Submit your 1-2 pages write-up for the "Gap Takes Customers Back in Time-To the Nineties!" case here. You are encouraged to use bullets in your write-up. To help get you started, here are some topics to cover in your submission: Summarize the case -- what is the key issue in the case? What consumer behavior strategies has the company used thus far? What consumer perceptions, behaviors and attitudes do you analyze? What other recommendations do you suggest the company take given the issue presented in the case? Cite outside literature and research to defend your recommendations (use APA style to cite your references). What learnings and take-aways did you gather from the case? How has social media enabled nostalgia marketing? How can this marketing technique influence younger generation? Choose a brand that does not currently use nostalgia marketing. Explain how can they use this technique in product marketing or advertising? Case Study Gap Takes Customers Back in Time-to the Nineties! Clothing company Gap wants you to remember the good old days-all the way back to the 1990s. In an effort to increase flagging sales for their iconic clothing line, the company is employing a powerful technique to engage with their customers and to bring them back into their iconic stores: nostalgia. Gap began in 1969 when Donald and Doris Fisher were desperate to find a pair of jeans that actually fit, 138 Their first retail store in San Francisco sold only Levi's jeans and LP records, perhaps foretelling the role that music would play in the chain's promotions. Over the years, Gap evolved to sell more upscale clothing and in the 1990s, their line hit its peak with a mix of basics like preppy oxford shirts, turtlenecks, khaki pants, and logo- emblazoned sportswear, 139 This success led to the spinoffs Gap Kids and Baby Gap along with two vertical extensions: The higher-priced Banana Republic and Old Navy, a value brand. 140 But beginning in the 2000s, the original Gap brand began to lose market share among the over-30 crowd and also struggled to appeal to a younger audience, 141 Fast forward to today and Gap wants to, well, rewind to a happier time for their customers and Gap sales. The 1990s was a formative period for many in the coveted millennial generation, those born roughly between 1979 and 1994. To bring this and other generations back into their stores. Gap recently launched the '90s Archive Re-Issue collection. This features iconic styles from that decade, including Reverse Fit and Easy Fit Denim, the Pocket Tee, Pleated Khakis, and the Bodysuit. To launch the line, Gap created a film called Generation Gap, with references to songs like "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," "Just Can't Get Enough," and "Mellow Yellow." Cast members singing and dancing include Rumer Willis, Lizzy Jagger, and Evan Ross, the children of pop stars who appeared in the Gap campaigns of the 1990s. 142 Will a dance back down memory lane improve Gap sales? As you learned in this chapter, many brand managers and advertisers certainly think so. Adidas brought back Stan Smith tennis shoes and Kia featured Aerosmith star Steven Tyler in its recent Super Bowl ad. 143,144 McDonald's has even revived the Hamburglar! 145 These and Gap's recent effort are examples of nostalgia marketing, where marketers try to dig into our memories, find positive feelings about a past period and associate it with their brand. In the case of Gap and other brands with a long history, consumers may have memories about the products themselves, the advertising they saw, or the music that was either in the ads or that was popular during the era. Aaron Harvey of ad agency Ready Set Rocket says nostalgia shows the brand's longevity and also "... creates a story where the brand can be the hero.-146 Psychologists believe there is something deeper going on as well. Because nostalgia involves a combination of both happiness and sadness, it can inspire us to live fuller lives by bringing into focus people and experiences that were important to us in the past. This can be especially important during times of transition as when young adults move out on their own. This experience, that many millennials are now facing, can drive us ba cherished memories and thus make us feel happier. 147 p. 144 So, why the 1990s? In addition to Britney Spears, NSync, and the Backstreet Boys, the decade had a lot going for it, 148 The economy was str with $1.7 million jobs added annually from 1992 to 1999 and 4 percent unemployment by the end of the decade. Household income grew by percent during the 1990s and stocks quadrupled in value. A federal budget surplus, the fall of the Soviet empire, and a decline in the murder ra 41 percent all contributed to a strong sense of well-being. Technology flourished during the period with both the internet and cell phones coming into widespread use. Starbucks began to serve us coffee, starting with fewer than 100 stores in 1990 and ending with almost 2500 by the year 2000. The era also brought a host of TV shows and movies many now regard as classics, along with one of the most successful literary creations in modern history, the Harry Potter novels, 149 Although most "Gap kids" were probably not focused on these statistics, the numbers contributed to a general feeling of goodness during that peri- od, a feeling that may still be lodged in millennial memories. A study by the Pew Research Center found that 57 percent of Americans look back positively to the 1990s, 150 Those positive feelings are likely one reason that Gap recently launched a new version of the Archive Reissue program. This one, called "Archive Reissue - Logo Remix," expands the nostalgic trip to additional decades. Another video is part of the campaign, this time with current popular singers and actors joining together for group dances including "The Wobble," "Cha Cha," and "Kid-n-Play.-151 Gap is a much larger retail conglomerate today with almost 3600 stores across five different retail brands, 152 While its Old Navy brand is the most successful of the portfolio, the Gap brand has significant brand equity that the company plans to exploit through nostalgic campaigns like these. 153 It will be up to Gap customers to decide if remembering the '90s brings back happy memories that also send them back into Gap stores