Selling the past. The use of history as a marketing strategy in Spain, 1900-1980

Abstract

History can represent an effective marketing resource because it allows to establish an emotional relationship with consumers. This article examines trademark applications in order to show how Spanish companies used the past in their branding strategy during the twentieth century. The paper analyses which historical themes were used the most, over which periods, for what types of products and services and according to which Spanish regions. The study indicates that this commercial use of the past was closely linked to the spread of Spanish nationalism. Brands try to connect emotionally with consumers by evoking historical national myths and, therefore, their use increased during the periods of nationalist exaltation.

Forms of nostalgia in the rhetorical history of Jack Daniel’s

“…Organizations can capitalize on personal nostalgia by engaging in rhetorical history to elicit positively perceived memories of objects or events that connect to their individual identity and personal beliefs (Miranda and Ruiz-Moreno, 2022). In the rhetorical use by Jack Daniel’s, personal nostalgia is associated with actual or closely remembered experiences of growing up in small-town America that can help enhance or re-inforce consumer self-esteem (Chae et al , 2021; Miranda and Ruiz-Moreno, 2022). Further, it appears that personal nostalgia would be more likely to initiate or create personal memory based on exposing individuals to objects, people and simulated conditions (e.g.…”

“…product labels, font graphics) and events has been commonly employed as a vehicle for engendering historical nostalgia (Kessous, 2015; Marchegiani and Phau, 2010; Mir Bernal et al , 2023). As historical nostalgia reflects the existence of generational, cultural or national heritage (Gilal et al , 2020; Miranda and Ruiz-Moreno, 2022), various societal norms, values, behaviors and/or ways of doing are used in an organization’s rhetorical history as socio-political cues that can evoke a yearning to visit or associate with a restored visit to the past. The opportunity to share these experiences with others only helps to unify and/or solidify opportunities to emotionally or virtually visit the past that they did not necessarily or directly enjoy themselves.…”

“…Importantly, we contribute to a limited number of historic studies focused on understanding the impact of founders on an organization’s brand (Basque and Langley, 2018; Ferri and Takahashi, 2022). Specifically, we examine how a subsequent ownership group shifted the emphasis on the founder to change identity by using national or regional histories as a resource (Miranda and Ruiz-Moreno, 2022). We focus on ownership because previous scholarship argued (Huang and Fishbach, 2021) that products carrying the essence of previous owners can connect consumers of different generations but did not note how it could occur.…”

Gender and the Financialization of Spanish Retail Banking, 1949–1970

“…During this period banks adopted appeals to modernity and women's rights. Advertising aimed at women broke with corporate advertising, building upon concepts such as tradition and history (Miranda and Ruiz-Moreno, 2022). Adverts introduce a new image in which women are made visible as they go about their business at the bank.…”

Marketing the past over the long run: uses of the past in French accounting textbooks, 17th-19th c.

“…By identifying and locating these interpretations in time and space, it becomes possible to contextualize and understand the behavior of these actors in more satisfactory ways. For instance, specific marketing strategies exploiting the past can be identified as linked to certain periods, themselves characterized by a set of incentives, both time- and place-specific (Belfanti, 2015; Miranda and Ruiz-Moreno, 2021). As pointed out by Fear (2014), this localized character is used by historians to build explanatory models relying on multiple temporalities or periodizations, which allow one to differentiate a phenomenon and its causes within the general flow of events.…”