Memories Bring Us To The Boom

分类号编号

烟台大学

毕业论文

MEMORIES BRING US TO THE BOOM

回忆让我们富起来

申请学位：文学学士

院系：外国语学院

专业：英语

姓名：许丹

学号：200803501102

指导老师：李晓晖（副教授）

二零一二年五月二十八日

烟台

MEMORIES BRING US TO THE BOOM

By

Xu Dan

SUPERVISOR

Associate Professor Li Xiaohui

Submitted to

The School of Foreign Languages In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Bachelor of Arts

In the Department of English

Yantai University

May 28, 2012

Yantai

烟台大学毕业论文（设计）任务书院（系）：外国语学院

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My deepest gratitude goes first and foremost to Professor Xiaohui Li, for her constant encouragement and guidance. She has walked me through all the stages of the writing thesis. Without her consistent and illuminating instruction, this thesis could not have reached its present form.

Besides, I would like to express my gratitude to all the teachers in School of Foreign Language. It’s your cultivation that gives me the possibilities to achieve today’s harvest.

Last but not least, my thanks would go to my beloved family for their loving consideration and confidence, and my friends and fellow classmates who gave me their help and support during the difficult course of the thesis.

ABSTRACT

With the last batch of 80s’leaving from colleges, the 80-and-90s, wildly concerned by the society, are becoming the main customers’ force. Besides, owing to their special background and experience, the nostalgia of this group begins too early, especially to the extreme, after the death of Jackson, which provides an opportunity for the development of merchandise market.

At the beginning of this dissertation, I introduced Jackson’s death, following with the theory of nostalgia, and then analyzed the formation and characteristics of nostalgia via 80-and-90s’character and living environment, drawing a conclusion that Chinese’s thinking pattern, social changes and pressure, as well as the self-identification are the main cause of nostalgia. In addition, the use of network images and collectivisms became the prominent characteristics. On that basis, the paper expounded the positive effect via successful cases in some fields and gave a brief analysis on characteristics of nostalgia brand through the existing misunderstanding.

Key W ords: late 80-and-90s, nostalgic marketing, collectivism

摘要

随着最后一批80后迈出大学校门，8090s这一社会广泛关注的群体，正逐渐成为社会的主力消费群体。而因其特殊的时代背景及特殊经历，这一时代的年轻人的怀旧过早的开始了，尤其09年杰克逊的突然离世，更是将这一代人的怀旧情结激发到了极致。这也为商品市场的发展提供了又一营销契机。

本文通过杰克逊之死引入，由怀旧的理论概念入手，通过这代人的性格，所处时代等剖析怀旧情结的形成原因及其特征，认为中国人固有的思维定势，社会变革，社会压力，自我渴望认同是怀旧情结产生的主要原因，而网络影像的运用，集体性则是它呈现出的突出特点。在此基础上，阐述怀旧情结的积极作用，并用各领域的成功案例分析怀旧元素在商业营销方面的应用。最后通过现存的对这一理念的错误理解对怀旧的品牌特点进行了简要分析。

关键词：8090后；怀旧营销；集体性

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

ABSTRACT (i)

摘要............................................................................................................................................. i i 1Introduction . (1)

2Memories Enrich Our Mind (3)

2.1Generalization of Reminiscence (4)

2.1.1Reasons for Reminiscence (4)

2.1.1.1Characteristics of Chinese Thinking Pattern (4)

2.1.1.2Dramatic Changes in Society and Economic Transition Shock (5)

2.1.1.3Social Stress (6)

2.1.1.4Expectation in Getting the Sense of Identity in Their Self-consciousness (6)

2.1.2Characteristics of Reminiscence (7)

2.1.2.1Through Imaging Network (7)

2.1.2.2The Collective Characteristics (7)

2.1.3Effects of Reminiscence (8)

3Memories Enrich Our Substance (9)

3.1Introduction to Nostalgic Marketing (9)

3.2Application of Nostalgic Marketing (10)

3.2.1Network Marketing (10)

3.2.2Advertising Marketing (10)

3.2.2.1Unicom:”Innovation Changes the World” 60 Seconds Script (11)

3.2.2.2Chevrolet Cruze: “Shi Yi Du Y outh” Micro Movie and Late 80s (11)

3.2.2.3Wuzhen: the Life in Dream (12)

3.2.3Popularization of Retail Brand (13)

3.2.4Popularization of Garment Brands (13)

3.2.4.1T-shirt of Li Lei and Han Meimei (Giordano) (13)

3.2.4.2Warrior Makes a Comeback (15)

3.2.5Popularization of Movies (16)

3.2.5.1Carry Love Though to the End (16)

3.2.5.2Old Boys (16)

4Brand Choice under Nostalgic Marketing (18)

4.1Existing Misunderstandings of Brands and Reminiscence (18)

4.1.1Nostalgia Advertising will outdate the Brand (18)

4.1.2Nostalgia is just a Concept, which does not need to be Paid Attention to (18)

4.1.3Since Nostalgia is Popular, Try it Anyway (18)

4.2The Features of Suitable Nostalgic Brands (19)

4.2.1From Macroscopic Point of View: Traditional Brands (19)

4.2.2From Microscopic Point of View: Perceptual-oriented Brands (19)

5Conclusion (20)

BIBLIOGRAPHY (21)

1Introduction

American Time Jue25,2009 14:26（Beijing Time Jue26,2009 5:26）, which seems to be a soldering iron, was branded on countless people’s memories with a twinge. We were shocked by the coming news that a maestro, Jackson, had passed away.

American https://www.wendangku.net/doc/a79201098.html, took the lead in reporting Jackson’s sudden death. Then, each news program interrupted their ongoing news one after another to give a round-the-clock coverage of this event. On that day, Obama, occupying the center position of media, was given the cold shoulder; Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, visited the US, which wasn’t reported almost; Iran, attracted global concern, was pinned by omnipresent Jackson. Before long, hundreds of press journalists and anxious fans assembled on the lawn near the hospital. With that, people with varying colors in different countries performed grander ceremony.

His “spectacular” death triggers our contemplations. Why? Why could he reach such a flood? Because he detonated the atomic bomb towards music —when exotic “Remember the Time”encountered “Black or White”which eliminated racial estrangement, when lyric “You Are not Alone”thread through hair-trigger “thrilling”, he became a music bomb destroying all the imagination people held about future music video; because such a “freaks”used his life intersected with kindness and scandals to tell us —people is always more lovely than God in that they are fraught with vulnerabilities, helplessness and restriction which must be faced with. However, they carry on the pursuit of perfection tirelessly; because his appearance saved 80s the age that rock and roll was losing its social impact gradually; but for us, born in 80s and 90s, or even elder generation, the reason of “Jackson complex” is that he is the mnemonic symbol of our collective memory in youth —memories concerning youth and growth are casually put in a ignoring corner by us for a long time, but Jackson’s death gives us a chance to honor the fading youth.

At the time, Jackson was hit, Chinese just began to open their eyes looking at the world, while, today, with his death, Chinese has got clear understanding of the world, even the past rival ideology. His death brings the legend he set previously to a mythology. No one can match.

Everyone, home and broad, lament over the death of Jackson, a contro versial as well as worthy music genius, though, with various grieves. In America, he is “a bad guy” growing with a certain generation. In China, he carries the memories of us. Whatever, he represents the pop-music，cultural identification which cannot be replaced during the age 80s. Facing with the news, we can only touch the brand on our bodies with a sense of loss, watching him leaving accompanying with his song “You Are Not Alone” as dirge — you are not alone, for I am here with you. Though we’re far apart, you’re always in my heart. But you are not alone.

(Up: Crowds outside the Hospital)

2Memories Enrich Our Mind

We constantly stress on that Jackson carries the memories of us, acting as the mnemonic symbol of our collective memory in youth. Then what memory is? What memory belongs to our generation? What significant it is? I will answer these questions in the following chapters.

In a broad sense, according to Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary, memory refers to:“1.Ability to remember (your ability to remember things; the period of time that sb. is able to remember events）, 2.Sth. you remember (a thought of something that you remember from the past; what is remembered about sb. after they have died; the part of computer where information is stored)”.(A S Hornby,2009:1258) It’s easy to notice that memory related to two key words: remember and past.

In a narrow sense, it refers in particular to collective memory, also called group memory, and is defined by the French sociologist, Halbwachs, as the process and result of sharing the past among a certain social group. In the introduction of the book The Collective Memory,the translator,Arthur Lewis, refines the theory of Halbwachs towards collection memory: “Collective memory, Halbwachs shows, is not a given but rather a socially constructed notion”(Arthur Lewis, 1992:22).The so-called “social construction”is that the sundry groups are formed in some society to share and pass on memories belonging to them. Of course, it is not approached by direct recall of events, but specifically through reading and listening to others, or participating in commemorative activities. That is to say, such kind of authentic memory can be stimulated only when people gather in a certain way looking back their stories and ac hievements. Indeed, different social groups are various with their special collective memory, but “Every collective memory requires the support of a group delimited in space and time”(Halbwachs,1992:84).For 80s and 90s, the word “memory”becomes much more concrete. During the investigation and interviews, I was given several monotonous and unrelated words by each of my friends, but with complicated and full emotion. The words, such as, crystal balls, Sailor Moon, the Subor Learning Machine, “38th Parallel”, boys/girls next class, regret, utopia, est.

Being part of your growth, they, maybe Jackson, perhaps a certain cartoon, or Wang Xiaobo, even Zhao Zilong, are growing with you. When life itself is marking you old, you still hope that these parts remain young. That’s what we called “youth”, which plays the majority part of our

memory, beating in our bodies.

To conclude, memories particular to the 80s and 90s is similar to all other ages in respect of past experiences. However, differences do played in majority, mainly focus on concrete objects.

2.1Generalization of Reminiscence

2.1.1Reasons for Reminiscence

“Dear late 80s, do you remember these knickknacks? “This is the most popular one in micro blog. Under the heading lie some pictures about the scenes 80s experienced, from chewing gum we ate in primary school to the English textbook in middle school, even the cartoon accompanying our growth, with scripts beneath. It aroused a crazy retransmission of late 80s who are eager to review their past with peers. Before long, it has appeared some searching for old trinkets to share publicly, which generally became the nostalgic tide of this special age.

What need to mention here is that memory is not completely equal to reminiscence, because memory falls into psychology category while reminiscence belongs to aesthetic category. Reminiscence is a kind of value discrimination, which must added in certain value orientation and ethics measurement on the basis of memories. That’s the core of nostalgic aesthetic essence. Generally speaking, reminiscent consciousness is much smaller than memory in scope. It’s all right to say that all the reminiscence is memory, but not vice versa.

2.1.1.1Characteristics of Chinese Thinking Pattern

Chinese prefer contrasting past misery with present happiness. We are educated from early years that we mustn’t forget the past; our happiness today is at the cost of countless people’s sacrifice. And the realistic condition also shows such kind of inclination: we Chinese cast our mind back whereas American look up to the future, the best illustration is Chinese documentary film and American science fiction films. We are good at making films, which reemerge the past misery life whereas America’s science fiction films, having profound imagination about future life is heated.

2.1.1.2Dramatic Changes in Society and Economic Transition Shock

“It has been an age when we begin to reminiscence far before it should.”Zhang Zhaohui, boffin in Fine Arts and Literature Art Center of Asia, HK Said. During thirty years’ Opening and Reform, China experienced great changes in every field, including economic system, culture tradition and ethical values, which give someone a feeling of travail. Simultaneously, such situation opens a door for the late 80s to be lost: the alternation of material life is changing faster than ever before, the snacks we ate in childhood disappeared, even the streets and sceneries we familiar with. The speed of daily life leads to the isolation of interpersonal relationship and the crisis of confidence. Thus, the reminiscence begins earlier among the late 80s.

Besides, after undergoing the Cultural Revolution and Opening and Reform, people’s mind is shifting from political solipsism to economical orientation gradually. Their childhood still leaves a trail of collectivism. In 1980s, on the one hand, the security community gave still works; on the other hand, independent design of personal life began its early stage. After 90s, market orientation is adopting more personal performance and individual mood made consubstantiality different from before. Such kind of change in value and the starkly different life style compared with their childhood intensified incompatibility between their growing environments and intrinsic psychological development.

However, the late 80s, who were born in collectivism times, absorbed multi-trend; the competitions they faced in individual struggle, plus, heterogeneous growth among last generation give their behavioral bias a best explanation, and growing their reminiscent emotion.

Y ang Xiong, director of Shanghai Academic of Social Sciences Institution of Y outh, said in an interview conducted by “Life Times”in August 5, 2008, “People prefer a constant, safe environment, while the society changes rapidly, so that future seems full of uncertainty and tough competition. Suffering such king of environment, only childhood will be able to give the late 80s a feeling of warm and stability.”An associate professor of Chinese department in Jinan University, Zhao Jingrong also believed that lots of people don’t know direction of their life, which makes them, disoriented facing with the rapid changes. So instinctively, they turn to the pas to memorize their self-images and experience, hoping to bridge the broken self with the aid

of it. Visibly, finding missing past through memories to retrieve behavior, order lost for a long time and kind of collective identity recognition for the purpose of eliminating their confusion about future has become the reason of their nostalgia.

2.1.1.3Social Stress

In 2010, more than two thousand people have received a poll conducted by a website. Opinion of the poll suggested that more than 51.2% of them believe that 80s’nostalgia dues the unpleasant reality, inadequate opportunity and enough pressure of competition. More net friend messages that nostalgia is a romantic image people created in order to escape from the disappointed reality. The drastic changes of the society makes 80s, the younger generation, enjoy the convenient living conditions and more colorful spiritual culture which social progress brings, whereas, the negative side they had to take on result from the social competition. Especially in 2006, people who was born in the first half of the eighties has already got out of “ivory tower”, faced with the rapid development of society, the interpersonal relationship stress around and great professional pressure. In such circumstances, it is easy to produce psychological fear. Some even got a reaction of flinch, owning to the strong miss to their blissfully carefree childhood, under the condition of the uncontrolled price rising in house and living necessities.

In particular, many young people are now working and studying alone in other cities away from their parents and family. Facing with adult pressure, they want to search for the past to have a temporary relax. Y es, those represent our age. When seeing, it seems that we are back to the simple time again, however, many of these things have vanished, and we will never go back.

2.1.1.4Expectation in Getting the Sense of Identity in Their Self-consciousness

Compared to their parental, 80s is a special generation. They get more love from their parents and experience on most smooth sailing, so that they have a stronger self-identity. Said Yu Hai, professor of Fudan University, he will be more willing to treat the collective nostalgia of 80s as expression of their self-consciousness. Some say, as the first generation of single children, 80s is independent, but they live in “a stranger mode”modern society, which leads to their vagueness of group identification. Also, the unsure of themselves and the barrier of communication are all the reasons of their loneliness and dolefulness. At the same time “8090s”

has to face with the negative and criticism from predecessors, which stimulates their group

consciousness and identity formation. Isolating from different groups consolidates the awakening of their identity, forming extremely cohesive group consciousness. Therefore, when the coincidence point is found, they pick up their past like a child.

2.1.2Characteristics of Reminiscence

With the development of technology and society, reminiscence showed its new appearance, the most outstanding features is its communication media; another is its collective characteristics.

2.1.2.1Through Imaging Network

It becomes totally different in forms compared with any time, result from resources of the memory change themselves. In other words, it is not only some kind of memorable social consensus or tradition, but also full of the past audio-visual images provided by the media. John Urry in 1996 called this as “memory of the electronic”. Then, Hoskins indicated it is the “new memory” of electronic media. Actually, to be supported, the force of “collective memory” also needs to rely on media, images or a variety of group activities to continuously preserve, strengthen or revisit. With highly developed mass media, the means of “the continuous support”of collective memory has changed, whereas it does not influence the role and significance of

collective memory.

In practice, “collective memory”is truly independent of those factors. “Collective memory”starts from internet and also enriches its contents from the internet. In 2008 a netizen made the greatest effort to produce a flash animation which contains a collection of a large number of “80s”growing things called “80s’ ultimate memoirs” and put it on the web. After its publishing, “sharing childhood” phenomenon swept through the whole China. The form of nostalgic began rapidly become three-dimensional and audio-visual, such as the creation of an electronic album, film, video, fiction writing, and comics. For those that occurred in the past, events we interested in, the appropriate position of them only can be found in the pattern of our memory.

2.1.2.2The Collective Characteristics

As for the Childhood activities of individuals, 8090s more inclined to the pursuit of collective memory. Their purpose is to seek the spiritual resonance through those activities. To

put it other way, the activities are only the tool of them. Therefore, it becomes the basis of its collective characteristics. The collec tive is not only refers to the “collective memory”, but the collective also refers to the communication of memories. Through the Internet, their expression may face an unlimited audience and will get their response, or there are many cheers. Network behavior is imitated, copied by a wide range of specific groups, and those behaviors become a group activities held by a specific group of people. Consequently, in turn, it strengthens the 80s and 90s to hold a collective consciousness of the same group of people.

2.1.3Effects of Reminiscence

For the 80s and 90s themselves, nostalgia mainly impacts on the spiritual level. Through nostalgia, their spirit gets comforted and satisfied when they facing the huge pressure exerted by reality. Nostalgia also provides them the opportunity to escape from the reality where is filled with grim competition and shallow relationships. At meantime, it makes them more enjoy the fun of sharing and being recognized. With the nostalgia, the great source of motive power, they are more confident and brave to face the reality.

For the whole society, nostalgia drives the development of socialist economy, which stands for the one of the marketing strategies that many marketers are using nowadays —Nostalgic Marketing.

3Memories Enrich Our Substance

3.1Introduction to Nostalgic Marketing

Nostalgic Marketing refers to the term of providing consumers a certain nostalgia stimuli which can arouse consumers’ nostalgic feelings, reminding them of the deep memories of shared memory symbols, thus to trigger their desire of buying behavior.

Pllip Kotler and John Caslione stated in the book“Chaotics-The Business of Managing and Marketing in the Age of Turbulence”: With the growing impact of the financial crisis began in 2008, enterprises, industries and the whole market is crumbling. In this turbulent time, the fear of insecurity i s around everyone. Thus, people’s feel of anxiety and fear was revealing gradually. Consumers began to choose a safe psychological comfort to escape from the cruel reality, in order to get a temporary psychological peace. As a result, nostalgia becomes a common social phenomenon in the daily life.

In this background, the nostalgic marketing and the brand Renaissance of commodities are more closely linked. Old brands arouses our past individualism, nostalgia also appeals to intimacy of groups with the same interests, expanding the brand audiences. The development of technology and quick imitation eliminate the advantages of advance brands; however, arousing consumers’trust and loyalty through nostalgic marketing in order to gain a competitive advantage shows its great power. Besides, the intervention of nostalgic feelings in marketing improves the attitude of advertisings and brands, which better the consumers’purchasing possibility. In addition, owning to psychological identification, nostalgic products can always linked with good quality, and do not need to attract consumers by reducing prices. So using consumer’high paid willingness, merchants benefit more. Companies can use this strategy to approach to potential customers, which win the time and audiences for new products, laying a solid foundation for the future development

Nostalgia, a kind of cultural element, as the superstructure, its integration with marketing is

not only decided by the existing economic base, meanwhile, its application promotes the development of socialist market economy. In short, nostalgic marketing is: not to sell price, not to sell goods itself, but to sell memories carrying. Such kind of marketing uses physical attributes of commodities as the carrier, selling the perceptual connotation —collective memory or treating collective memory as focus, raising concern so that a certain product can be sold.

3.2Application of Nostalgic Marketing

Some businesses see the great potential of nostalgic marketing, putting nostalgic elements into their products, resulting in a resounding success. Here are some prime examples.

3.2.1Network Marketing

https://www.wendangku.net/doc/a79201098.html, becomes more and more popular among certain generation. The website aims at a fixed group, 80 sand 90s, providing a wide communication platform for them. Through different edition, their precious pictures, games in childhood and so on, the Web site reproduce the collective memory, and use this as marketing platform infiltrate advertisings subtly to reach the propaganda objectives.

Following the step of Twitter, Chinese micro blog industry’s booming provides another platform for our businesses, all kinds of advertising information flourishing. The 80s and 90s as the main force of it has received special preferential treatment. A micr o blog named “8090s’collective memory”has already owned fans amounted to more than 20 thousand. His words aim to arouse the 8090s’ recall of childhood events. He often launches some topics related to 8090s’memory, such as “8090 memories”which has the participants of more than one million. At the same time, the micro blog contributes to share theme, products etc. relating to 8090s. The physical product he recommended arouse youth’s attention, which well embody directly in its sales performance.

3.2.2Advertising Marketing

3.2.2.1Unicom:“Innovation Changes the World” 60 Seconds Script

In 2009, China Unicom’s new image advertisement “innovation changes the world”broadcasted in all major TV channel, causing strong reaction. In the advertisement, from rolling iron rings to the ferris wheel, from the early camera to large size LCD, from early video camera to the technical camera, from gliders to airbus A380, from the old to the kids, people was shocked by these five scenarios, feeling the power of transformation. However, the survey showed that what gave people most impression was not airbus, not huge LCD, but the first scene: a group of children running rolling iron rings, which suddenly no one tube, slowly laying on the ground. All the eyes focused above; there had a modern amusement park, an entertainment facility —the ferris wheel, which had a similar look with iron rings, but completely different being toys. Pulling the lens away, the ferris wheel located in an old city, this appeared abruptly. The success of this scene of lays in that it is easy to remind us of the memories of our childhood. The advertising originality is simple, in which many nostalgic elements, through the old and new contrasted to reflect innovation, remind everyone the change of the time. These elements are used to increase memory points of its ads, explaining the core concepts “innovation changes the world ": if now can shock past, what the future will bring us? Innovation changes the world, China Unicom.

3.2.2.2Chevrolet Cruze: “Shi Yi Du Y outh” Micro Movie and Late 80s

To make bigger and stronger, in addition to its great wisdom, far foresight and huge planning, a commercial brand ought to be accurate, fast, skilled and innovatory during the marketing campaign. The only way to the fugitive customers’ heart is to make the product going with the age, conforming to social mood and assure the corporate creating the popular.

Chevrolet is precisely such an enterprise.The automobile marketing models selection in 2010 attracted nearly one million e-friends, Chevrolet Cruze emerging from others through “Shi Yi Du youth”series: the late 80s+maciro movie. The words its main personnel said is the essential conclusion of current era —people who do not care much about the late 80s is doom to fail. In China nowadays, the late 80s is increasingly becoming the mainstream of society group, and their way of life and behavior has become the important marketing issue of all

manufacturers. After micro blog, “micro”transmission mode also gained its prominence. The combination of those two not only fully embodies its target and the significance of marketing mode, simultaneously, the bold innovation tally with the characteristic of late 80s: adventure and innovation.

3.2.2.3Wuzhen: the Life in Dream

Wuzhen concentrate on the young nostalgic market. When other tourist scenic are becoming more and more commercialized and bourgeois, it has already started the nostalgic marketing strategy: the life in dream.

The slogan contains profound connotation: “dream” brings a sense of history, time and space, combined with 80s’s miss of their past, forming a feeling of chasing past time in the dream; “life” expresses hope to strengthen the relationship with visitors, not simply being a traveler, but the host living there.

Different from other scenic with no specific audiences, Wuzhen targets the young high end client, who is eager to away from the pressure in reality. Wuzhen seizes such kind of mindset, reducing the commercial elements, simultaneously, managing to retain its visage as water county, which reminds the happy time of the past, attracting 80s to come to searching for their childhood.

It will bring merchants lots of wealth if we make good use of nostalgia, meanwhile, it will benefit the loyalty of our customers. But for the fashionable 80s and 90s, duplicated nostalgic marketing will be a flash in the pan. To really grip this consumption group, we need to create “new” from the old. That’s what the merchants need to consider about.

(Wuzhen View)