See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/348391614

THE EFFECTS OF CHILDHOOD NOSTALGIA ON BRAND LOYALTY

Thesis · January 2021

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.25831.68003

CITATIONS READS

2 2,751

1 author:

Sofia Mondragon Ruiz

University of Kent
18 PUBLICATIONS 4 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Sofia Mondragon Ruiz on 11 January 2021.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 THE EFFECTS OF CHILDHOOD
NOSTALGIA ON BRAND LOYALTY

by

Sofia Mondragon Ruiz

19909553

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of

MSc. Marketing

UNIVERSITY OF KENT
 ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between childhood
nostalgia and brand loyalty, as well as establishing whether early brand exposure has
an impact on brand loyalty during adulthood. In order to clearly define these
constructs, an extensive literature review was carried out. Subsequently, an
exploratory research was conducted by implementing online questionnaires among
202 participants. Respondents were required to identify their favourite childhood
snack brand and to respond to a series of questions enquiring about the age of first
exposure to the brand and the nature of these memories. Furthermore, participants
were required to rate the childhood brand nostalgia, brand trust and brand loyalty of
their selected brand in a 7-point Likert scale. The findings of this study indicate that
there is a significant correlation between childhood nostalgia and brand loyalty and
that early age brand exposure has a notable influence in brand loyalty in adulthood.
Finally, these results suggest that individuals can develop affectionate relationships
with brands early in childhood and these bonds are preserved during lifetime.
Understanding such relationships is crucial as companies are increasingly relying on
retro-branding and nostalgia-centric campaigns to expand and maintain their market
share.
Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1

1.1 RATIONALE, OBJECTIVES AND STRUCTURE ...................................................................... 2

2. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................... 4

2.1 CHILD-BRAND RELATIONSHIPS ........................................................................................ 4

2.2 DEFINING BRAND LOYALTY ............................................................................................. 5
2.3 DEFINING CHILDHOOD NOSTALGIA .................................................................................. 6
2.4 CHILDHOOD NOSTALGIA AND BRAND LOYALTY ................................................................. 7
2.5 CHILDHOOD NOSTALGIA AND RETRO-BRANDING .............................................................. 8
2.6 EARLY BRAND EXPOSURE AND EARLIEST MEMORIES ....................................................... 9
2.7 FOOD, CHILDHOOD NOSTALGIA AND BRAND LOYALTY .................................................... 11

3. METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 12

3.1 SAMPLE ....................................................................................................................... 12

3.2 MATERIALS AND MEASURES .......................................................................................... 12
3.3 DESIGN AND PROCEDURE ............................................................................................. 14
3.4 ETHICS ........................................................................................................................ 15
3.5 ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................... 15

4. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS .......................................................................................... 16

4.1 CHILDHOOD SNACK BRANDS ......................................................................................... 17

4.2 EARLIEST BRAND MEMORIES ........................................................................................ 18
4.3 NATURE OF BRAND MEMORY ........................................................................................ 19
4.4 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS: NOSTALGIA, TRUST AND LOYALTY .......................................... 20
4.5 CORRELATIONAL ANALYSIS ........................................................................................... 21

5 DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................................... 25

5.1 NATURE OF EARLIEST BRAND MEMORIES ...................................................................... 26

5.2 THE EFFECTS OF CHILDHOOD NOSTALGIA ON BRAND LOYALTY....................................... 27
5.3 THE EFFECTS OF EARLY AGE EXPOSURE ON BRAND LOYALTY........................................ 27
5.4 LIMITATIONS ................................................................................................................ 28
5.5 FURTHER RESEARCH ................................................................................................... 29
5.6 RECOMMENDATIONS..................................................................................................... 30

6 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 31

7 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................... 32

8 APPENDIX ......................................................................................................................... 37
1. INTRODUCTION
The concept of children as consumers has changed over time, according to

historian William Leach, before 1890, ‘the majority of American children wore, ate and
played with what their parents made or prepared for them’ (Leach, 1993). At the

beginning of the 20th century, an increasing number of children focused business such

as toys, clothing and magazines manufacturers began to bloom in the U.S. (Kline,
1993; Leach, 1993; Cook, 2004; Jacobson, 2004). Nowadays, children are

increasingly recognised as consumers, with multibillion dollar organisations focusing

their marketing efforts on creating commercial spaces, products, iconography and

media specifically designated for children (Cook, 2009). Indisputably, children’s

spending power has certainly boomed in the last few decades. In 2010, it was
estimated that children’s purchase influence amounted to £1.29 trillion worldwide.

Therefore, businesses that invest their marketing efforts to influence children at an

early age are likely to achieve customer retention in the long term (Buckingham, 2009;
Cooper, 2010). Preserving brand loyalty makes good financial sense, as it is cheaper

to maintain existing customers than to attain new ones. The logic behind this is that
losing a customer means losing more than a single sale, but it rather means losing the

customer lifetime value. Successful brands engage consumers on a profound

emotional level, some brands for instance focus on the customers’ ‘inner child, by
exploiting the affection and fond feelings adults felt for brands during their childhood

(Kotler, 2016). Ultimately, existing literature suggests that consumers who exhibit high
levels of childhood brand nostalgia are expected to report similarly high levels of brand

loyalty (Shields and Johnson, 2016).

Brand loyalty can be defined as a deeply held commitment to repurchase a

product or service in a repetitive, ongoing and consistent manner as a result of positive

affection towards the brand, regardless of influences such as convenience or price

(Mellens, DeKimpe and Steenkamp, 1996; Oliver, 1999). Furthermore, it is believed

that brand loyalty stems from ego involvement as a result of brand associations from

1
the consumer’s past (Beatty, Homer and Kahle, 1988). In contrast, nostalgia can be

described as an attachment, preference, positively valanced complex feeling, longing

for or favourable affect towards objects, experiences, ideas or persons from the past,

particularly during early adulthood, childhood and adolescence (Holbrook and

Schindler, 1991, 2003; Holak and Havlena, 1998). Moreover, it’s also been suggested

that a nostalgic emotional bond with a brand must be based on fond memories of the

brand in the individual’s non-recent lived past (Shields and Johnson, 2016). Finally,

and more closely related to psychological literature it has been suggested that early

brand exposure might have a significant impact on the development of brand loyalty

later in life. Brand relationships and affiliations formed by meaningful others during
early childhood are shown to be particularly strong in comparison to those formed later

in life (Fournier, 1998; Ji, 2002). Hence, the importance of early brand exposure and
its influence in brand relationships during adulthood should be recognised and further

investigated (Braun, Ellis and Loftus, 2002). A more profound understanding of

childhood brand nostalgia and early brand exposure will offer practitioners the chance
to target nostalgic consumers with tailored marketing messages to create marketing

strategies that promote and nurture nostalgic relationships with customers.

1.1 Rationale, Objectives and Structure

Maintaining brand loyalty is a key factor in terms of customer retention, however
due to the limited availability of measuring protocols to ensure customer loyalty,

companies face a continuous challenge specially in the current complex economic

environment in which consumers are more frugal with their spending and tend to buy
cheaper non-branded alternatives (Pepper, Jackson and Uzzell, 2009; Van Steenburg

and Spears, 2011). In the current consumer market companies are increasingly relying

on nostalgia-centric marketing to boost sales and revenue by attempting to profit on

the nostalgic feeling some customers may have towards the brand (Shields and

Johnson, 2016). Furthermore, studying and understanding child-brand relationships is

has critical theoretical and managerial implications. Children are perceived as a future

2
market in every industry, because they gradually accumulate perceptions of brands’

user and usage image in their minds by observing, experiencing and word-of-mouth
(McNeal, 1999). When individuals became aware of brands during early childhood,

they may consume them when they grow up for example airlines, banks, automobiles
and telephone services (Ji, 2002).

Taking these facts into consideration, this study seeks to further investigate a

potential relationship between childhood nostalgia and brand loyalty. Consequently,

the first research aim is to broaden and further study existing literature on childhood

nostalgia and early exposure with relation to snack brand loyalty. This will be achieved

by reviewing current data on the topic (Fournier, 1998; Braun, Ellis and Loftus, 2002;
Ji, 2002; Hayne, 2004; Braun-LaTour and LaTour, 2007; Braun-LaTour, LaTour and

Zinkhan, 2007; LaTour, LaTour and Zinkhan, 2010; Shields and Johnson, 2016).
In order to test a potential relationship between brand loyalty and childhood

nostalgia, the second aim of this study is to provide an in-depth insight on the effects

of childhood nostalgia on brand loyalty during adulthood. One of the objectives of the
current study is to provide empirical evidence to demonstrate that children develop

relationships with brands early in life and that this sentiment potentially leads to brand
loyalty. This will be achieved by data primary data collection to measure the variables

of interest. Since the study will focus on the recollection of early childhood

autobiographical memories the effects of age and nature of such memories will be
further investigated. Ultimately, it’s worth mentioning that as the nature of this study

is exploratory no formal hypothesis can be anticipated. Nevertheless, the exploratory

hypothesis attempts to determine a potential relationship between childhood nostalgia

and brand loyalty during adulthood.

3
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
In order to properly define childhood brand nostalgia and brand loyalty, a review

of existing literature and definitions will be carried out, with particular consideration
given to those descriptions developed in marketing and psychology. Moreover,

current data on the effects of early brand exposure and its potential effect on brand

loyalty will be outlined. Finally, this section of the study will also be devoted to
elucidating the concepts and definitions related to snack consumption and childhood

nostalgia.

2.1 Child-Brand Relationships

Literature on developmental psychology suggests that individuals develop

relationships with people, pets and inanimate object during early childhood.

Attachment is a form of relationship, in which an emotional connection between the

child and another person, pet and object is developed (Bowlby, 1969; Kidd and Kidd,

1985; Ji, 2002). A 20-year longitudinal study published in 1964 by Lester Guest

suggests that, brand preferences initially developed during the ages of 7 to 18 years
of age are positively correlated with brand usage reported later in life. The author

concluded that early brand experiences during childhood significantly influence brand
purchasing behaviours 20 years later (Guest, 1964; Ji, 2002).

Understanding child-brand relationships has practical implications. Firstly,

children consume an extensive variety of products since the moment they are born.
For example, parents use Johnson & Johnson hygiene products on their babies, feed

them branded baby food and cover them with Pampers diapers. Children at the age
of two begin to eat solid foods, most commonly cereals (Cole and Cole, 1996) and

often develop bonds with certain brands such as Cheerios, Froot Loops and so on,

such relationships may prevail for life. Consequently, as children grow older, they
become aware of brands such as, Lego, Barbie, Disney, McDonald’s and so forth and

they accordingly start purchasing with their own money. Furthermore, children are
4
perceived as a future market in every industry, because they gradually accumulate

perceptions of brands’ user and usage image in their minds by observing, experiencing
and word-of-mouth (McNeal, 1999). When individuals became aware of brands during

early childhood, they may consume them when they grow up for example airlines,
banks, automobiles and telephone services (Ji, 2002). For instance, automobile

manufacturer Ford, launched an advertising campaign to communicate a safety

message to children, and hence to develop and nurture a positive brand image among

them (Flint, 2000). Accordingly, this familiarity with the Ford brand (brand awareness)

in combination with the safety message (brand image) compose brand knowledge,

which plays a central role to customer-based brand equity (Keller, 1993) and may
positively influence the success of the brand’s long-term forthcoming marketing

activities (Ji, 2002).

2.2 Defining Brand Loyalty

Brand loyalty can be defined as a solid consistent reassurance to repurchase a

product or service in the future, resulting in repetitive same-brand purchase behaviour

patterns. Analogous to brand commitment, this notion is constructed around positive

affective associations with the brand, resulting in the development of true affection for

the brand (Oliver, 1999) and results from ego involvement caused by positive brand
memories from one’s past (Beatty, Homer and Kahle, 1988). Brand loyalty it’s a

multidimensional construct and numerous underwriting factors can motivate a

consumer to repurchase a product, while these factors have been evaluated,

nevertheless current literature has yielded inconclusive results. Moreover, these

studies disregard psychological elements by mainly focusing on brand loyalty as an

outcome, instead of considering the psychological factors that prompt that outcome
(Schmitt, 2012).

5
2.3 Defining Childhood Nostalgia
The concept of nostalgia has been documented as part of the human nature

throughout history. This construct has been attributed to sources such as Greek

mythology and biblical passages (McCann, 1941). The term ‘nostalgia’ originates from
the Greek language and it initially described the reminiscence caused by geographical

distance (Vignolles and Pichon, 2014). The first investigative work on nostalgia was
conducted in the medicine field and consisted of a clinical description of both the

physiological and psychological indicators of nostalgia (Hofer, 1688). Nevertheless,

this concept has gradually changed over time. This construct has been relevant in the
marketing field for several decades (Holbrook and Schindler, 1991; Holak and

Havlena, 1992). Hence, nostalgia in the context of marketing was originally defined as

‘a longing for or positive affect towards things from the past’ (Holbrook and Schindler,
1991). More recently, scholars Holbrook and Schindler found evidence which indicate

that individuals may cultivate lifelong inclinations towards specific brands, object,
products and possessions. Consequently, they updated their definition of nostalgia to

‘a preference or positive attitude towards past experiences related to people, places

and objects that were trendy or fashionable during childhood, adolescence and early
adulthood (Holbrook and Schindler, 2003). Similarly, nostalgia has also been

described as a ‘positively valanced complex feeling, mood or emotion by reflection on

persons, object, experiences and ideas connected with the past’ (Holak and Havlena,

1998). Hence, in this instance nostalgia could be categorized as a form of attachment,

which was described in Bowlby’s (1982) seminal work on the attachment theory as an
emotion-driven target-specific connection between person and an object (Bowlby,

1982).

Furthermore, Fournier (1998), researched the case studies of three women’s

relationships to brands, the empirical evidence from the study indicates that consumer-

brand relationships during adulthood take different forms. Interestingly, ‘Childhood

Friendship’ was discovered to be one of the types of consumer-brand relationships

categorized in the study. This concept was described as ‘a relationship that affectively
6
laden and reminiscent of earlier times, yielding feelings of security and comfort of one’s

past self’ (Ji, 2002). For instance, Jean, a participant of the study currently uses the
beauty brand Estee Lauder, this brand was used by her mother when Jean was a

young child. This suggests, that consumer-brand relationships could potentially be

developed when individuals are young. Nevertheless, it’s unclear whether the

participant developed this relationship with the brand during childhood or later in life

(Fournier, 1998; Ji, 2002). An example of particular interest is the nostalgia-based

marketing campaign used by Quaker Oats in 1998 to promote sales for its Cap’n

Crunch cereal among adults. The campaign was aimed at baby boomers’ nostalgia

for the sugary taste of cereal, which was been formerly targeted mainly for children.
Adverts promoted messages such as, “Taste buds never forget”, “Mom used to say,

‘When you grow up, you can eat all the Cap’n Crunch you want.’ So, what are you
waiting for?” and “How ‘bout a taste of something you used to love?” (Thompson,

1999).

2.4 Childhood Nostalgia and Brand Loyalty

Existing literature, indicates that brand loyalty can be predicted by the level of
consumers’ emotional attachment to brands (Thomson, MacInnis and Whan, 2005).

Hence, consumers who display high levels of brand emotional attachment and
childhood nostalgia are expected to show similarly high levels of brand loyalty (Shields

and Johnson, 2016). Consequently, in order to secure customer loyalty and increase

sales revenues, companies are increasingly using nostalgia as part of their marketing
strategy. For instance, the rebranding products or reintroducion of declining brands is

often executed by capitalizing on the nostalgic emotions customers have towards a

brand. As years pass by, individuals tend to develop nostalgia for childhood, the food
they ate, the games they played, places they went and music they listened to

(Friedman, 2016). In marketing the concept of nostalgia has been commonly

considered a psychographic variable (Holbrook and Schindler, 1991, 2003); in this

7
perspective, nostalgic bonds may be the outcome of an affective interaction between

the consumer and a brand at a formative period the individual’s life (Holbrook and
Schindler, 2003). Furthermore, nostalgia is one of the seven dimensions of the

Fournier’s (1998) framework of brand relationship quality as well as a component of

the Smit et al.’s (2007) brand relationship scale (Fournier, 1998; Smit, Bronner and

Tolboom, 2007). Finally, it has also been suggested that brand relationships cultivated

by nostalgia are akin to childhood friendships and that such relationships linger

notwithstanding of infrequent brand contact through an individual’s lifetime (Fournier,

1998).

2.5 Childhood Nostalgia and Retro-Branding

Combining emotions and fond memories with marketing strategies, has already
proved to be effective especially for prompting engagement among millennials.

Nowadays, business from all industries (e.g. Coca-Cola, Lego, Microsoft, Herbal
Essences and KFC) are implementing nostalgia marketing approaches, to drive

campaigns by tapping into positive cultural memories from previous decades

(Friedman, 2016). An illustration of nostalgia marketing done well was the introduction
of the interactive mobile game ‘Pokémon GO’, which was exceptionally successful.

The game broke records such as, ‘fastest to earn $100 million’ and ‘most downloaded’
(Chamary, 2018). Nostalgia-centric campaigns are very successful among millennials,

perhaps because nowadays, individuals feel overwhelmed with hectic work schedules

and responsibilities, thus recreating fond memories and cherished icons may simply
provide consumers with a sense of comfort. Furthermore, linking positive references

from the 70s, 80s and 90s with a brand’s messaging, could potentially humanize

brands and as a result, meaningful connections between the past and the present
could be forged (Friedman, 2016). Nevertheless, companies that relay on nostalgia

to engage consumers must balance their strategy among three groups: ‘loyalists,
customers that have lapsed and those who are yet to be’ (Clegg, 2012). Therefore,

8
even well-established brands must tailor their message according to their audience

and societal changes. For example, Heinz, is a well-recognised brand that keeps
adapting and innovating their product and message as well as maintaining brand

familiarity and company values. According to Matt Hill president of the company in the
United Kingdom and Ireland, baked beans, tomato ketchup and tomato soup are the

three cupboard staples consumers always return to in challenging times. He also

stated that “consumers talk about the products as ‘the taste I grew up with’ and that

their consumption is exceptionally strong” (Clegg, 2012). Another example of

successful nostalgia-centred marketing is the 2011 Cheerios campaign, in which the

US baby boomer the segment was targeted. The online campaign featured 1950s and
1960s cartoon characters ‘Cheerios Kid and Sue’; the characters urged consumers to

eat the breakfast cereal while promoting its cholesterol-lowering benefits (Clegg,
2012).

2.6 Early Brand Exposure and Earliest Memories

The imminent significance of investigating early childhood memories as a tool to

understand how present brand affiliations are developed, has been previously noted
by scholars (Braun-LaTour and LaTour, 2007). Existing literature suggests that early

brand exposure may be a crucial factor in forming brand loyalty and that it also
provides a foundation for emotional brand attachments (Fournier, 1998; Braun-

LaTour, LaTour and Zinkhan, 2007). Additionally, it has been proposed that child-

brand relationships nurtured in early years are more deeply formed that those formed
later in life (Ji, 2002). More importantly, it has also been noted that childhood earliest

memories have a major influence on an individual’s internal opinions (Josselson,

2000) and that experiences that take place in early life have a greater impact than
those that occur later in life (Hayne, 2004). Therefore, the importance of early brand

exposure should be acknowledged due to its emotional implications, because child-

9
brand relationships are the basis for brand affective attachments in later years (Braun,

Ellis and Loftus, 2002).

As the current study aims to investigate the age of exposure to brands,

respondents will be required recall their first experiences with a brand. Thus, it is
expected that respondents will predominantly recall autobiographical memories from

their childhood. Autobiographical memory has been described as a type of episodic

memory associated to the self, which assists individuals to shape and define

themselves (Conway and Rubin, 1993). Furthermore, as respondents will be required

to recollect their earliest childhood memories, it’s imperative to point out the existence

of childhood amnesia. The concept of childhood amnesia, was first proposed in 1893
by Miles and was consequently described as infantile amnesia by Sigmund Freud in

1899 (Miles, 1893; Freud, 1899). Childhood or infantile amnesia is defined as a

substantial decrease in the number of autobiographical memories an individual can

recall, commonly before age seven but most prominently before age four (Peterson,

Grant and Boland, 2005). Existing literature indicates that, on average an individual’s
earliest memories are between three and four years of age (Jack and Hayne, 2010).

However, age differences across individuals certainly exist (Jack and Hayne, 2007).
Additionally, previous studies investigating infantile amnesia, suggest that there is no

significant difference in the ability to recall memories between adolescents and older

adults (Peterson, Grant and Boland, 2005; Kingo, Berntsen and Krøjgaard, 2013).
Hence, validating the rationale for the current study to focus on a broad participant

age range. Other scholars also indicated, that when recalling memories under the age

of two, recollection ability significantly decreases in adults (Josselyn and Frankland,

2012). This age is particularly correspondent to the pre-verbal period of development,

when children are unable to communicate through language. Therefore, it was

proposed that without the construction of conceptual information relating to a particular

word, individuals are incapable of accessing episodic memories, consequently leading

to infantile amnesia (Morrison and Conway, 2010).

10
2.7 Food, Childhood Nostalgia and Brand Loyalty
Food is one of the essential components of children’s upbringing in Western

civilisations (LaTour, LaTour and Zinkhan, 2010); where exposure to food products

occurs on a daily basis (Ji, 2002). In that perspective, it would seem possible that food
product memories will be prominent in consumers’ recollections of childhood. Taking

this into consideration, scholars evaluated the significance of childhood food memories
in adulthood. Consequently, it was revealed that the recollection of food memories

were particularly associated with family relationships and mealtime interactions.

Hence, it likely such prominent food memories are associated to strong emotions,
important places and influential others (Lupton, 1994). As these conspicuous

memories are likely to involve salient emotions, is can be expected that early brand

exposure might benefit brands in the long term, as it can be used as a tool to cultivate
brad loyalty. Finally, it has also been suggested that food products are likely to

stimulate nostalgic memories, especially from one’s childhood (Kessous and Roux,
2008).

11
3. METHODOLOGY

3.1 Sample
202 participants were recruited via opportunistic sampling method to a Qualtrics
online questionnaire, links to the survey were made available to friends, colleagues

and family through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
The age range of the participants ranged from 18 to 74 years of age with; 124 females

and 78 males completed the questionnaire. Responses from participants who had not

answered all questions were removed from the data set.

3.2 Materials and Measures

The online surveys were constructed using Qualtrics Online Software, which
allowed for data collection and storage of responses, once the questionnaire was

closed, the data was then exported for further statistical analysis using IMB SPSS®

Statistics Software Version 24.

The pilot study involved collecting data from 35 respondents (16 males and 19

females), from 18 to 64 years of age. The preliminary pilot test was carried out in order

to study and evaluate feasibility, reliability and duration, as well as identifying

questions that may be misinterpreted and improving upon study design prior to

implementing a full-scale research project. For instance, in the pilot questionnaire,

participants were allowed to enter the name of their favourite childhood snack brand

and the most commonly identified brands were selected for the main survey. Following
the pilot study, the subsequent brands were selected: Oreo, Kinder, Haribo, Cadbury,

KitKat, Walker crisps and Doritos, also respondents were provided the option to enter

the name of their favourite brand.

The 16-item online questionnaire aimed to measure brand trust and brand loyalty

as well as age of exposure to the brand and nature of brand memories (parents/family,
friends or school related). Participants were asked to indicate the age when they were

12
exposed to the brand using a 6-point Likert scale testing age of acquisition; 0-3, 3-5,

5-7, 7-9, 9-12 or 12+ years old.

Brand childhood nostalgia was measured by using the following statements ‘This

is my favourite brand from childhood’ (Q7), ‘I have fond memories of this brand from
my childhood’ (Q10) and I feel positive towards this brand today because of my

childhood’ (Q11), to which participants were required to rate whether they ‘Strongly

agreed’ or ‘Strongly disagreed’ using a 7-point Likert scale. Inter-item correlation

matrix analysis was carried out to analyse internal consistency reliability of the

questions, and to ensure that the three different items measure the same general

construct (Table 1). The optimal range of average inter-item correlation is 0.15 to 0.50;
values lower than this, indicate that item as not well correlated and don’t measure the

same construct appropriately, values higher than 0.50 indicate that the item are so
close that are almost repetitive (Statistics How To, 2020). As it can be observed in

table 1, the inter-item correlation values fall within the ideal range and therefore the

items are expected measure the Childhood nostalgia construct well. These three items
(Q7, Q10, Q110) have a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient value of .615, hence the value

falls below the expected .70, (Note that a reliability coefficient of .70 or higher is
considered “acceptable” in the majority of social science research standards)

(Nunnally, 1978; UCLA, 2020b). Nonetheless, Nunally (1978), also indicated that a

satisfactory level of reliability depends on how a measure is being used. Additionally,

.70 was not proclaimed as a universal standard of reliability (Lance, Butts and Michels,

2006).

Q7 Q10 Q11
Q7 ‘This is my favourite brand from childhood’ 1.000 .437 .148

Q10 ‘I have fond memories of this brand from my childhood’ .437 1.000 .456
Q11 ‘I feel positive towards this brand today because of my .148 .456 1.000
childhood’

Table 1: Inter-Item Correlation Matrix analysis for the Childhood brand nostalgia construct.

13
 Brand trust was measured by using the following question ‘Do you trust the

brand?’(Q12). Finally, brand loyalty was measured using 2 questions ‘Would you
repurchase the selected brand?’ (Q13) and ‘How would you characterise your loyalty

to the selected brand?’ (Q15), with an alpha coefficient for the two items of .779,
suggesting that the items have relatively high internal consistency, meeting the

required .70 coefficient. With regards to the inter-item correlation matrix, the two item

fall above the optimal value 0.50 (Table 2), this indicates that the items are almost

repetitive (Statistics How To, 2020), however as Q13 asked repurchase intention and

Q15 asked about the intensity of brand loyalty, both items were considered relevant

for the study.

Q13 Q15

Q13 ‘Would you repurchase the selected brand? 1.000 .657

Q15 ‘How would you characterise your loyalty to the .657 1.00
selected brand? 0

Table 2: Inter-item correlation matrix for the brand loyalty construct.

3.3 Design and Procedure

A correlational research design was implemented, the predictor variables were,

age of exposure and brand trust; the outcome variable was brand loyalty. Upon

opening the link, participants were directed the online questionnaire on the Qualtrics
website, where they were provided with an information page about the project,

duration and requirements as well as an option to give their full consent by ticking the
‘I give consent for my responses to this questionnaire to be used as described in the

privacy statement’ box. Participants were required answer all 16 questions and to

complete the survey in their own time. Firstly, they had to indicate their gender, age
group, country of residence and whether they grew up in UK or not. Then, they were

required to choose from an array of snack brands to state which is their favourite,
14
alternatively, they were allowed to enter the name of their preferred childhood brand.

Subsequently, they were asked to indicate their age at the time of first exposure to the
brand on a 6-point Likert scale mentioned in the previous section and also, they were

required to indicate the nature of the memory (related to parents/family in general,

friends or school). They were then asked to ‘strongly agree’ or ‘strongly disagree’ in a

7-point Likert scale to the following statements/questions ‘I have fond memories of this

brand from my childhood’, ‘I feel positive towards this brand today because of my

childhood’, ‘Do you trust the selected brand?’, ‘Would you repurchase the selected

brand?, ‘How would you characterise your loyalty to the selected brand?’ and

additionally to state how often they purchase the brand with the options being: ‘more
than once a week’, ‘once a week’, ‘once a month’ and ‘once every few months as a

treat’.

3.4 Ethics
Ethical approval was granted by the University of Kent Ethics committee before
the data collection was carried out. No personal/sensitive information was collected

from the participants and they were provided with a consent form prior to completing

any question. They were also provided with a privacy and data protection statement,
where they were informed that their participation was completely anonymous and

voluntary and that they were free to withdrawn at any point.

3.5 Analysis
Following the closure of the questionnaire in Qualtrics, the data was exported for
further analysis to the IMB SPSS® Statistics Software Version 24. A correlational

analysis and regression analysis will be conducted. The variables will be initially

transformed/recoded into different variables to normalise the data so external validity

if the study is maintained, in this instance 1 will become 7 and vice-versa in the Likert

scale. Consequently, the data will be analysed using descriptive statistics (frequency

and mean) and Pearson correlation test.

15
4. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
The aim of the present study was to establish if early brand exposure and

childhood nostalgia have an influence in brand loyalty during adulthood. Hence, in

order to achieve this, 202 participants (124 females and 78 males aged 18 to 74 years

old) (Table 3 and Figure 1) were required to identify their favourite snack brand from

childhood and consequently answer to an array of questions/statements to evaluate

the age and nature of the memory. Subsequently, respondents were required to rate

in a Likert scale, their brand nostalgia, brand trust and brand loyalty. Data was
exported to IMB SPSS® Statistics Software Version 24 for further statistical analysis.

Frequency Percent
18 - 24 65 32.2
25 - 34 94 46.5
35 - 44 28 13.9
45 - 54 9 4.5
55 - 64 5 2.5
65 - 74 1 .5
Total 202 100.0

Table 3: Descriptive statistics (N=202), demographic data indicating participants’ age group

Figure 1: Frequency analysis, participants’ age groups (N=202)

16
4.1 Childhood Snack Brands
As aforementioned in section 3.2, the range of products in the main questionnaire

was selected based on responses from the pilot study (N=35). Consequently, the

majority of participants identified Kinder (33.7%) as their favourite brand, followed by

Cadbury (25.7%) (Table 4 and Figure 2). It’s important to point out that these results

were expected as they are both well stablished brands in the UK and worldwide. For
instance, Ferrero introduced Kinder Surprise in 1974 to the UK market (Ferrero, 2020).

Meanwhile, Cadbury is internationally headquartered and operates in more than 60

countries worldwide (McSmith, 2009).

Brand Frequency Percent

Oreos 14 6.9
Kinder 68 33.7
Cadbury 52 25.7
KitKat 17 8.4
Haribo 14 6.9
Walkers 10 5.0
Doritos 5 2.5
Other 22 10.9
Total 202 100.0

Table 4: Descriptive statistics (N=202), participants were required to select/name their favourite snack
brand from childhood. The brands were selected based on the responses obtained in the pilot study,
additionally participants were allowed to enter the name of their favourite childhood brand.

Figure 2: Frequency analysis, displaying favourite childhood snack brands (N=202)

17
4.2 Earliest Brand Memories
After identifying their favourite childhood snack brand, participants were required

to state their first exposure to the selected brand. The vast majority (45%) of

participants indicated 3 to 5 years of age, followed by 5 to 7 years old (23.3%) and 0

to 3 years old (19.3%) (Table 5 and Figure 3).

Age in years Frequency Percent

< 3 years old 39 19.3

3 to 5 91 45.0
5 to 7 47 23.3
7 to 9 14 6.9
9 to 12 7 3.5
>12 years old 4 2.0

Total 202 100.0

Table 5: Descriptive statistics (N=202), participants were required to state the age of first exposure to
their favourite snack brand from childhood

Figure 3: Bar chart illustrating age of favourite snack brand exposure (N=202)

18
4.3 Nature of Brand Memory
As one of the aims of this study was to evaluate the nature of the brand memory

during childhood, participants were required to indicate whether the brand memory

was associated with family interactions, childhood friends or school. Hence, the vast
majority of participants (80.2%) stated that their memory from their favourite childhood

snack brand was associated with parents/family, followed by friends (10.9%) and
school (8.9%) (Table 6 and Figure 4).

Type of memory Frequency Percent

Parents/family in general 162 80.2

Friends 22 10.9
School 18 8.9

Total 202 100.0

Table 6: Descriptive analysis (N=202), participants were asked to identify what was their memory of
their favourite snack brand from childhood associated with.

Figure 4: Bar chart illustrating the nature of snack brand memories from childhood, percentage
values are shown in Y axis, while memory categories are displayed in the X axis.

19
4.4 Descriptive Statistics: Nostalgia, Trust and Loyalty
Descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation can be applied to

questionnaire surveys for construct validation (Othman et al., 2011). Standard

deviation (SD) is a common measure of statistical dispersion. Besides expressing the

variability of a population, standard deviation is normally used to measure confidence

in statistical conclusions. Taking this into consideration mean scores were calculated
for variables measuring the same construct (Table 7). For instance, the childhood

nostalgia construct was measured by the following three statements: ‘This is my

favourite brand from childhood’ (Q7), ‘I have fond memories of this brand from my
childhood’ (Q10) and I feel positive towards this brand today because of my childhood’

(Q11). Therefore, a mean nostalgia score (6.1584) and standard the deviation of value

(.8906) were calculated. Similarly, the same process was applied to create a mean
brand loyalty score (5.8218) and SD (1.19926). As previously mentioned in section 3.2

loyalty was measured using two questions ‘Would you repurchase the selected
brand?’ (Q13) and ‘How would you characterise your loyalty to the selected brand?’

(Q15). Finally, mean (5.9257) and SD (1.18424) values were also calculated for the

brand trust construct which was measured only by one question ‘Do you trust the
brand?’(Q12)

Mean SD N
Mean Loyalty Score 5.8218 1.19926 202
Mean Nostalgia Score 6.1584 .89061 202
Brand Trust 5.9257 1.18424 202

Table 7: Descriptive statistics, mean scores were generated for constructs measured by 2 or more
variables (Mean Loyalty Nostalgia Scores). Brand Trust was measured only by question 12, mean
and standard deviation values were calculated for all constructs.

20
4.5 Correlational Analysis

4.5.1 Childhood Brand Nostalgia and Brand Loyalty

Following descriptive analysis of respondent’s childhood brand nostalgia and

brand loyalty scores, a bivariate correlation analysis (Pearson Correlation) was carried

out to investigate if there was a relationship between the two variables (Table 8). The
Pearson Correlation coefficient (r), is a measure of the strength of a linear relationship

between two variables. Hence, the stronger the positive association of the two

variables, the closer the value will be to +1. Additionally, the level of statistical

significance is commonly expressed as a p-value, therefore a p-value less than 0.05

is statistically significant (McLeod, 2019). The results obtained from the analysis
indicate that there is a significant positive correlation between childhood brand

nostalgia and brand loyalty (r = .610, p <.001) (Table 8).

Mean Loyalty Mean Nostalgia

Score Score
Mean Loyalty Pearson Correlation 1 .610**
Score Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 202 202

Mean Nostalgia Pearson Correlation .610** 1

Score Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 202 202

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Table 8: Bivariate correlation analysis (N=202), Pearson correlation coefficients for mean loyalty score
and mean nostalgia score were computed using IMB SPSS® Statistics Software Version 24.

Furthermore, because scholars have suggested, that brand trust has a positive
effect on brand loyalty (Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001; Sahin, Zehirb and Kitapçıb,

2011; Kabadayi and Kokav Alan, 2012), it is important to also evaluate the correlation
between childhood brand nostalgia and brand trust as it is considered as a contributing

factor to building brand loyalty. The bivariate correlation analysis indicates that there

is a significant positive correlation between childhood brand nostalgia and brand trust
(r = .589, p <.001) (Table 9).
21
 Brand Trust Mean Nostalgia
Score
Brand Trust Pearson Correlation 1 .589**
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 202 202

Mean Nostalgia Pearson Correlation .589** 1

Score Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 202 202

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Table 9: Bivariate correlation analysis (N=202), Pearson correlation coefficients for brand trust and
mean nostalgia score were computed using IMB SPSS® Statistics Software Version 24.

Finally, Pearson correlational analysis of the brand trust and brand loyalty were
also carried out, the results indicate that the strength of the relationship between the

variables is highly significant (r = .705, p <.001) (Table 10). Overall, these results

indicate that childhood brand nostalgia is significantly correlated to both brand loyalty
and brand trust and that as suggested by existing literature brand trust is a determining

factor in building brand loyalty.

Mean Loyalty Brand Trust

Score
Mean Loyalty Pearson Correlation 1 .705**
Score Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 202 202
Brand Trust Pearson Correlation .705** 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 202 202

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Table 10: Bivariate correlation analysis (N=202), Pearson correlation coefficients for brand trust and
mean loyalty score were computed using IMB SPSS® Statistics Software Version 24.

22
4.5.2 Early Exposure and Brand Loyalty

Following descriptive statistics analysis of respondent’s age of exposure (Section

4.2) and brand loyalty mean score (Section 4.4), a bivariate correlation evaluation was

carried out to study a potential relationship between the two variables. The Pearson
correlation coefficient indicates that there is a significant negative relationship between

age of exposure and brand loyalty (r = -.025, p > .05). Hence, brand loyalty increases

as age of exposure decreases and vice versa (Table 11). Furthermore, it is important

to point out that as aforementioned in section 4.2, the majority of participants (87.3%)

stated that their earliest brand memory was a 7 years or younger ( 45% 3 to 5 years

old, 23% 5 to 7 years old and 19.3% 0 to 3 years old), this suggest that memories of
favourite snack brands during childhood are nurtured at a very young age.

Upon finding a negative correlation between age of exposure and brand loyalty,
a linear regression analysis was implemented to determine if age of brand exposure

could predict brand loyalty during adulthood. It was discovered that age of brand

exposure notably predicted brand loyalty scores (B= -.027, t= -3.27, p> .05). B
represents the value for the regression equation for predicting the dependent variable

from the independent variable. These values express an estimate of the relationship
between the independent variable (age of exposure) and dependent variable (brand

loyalty)(UCLA, 2020a). Hence, these values indicate the amount of increase in brand

loyalty that would be predicted by a 1 unit increase in the predictor (age of exposure).
Consequently, for every unit increase in age of exposure, there is a -.027 unit decrease

in the predicted brand loyalty score. The variable age of exposure is technically not

statistically significantly different from 0 because the p-value is greater than .05.
However it is important to mention that ‘statistical tools such as p-values are

meaningful only to strictly confirmatory analysis’ (Rubin, 2017) and since the nature of
this study is exploratory and no formal hypothesis can be anticipated, it would be

inappropriate to interpret p values in exploratory analysis (Nosek and Lakens, 2014;

Forstmeier, Wagenmakers and Parker, 2016; Nosek et al., 2018).

23
 Age of Mean Loyalty
Exposure Score
Age of Exposure Pearson Correlation 1 -.025
Sig. (2-tailed) .072
N 202 202
Mean Loyalty Score Pearson Correlation -.025 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .072
N 202 202

Table 11: Bivariate correlation analysis (N=202), Pearson correlation coefficients for brand age
exposure and mean loyalty score were computed using IMB SPSS® Statistics Software Version 24.

24
5 DISCUSSION
The present study expands on the current understanding of childhood brand
nostalgia and brand loyalty in numerous important ways. First, this study identifies a
construct readily recognisable in the current marketplace but infrequently reviewed in
the academic literature, namely the affectionate relationship between a brand and
consumer that is nurtured early in childhood. Additionally, this study aimed to explore
the age at which respondents had their earliest snack brad memories and investigate
the nature of participants memories. After conducting a literature review childhood
nostalgia was described as a ‘positively valanced complex feeling, mood or emotion
by reflection on persons, object, experiences and ideas connected with the past’
(Holak and Havlena, 1998). In contrast, brand loyalty can be described as ‘a deeply
held commitment to rebuy or re-patronize a preferred product/ service consistently in
the future, thereby causing repetitive same-brand or same brand-set purchasing’
(Oliver, 1999).
Further, the implementation of questionnaires aimed to obtain concise evidence
to establish a correlation between childhood nostalgia and brand loyalty, as well as
providing a platform to understand the nature of these nostalgic memories and how
early brand exposure influence brand loyalty. As mentioned at the beginning of this
study, the concept of nostalgia as a marketing concept has only been superficially
studied. Hence the importance of testing a consumers’ childhood brand nostalgia for
a specific brand, lies within its strategic implications both in research and in managerial
arenas. Accordingly, in the current study 202 participants were asked to identify their
favourite snack brand from childhood, age and nature of exposure and consequently
to rate their attitudes towards the brand (nostalgia, trust and loyalty).

25
5.1 Nature of Earliest Brand Memories
One of the first parameters evaluated in this study was the nature of childhood
nostalgic memories. This was achieved by identifying memory attributes such as, age
of first exposure to the brand and who was this memory associated with. Investigating
the age of brand exposure is of major importance, as existing literature indicates that
early brand exposure may be a determining element in the development of brand
loyalty and other emotional brand attachments (Fournier, 1998; Braun-LaTour, LaTour
and Zinkhan, 2007). Furthermore, it has been suggested that child-brand relationships
cultivated in early years are more profoundly formed that those developed later in life
(Ji, 2002). Ultimately, it has also been suggested that early brand experiences during
childhood have a significant effect om brand purchasing comportments 20 years later
(Guest, 1964). Hence it can be expected that the younger individuals are when
exposed to a brand to higher the likelihood of developing brand loyalty during
adulthood, however this will be discussed in further detail in section 5.3.
Consequently, in the present study, the vast majority of respondents (87.6%)
indicated that they were younger than 7 years of old when exposed to their favourite
brand. Furthermore, 45% of all participants identified that their first exposure to the
brand occurred from 3 to 5 years of age. Interestingly, a previous study discovered
that the youngest mean age of exposure to tomato ketchup was between 4 to 5 years
old (Branson, 2013). With regards to the nature of the brand memory, 80% of
participants indicated that the memory of their favourite childhood snack brand was
associated to parents or family in general. These results were anticipated, as it has
been previously noted by scholars that the recollection of food memories is
predominantly associated with family relationships and mealtime interactions and
therefore potentially associated to prominent emotions, important places and
influential others (Lupton, 1994).

26
5.2 The Effects of Childhood Nostalgia on Brand Loyalty
Existing literature, suggests that brand loyalty can be predicted by the level of
consumers’ emotional attachment to brands (Thomson, MacInnis and Whan, 2005).
In this manner, individuals who exhibit high level of brand emotional attachment and
childhood nostalgia are anticipated to display equally high levels of brand loyalty
(Shields and Johnson, 2016). Furthermore, over the years, consumers tend to develop
nostalgia for childhood food, activities, music and places (Holbrook and Schindler,
1991; Friedman, 2016). Additionally, it has been showed that nostalgia feelings have
an effect on individuals’ attitudes towards both extinct and prevailing brands (Toledo
and Lopes, 2016). This highlights the significance of understanding childhood
nostalgia in order to improve brand loyalty and subsequent customer retention.
Accordingly, the results obtained in this study indicate that there is a significant
positive correlation between childhood brand nostalgia and brand loyalty (r = .610, p
<.001). Additionally, it’s critical to note that childhood brand nostalgia was also highly
correlated to brand trust (r = .589, p <.001). Such correlation is particularly important
because several authors have proposed that brand trust is a predictor of brand loyalty
(Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001; Delgado-Ballester and Munuera-Alemán, 2001; Wu
et al., 2008; Iglesias et al., 2011; Sahin et al., 2011; Kabadayi and Kokav Alan, 2012).

5.3 The Effects of Early Age Exposure on Brand Loyalty

The consumer behavioural field is constantly attempting to comprehend how
consumer-brand relationships are formed. Consequently, it is essential to determine
whether or not early brand exposure should be considered a determining factor when
brands attempt to develop brand loyalty. The results obtained in the present study
indicate indicates that there is a significant negative relationship between age of
exposure and brand loyalty (r = -.025, p> .05), hence, brand loyalty increases as age
of exposure decreases and vice versa. This suggest that memories of favourite snack
brands during childhood are nurtured at a very young age. Upon finding a negative
correlation between age of exposure and brand loyalty, a linear regression analysis
27
was implemented to determine if age of brand exposure could predict brand loyalty
during adulthood. It was discovered that age of brand exposure notably predicted
brand loyalty scores (B= -.027, t= -3.27, p> .05). Consequently, for every unit increase
in age of exposure, there is a -.027 unit decrease in the predicted brand loyalty score.
These results suggest that the younger children are exposed to a brand the higher the
likelihood of them developing brand loyalty during adulthood. These findings were
expected, as marketing experts suggest that children can express brand awareness
and knowledge as early as age two and that early brand affinity can become a lifelong
relationship with the brand. Furthermore, there is substantial evidence supporting the
idea that the connection stablished with brands during childhood perdure during
adulthood (Comiteau, 2019).

5.4 Limitations
Whilst the current study found a significant correlation between childhood
nostalgia and brand loyalty, there are several limitations that need to be addressed in
order to improve the experimental design. For instance, the sample size is relatively
small. The experimental approach and results can be strengthened by increasing the
number of participants and also by expanding to other geographical areas. Increasing
the sample size would allow a more comprehensive and reliable empirical analysis
among the variables. Another limitation of this research is that it was emphasized only
in one product category (snacks). For instance, even though participants selected a
brand as their favourite and also indicated that they have fond memories towards the
brand, when asked about repurchase intention a few of them indicated they do not
intend to buy the brand again, this could be due to lifestyle choices and increasing
health consciousness among younger populations. Consequently, these finding
should be replicated with different product categories such as food brands. Another
experimental curb was that the survey was conducted online and therefore completed
in an uncontrolled environment, it has been proposed that autobiographical memories
are possibly more accessible when participants are relaxed state of mind (LeDoux,
28
1996). Unfortunately, when collecting the data, the current study had no control or
awareness of the participants’ state of mind and amount of attention given to the
questionnaire. Additionally, this study relied on both autobiographical memories and
self-reported measures of brand attitudes, which may not be the most accurate
method due to infantile amnesia and false brand memories prompted by advertising
exposure (Branson, 2013).

5.5 Further Research

Future studies should work on the improvement of brand loyalty measurements
to more precisely evaluate its relationship with childhood nostalgia and early age
exposure. Similarly, it would be advantageous to investigate this relationship using a
wider range of products and brands. For instance, existing literature suggests that
brand trust (predictor of brand loyalty) is more prominently associated with utilitarian
products such as food (Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2002). Consequently, further
research should aim to determine the levels of utilitarian and hedonic value of each
product before considering the results. Additionally, while this study explored the
formation of brand nostalgia during childhood, future research should examine more
in detail the manner through nostalgic attachments are formed between an individual
and a brand. In this instance researchers should aim to evaluate whether nostalgic
bonds can be developed in adulthood as it is likely that some adult consumers form
similar nostalgic attachments with brands used later in life, when the individual has
moved beyond the sensitive phases of nostalgic attachment identified in previous
studies. Also, future studies should also investigate whether there is a minimum length
of time required between the initial brand experience and the present, in order to
categorise the type brand attachment as nostalgia. It can also be recommended to
implement face-to-face interviews in order to obtain more descriptive responses with
regards to early exposure and childhood nostalgia. This could be beneficial because
it can be carried out in a controlled environment and it would allow for a more
longitudinal study that allows the constructs to be explored more in depth. Ultimately,
29
as the present study did not take respondents’ nationalities into consideration, it would
be of interest to investigate the relationship between early brand exposure, childhood
nostalgia and brand loyalty cross-culturally as it has been previously proposed that a
consumer’s cultural values can influence brand memories and other elements
affecting brand loyalty (Lam and Lee, 2005; Seock and Lin, 2011).

5.6 Recommendations
This study expanded on the exiting understanding of childhood nostalgia and
brand loyalty. This construct is particularly important in the current competitive
business environment as it can help brands to better understand consumer behaviour
and consequently maintain an expand their market share. Looking ahead, nostalgia
marketing could be used as a tool to captivate consumers’ attention and promote
authentic emotional hooks to capture the heart. Nostalgia marketing and retro
branding has proven to be highly successful when done well, therefore it is essential
to further study this construct and develop effective ways to measure its effects on
brand loyalty. While nostalgia-centric campaigns are highly beneficial to brands, it is
important to mention that they are not without a risk. For instance, brands who attempt
to implement retro strategies in a rushed manner without taking the modern world into
consideration may be perceived as unrelatable, out of touch or even irrelevant.
Therefore, it is fundamental to build an emotional hook using childhood nostalgia as
well as offering something new. A relevant example displaying the ideal balance
between past and present, is ‘Pokémon GO’ which managed to successfully link a
beloved childhood story with the earliest real-life model of augmented reality
(Friedman, 2016; Chamary, 2018). Ultimately, effective campaigns require a lot of
work and authenticity but more importantly thoughtfulness as they target deep
emotions in consumers.

30
6 CONCLUSION
In summary, as this study was exploratory in nature, no formal hypothesis was
postulated, however as predicted at the beginning of the study, the results suggest
that there is a significant correlation between childhood nostalgia and brand loyalty.
Similarly, it was discovered that childhood nostalgia has a significant impact on brand
trust (predictor of brand loyalty). Additionally, early age exposure was found to have a
notable effect on brand loyalty, hence as age of exposure increases, brand loyalty
score decrease. Therefore, it can be postulated, that the earlier a consumer is exposed
to a brand, the higher the likelihood of developing brand loyalty in adulthood.
Furthermore, this study also discovered that the nature of autobiographical nostalgic
brand memories are most commonly associated to significant others (parents and
family in general) and that they occur at seven years of age or younger. Although this
study found empirical evidence on the correlation between childhood nostalgia and
brand loyalty, this construct should be further analysed in future research in order to
better understand consumers and to create a stronger brand-consumer relationship.
Consequently, it is advisable for marketers to consider a long-term view of marketing
resolutions in order to develop effective strategies that nurture life-long brand
relationships with consumers by prompting brand awareness and affect from early
childhood.

31
7 REFERENCES
Beatty, S. E., Homer, P. and Kahle, L. R. (1988) ‘The involvement-commitment model:
Theory and implications’, Journal of Business Research, 16(2), pp. 149–167. doi:
10.1016/0148-2963(88)90039-2.
Bowlby, J. (1982) ‘Attachment and loss: retrospect and prospect’, American Journal
of Orthopsychiatry, 52(4), pp. 664–678.
Bowlby, J. (1969) Attachment. New York: Basic Books.
Branson, E. (2013) An Investigation into the Relationship between Early Exposure
and Brand Loyalty. University of Leeds.
Braun-LaTour, K. A. and LaTour, M. S. (2007) ‘Using childhood memory elicitation to
gain insights into a brand at a crossroads: The in-n-out burger situation’, Cornell
Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 48(3), p. 246. doi:
10.1177/0010880407304396.
Braun-LaTour, K. A., LaTour, M. S. and Zinkhan, G. M. (2007) ‘Using childhood
memories to gain insight into brand meaning’, Journal of Marketing, 71(2), pp.
45–60. doi: 10.1509/jmkg.71.2.45.
Braun, K. A., Ellis, R. and Loftus, E. F. (2002) ‘Make My Memory: How Advertising
Can Change Our Memories of the Past’, Psychology and Marketing, 9(1), pp. 1–
23. doi: 10.1002/mar.1000.
Buckingham, D. (2009) The Impact of the Commercial World on Children’s Wellbeing:
Report of an Independent Assessment. Available at:
http://publications.dcsf.gov.uk/default.aspx?PageFunction=productdetails&Page
Mode=public%0Aations&ProductId=DCSF-00669-2009& (Accessed: 21 July
2020).
Chamary, J. (2018) Why ‘Pokémon GO’ Is The World’s Most Important Game, Forbes.
Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2018/02/10/pokemon-go-
science-health-benefits/#2ea9be4b3ab0 (Accessed: 21 July 2020).
Chaudhuri, A. and Holbrook, M. B. (2002) ‘Product-class effects on brand commitment
and brand outcomes: The role of brand trust and brand affect’, The Journal of
Brand Management, 10(1), pp. 33–58.
Chaudhuri, A. and Holbrook, M. B. (2001) ‘The Chain of Effects from Brand Trust and
Brand Affect to Brand Performance: The Role of Brand Loyalty’, Journal of
Marketing, 65, pp. 81–93.
Clegg, A. (2012) In search of the inner child in consumers, Financial Times. Available
at: https://www.ft.com/content/acf92044-1f7e-11e2-b273-00144feabdc0
(Accessed: 24 July 2020).
Cole, M. and Cole, S. R. (1996) The development of children. 3rd edn. New York: W.
H. Freeman.
Comiteau, J. (2019) When Does Brand Loyalty Start? Adweek. Available at:
https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/when-does-brand-loyalty-start-
62841/ (Accessed: 18 August 2020).
Conway, M. A. and Rubin, D. C. (1993) ‘The structure of autobiographical memory’,
in Collins, A. E. et al. (eds) Theories of Memory. Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates., pp. 103–137.
Cook, D. T. (2009) ‘Children as Consumers’, in W.A., C. and MS., H. (eds) Palgrave
Handbook of Childhood Studies. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Cook, D. T. (2004) The Commodification of Childhood. Durham NC: Duke University
Press.

32
Cooper, L. (2010) Brand loyalty starts from a very early age, Marketing Week.
Available at: https://www.marketingweek.com/brand-loyalty-starts-from-a-very-
early-age/?nocache=true&adfesuccess=1 (Accessed: 13 July 2020).
Delgado-Ballester, E. and Munuera-Alemán, J. L. (2001) ‘Brand Trust in the Context
of Consumer Loyalty’, European Journal of Marketing, 35, pp. 1238–1258.
Ferrero (2020) Ferrero UK. Available at: https://www.ferrero.co.uk/Ferrero-UK
(Accessed: 11 August 2020).
Flint, J. (2000) ‘Ford to sell safety to kids on Nickelodeon’, The Wall Street Journal, p.
B8.
Forstmeier, W., Wagenmakers, E. J. and Parker, T. H. (2016) ‘Detecting and avoiding
likely false- positive findings–a practical guide’, Biological Reviews, 92, pp. 1941–
1968. doi: doi: 10.1111/brv.12315.
Fournier, S. (1998) ‘Consumers and Their Brands: Developing Relationship Theory in
Consumer Research’, Journal of Consumer Research, 24(4), pp. 343–373. doi:
10.1086/209515.
Freud, S. (1899) The standard edition of the complete works of Sigmund Freud.
London: Hogarth Press.
Friedman, L. (2016) Why Nostalgia Marketing Works So Well With Millennials, And
How Your Brand Can Benefit, Forbes. Available at:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurenfriedman/2016/08/02/why-nostalgia-
marketing-works-so-well-with-millennials-and-how-your-brand-can-
benefit/#54477d363648 (Accessed: 21 July 2020).
Guest, L. (1964) ‘Brand loyalty revisited: A twenty-year report’, Journal of Applied
Psychology, 48, pp. 93–97.
Hayne, H. (2004) ‘Infant memory development: Implications for childhood amnesia’,
Developmental Review, 24(1), pp. 33–73.
Hofer, J. (1688) ‘Medical dissertation on nostalgia (translated by Anspach C. K.)’,
Bulletin of The History of Medicine, 2, pp. 376–391.
Holak, S. L. and Havlena, W. J. (1992) ‘Nostalgia: An Exploratory Study of Themes
and Emotions in the Nostalgia Experience’, Advances in Consumer Research,
19, pp. 380-387.
Holak, S. L. and Havlena, W. J. (1998) ‘Feelings, Fantasies, and Memories: An
Examination of the Emotional Components of Nostalgia’, Journal of Business
Research, 42(3), pp. 217–226. doi: 10.1016/S0148-2963(97)00119-7.
Holbrook, M. and Schindler, R. (1991) ‘Echoes of the dear departed past: some work
in progress on nostalgia’, Advances in Consumer Research, 18(1), pp. 330–333.
Holbrook, M. and Schindler, R. (2003) ‘Nostalgic bonding: exploring the role of
nostalgia in the consumption experience’, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 3(2),
pp. 107–127.
Iglesias, O., Singh, J. J. and Batista-Foguet, J. M. (2011) ‘The role of brand
experience and affective commitment in determining brand loyalty’, Journal of
Brand Management, 18(8), pp. 570–582.
Jack, F. and Hayne, H. (2010) ‘Childhood amnesia: Empirical evidence for a two-
stage phenomenon’, Memory, 18(8), pp. 831–844.
Jack, F. and Hayne, H. (2007) ‘Eliciting adults’ earliest memories: Does it matter how
we ask the question?’, Memory, 15(6), pp. 647–663.
Jacobson, L. (2004) Raising Consumers. New York: Columbia University Press.
Ji, M. F. (2002) ‘Children’s Relationships with Brands: “True Love” or “One-Night”
Stand?’, Psychology and Marketing, 19(4), p. 369. doi: 10.1002/mar.10015.

33
Josselson, R. (2000) ‘Stability and change in early memories over 22 years: Themes,
variations, and cadenzas’, Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 64(4), pp. 462–481.
Josselyn, S. A. and Frankland, P. W. (2012) ‘Infantile amnesia: A neurogenic
hypothesis’, Learning & Memory, 19(9), pp. 423-433.
Kabadayi, E. T. and Kokav Alan, A. (2012) ‘Brand Trust and Brand Affect: Their
Strategic Importance on Brand Loyalty’, Journal of Global Strategic Management,
6(1), pp. 80–88. doi: 10.20460/JGSM.2012615788.
Keller, K. L. (1993) ‘Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer- based
brand equity’, Journal of Marketing, 57, pp. 1–22.
Kessous, A. and Roux, E. (2008) ‘A semiotic analysis of nostalgia as a connection to
the past’, Qualitative Market Research: A International Journal, 11(2), pp. 192-
212.
Kidd, A. H. and Kidd, R. M. (1985) Children’s attitudes toward their pets, Psychological
Reports.
Kingo, O. S., Berntsen, D. and Krøjgaard, P. (2013) ‘Adults’ Earliest Memories as a
Function of Age, Gender, and Education in a Large Stratified Sample’,
Psychology and Aging, 28(3), pp. 646–653. doi: doi:10.1037/a0031356.
Kline, S. (1993) Out of the Garden: Toys and Children’s Culture in the Age of TV
Marketing. London: Verso.
Kotler, P. (2016) ‘Marketing: Creating Customer Value and Engagement’, in Principles
of Marketing. European E. Pearson Education Limited, p. 19. Available at:
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/kentuk/detail.action?docID=5186192.
Lam, D. and Lee, A. Y. (2005) ‘The influence of cultural values on brand loyalty’, in
ANZMAC 2005 : Proceedings of the Australia and New Zealand Marketing
Association Conference 2005 : Broadening the Boundaries. ANZMAC, pp. 163-
171.
Lance, C. E., Butts, M. M. and Michels, L. C. (2006) ‘The Sources of Four Commonly
Reported Cutoff Criteria What Did They Really Say?’, Organizational Research
Methods, 9(2), pp. 202–220. doi: 10.1177/1094428105284919.
LaTour, K., LaTour, M. S. and Zinkhan, G. M. (2010) ‘Coke is It: How stories in
childhood memories illuminate an icon’, Journal of Business Research, 63(3), pp.
328–336. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2009.05.011.
Leach, W. (1993) Land of Desire: Merchants, Power and the Rise of a New American
Culture. New York: Pantheon. doi: 10.2307/2168152.
LeDoux, J. E. (1996) The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of
Emotional Life. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Lupton, D. (1994) ‘Food, memory and meaning: the symbolic and social nature of food
events’, The Sociological Review, 42(4), pp. 664–685.
McCann, W. (1941) ‘Nostalgia: a review of the literature’, Psychological Bulletin,
38(3), p. 165.
McLeod, S. (2019) P-Values and Statistical Significance, Simply Psychology.
Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/p-value.html (Accessed: 15
August 2020).
McNeal, J. U. (1999) Kids market: Myths and realities. Ithaca, NY: Paramount Market.
McSmith, A. (2009) Inside Cadbury: Kind hearts and chocolates | The Independent,
Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-
drink/features/inside-cadbury-kind-hearts-and-chocolates-1783399.html
(Accessed: 11 August 2020).
Mellens, M., DeKimpe, M. G. and Steenkamp, E. M. (1996) ‘A review of brand loyalty
measures in marketing.’, Journal of Economic Management, 4.
34
Miles, C. (1893) ‘A study of individual psychology’, American Journal of Psychology,
6, pp. 534–558.
Morrison, C. M. and Conway, M. A. (2010) ‘First words and first memories’, Cognition,
116(1), pp. 23–32.
Nosek, B. A. et al. (2018) ‘The preregistration revolution.’, PNAS, 115(11), pp. 2600–
2606.
Nosek, B. A. and Lakens, D. (2014) ‘Registered reports: A method to increase the
credibility of published results’, Social Psychology, 45, pp. 137–141. doi: doi:
10.1027/1864-9335/a000192.
Nunnally, J. C. (1978) Psychometric theory. 2nd edn. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Oliver, R. L. (1999) ‘Whence consumer loyalty?’, The Journal of Marketing, 63, pp.
33–44. doi: 10.2307/1252099.
Othman, A. R. et al. (2011) ‘Application of Mean and Standard Deviation in
Questionnaire Surveys’, Menemui Matematik (Discovering Mathematics), 33(1),
pp. 11–22.
Pepper, M., Jackson, T. and Uzzell, D. (2009) ‘An examination of the values that
motivate socially conscious and frugal consumer behaviours’, International
Journal of Consumer Studies, 33(2), pp. 126–136. doi: 10.1111/j.1470-
6431.2009.00753.x.
Peterson, C., Grant, V. and Boland, L. (2005) ‘Childhood amnesia in children and
adolescents: Their earliest memories.’, Memory, 13(6), pp. 622–637. doi:
10.1080/09658210444000278.
Rubin, M. (2017) ‘Do p Values Lose Their Meaning in Exploratory Analyses? It
Depends How You Define the Familywise Error Rate’, Review of General
Psychology, 21, pp. 269–275. doi: 10.1037/gpr0000123.
Sahin, A., Zehirb, C. and Kitapçıb, H. (2011) ‘The Effects of Brand Experiences, Trust
and Satisfaction on Building Brand Loyalty; An Empirical Research On Global
Brands’, Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 24, pp. 1288–1301. doi:
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.09.143.
Schmitt, B. (2012) ‘The consumer psychology of brands’, Journal of Consumer
Psychology, 22(1), pp. 7–17.
Seock, Y. K. and Lin, C. (2011) ‘Cultural influence on loyalty tendency and evaluation
of retail store attributes: An analysis of Taiwanese and American consumers’,
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 39(2), pp. 94–113.
Shields, A. B. and Johnson, J. W. (2016) ‘Childhood brand nostalgia: A new
conceptualization and scale development’, Journal of Consumer Behaviour,
15(4), pp. 359-369. doi: 10.1002/cb.1578.
Smit, E., Bronner, F. and Tolboom, M. (2007) ‘Brand relationship quality and its value
for personal contact’, Journal of Business Research, 60(6), pp. 627–633.
Statistics How To (2020) Average Inter-Item Correlation: Definition, Example.
Available at: https://www.statisticshowto.com/average-inter-item-correlation/
(Accessed: 10 August 2020).
Thompson, S. (1999) ‘Cap’n Crunch: Ahoy, Adults!’’, Adweek, January. Available at:
https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/capn-crunch-ahoy-adults-39651/.
Thomson, M., MacInnis, D. and Whan, P. (2005) ‘The ties that bind: measuring the
strength of consumers’ emotional attachments to brands’, Journal of Consumer
Psychology, 15(1), pp. 77–91.
Toledo, A. C. and Lopes, E. L. (2016) ‘Effect of Nostalgia on Customer Loyalty to
Brand Post-Merger / Acquisition’, Brazilian Administration Review, 13(1), pp. 33–
55.
35
UCLA (2020) Regression Analysis, Institute for Digital Research & Education.
Available at: https://stats.idre.ucla.edu/spss/output/regression-analysis/
(Accessed: 16 August 2020).
UCLA (2020) What does Cronbach’s alpha mean? | SPSS FAQ, UCLA: Institute for
Digital Research & Education. Available at:
https://stats.idre.ucla.edu/spss/faq/what-does-cronbachs-alpha-mean/
(Accessed: 5 August 2020).
Van Steenburg, E. and Spears, N. (2011) ‘Understanding the relationship between
brand loyalty, the prevailing economic environment and optimum stimulation
level’, Journal of Brand Management, 18(8), pp. 597-610. doi:
10.1057/bm.2011.2.
Vignolles, A. and Pichon, P. E. (2014) ‘A taste of nostalgia: Links between nostalgia
and food consumption’, Qualitative Market Research, 17(3), pp. 225–238. doi:
10.1108/QMR-06-2012-0027.
Wu, W., Chan, T. S. and Lau, H. H. (2008) ‘Does consumers’ personal reciprocity
affect future purchase intentions’, Journal of Marketing Management, 24, pp.
345–360.

36
8 APPENDIX

Appendix 1: Qualtrics questionnaire.

37
38
 39

View publication stats