According to Branding Strategy Insider, "As we age our nostalgic yearnings grow, making us more receptive to advertisers and marketers use of what researchers call 'a longing for positive memories from the past.'" Maybe that explains the nostalgia immersion that is Asheville, NC. Like a petri dish of the past recast for now, Asheville has reinvented itself based on a nostalgic history full of glory, intrigue and wanderlust for yesteryear, which provides an interesting lens for marketers, especially for those focused on Boomers, who are old enough to remember "back in the day" with that dreamy quality that makes everything better than it was.
And, as tour guides dish on Asheville's past, the city itself is cast as a beaten down everyman/poet (think alcoholic F. Scott Fizgerald who spent time in the city) who revitalizes himself through hard work, diligence and creativity. Folks from Asheville (and even those who have been there at least half a dozen years) faithfully announce their pride of city, their association and their lineage.
As Branding Strategy Insider proclaims in its marketing takeaway: "In today's environment of a perceived diminished future, playing up experiences that engender hope may be a good strategy..." And, that really sums up Asheville--it's stories, people, and places sound and feel hopeful as though they are all characters in the same play.
Visually, even chains like Urban Outfitters fit in like a puzzle piece, meshing classic forms and themes of reconstruction, and free spiritedness with a modern nod in their store that seems to perfectly express the city's transformation from its well lit corner store in the heart of Asheville.
