you can shoot me over a note at retailmedia vibes at gmail.com. So I want to thank you all for listening and watching. And as always, I will promise, this is yeah, I know you hate this one, but I promise I will do better next time. B V outfit.