The Value of Time: the Silent Revolution of Slow Marketing and Retro Marketing

giuliapedrinivisio
Jul 22
4 min read

Updated: Sep 22

Author: Giulia Pedrini

The Need to Slow Down in a Fast-paced World

The rush with which the hand runs on the clock face has always made us live in a hurry, with water at our throats. In fact, after the economic transformation that took place during the 1950s and 1960s, in everyone's mind there was only the idea that working would make life better for everyone. Even by sacrificing time with one's friends. Even sacrificing time with one's family. Even by sacrificing time with and for oneself.

In this fast-paced world, the marketing that works is the marketing that runs. But the power of strategies that go against the current and slow down the pace is indescribable. Because the difference is made by those who stop in traffic to watch the leaves blowing in the wind. This is precisely why slow marketing was born.

Woman in jeans and a backless top stands in front of a shop window with sale signs. Display includes red roses and clothing items. Retro vibe.

Slow Marketing: Less Noise, More Relationship

We are not talking about a trend, slow marketing is an idea to consciously deal with public burnout by creating authentic relationships with customers, who are no longer consumers, but become people again. Slow marketing, unlike traditional marketing, takes care of the relationship and communication with the customer in detail. No aggressive advertising campaigns, no posting every day at every hour, no mass newsletters.

Authenticity, listening and trust are the keywords that define this new way of thinking about marketing. A determining factor is the narratives that are created around the product, service or brand itself in order to get closer to people, to make the face of the business more “human”. In this way, the customer will feel approached by a friend with whom he or she will begin to build a lasting relationship based on the three keywords mentioned earlier.

This type of marketing starts with a market analysis of competitors and then focuses entirely on the customer and studying their needs and wishes. A marketing expert thinks about what the brand's customer revolves around: the passions that make his heart beat faster, the hobbies he devotes himself to in his spare time, the sports that make him relieve tension, who makes up his family, the influence his friends have on him, his temperament, his personality, his emotions.

The Charm of the Retro Future: nostalgia as a Strategy

Speaking of brand storytelling, what better story to tell than that of the brand itself. That is why brands have started to tell their own story first, and then tell that of their customers. Retro marketing brings in today's lifestyle elements from the past that can arouse positive nostalgia and a desire to return to traditions. This type of marketing harnesses the power of memories to attract that segment of customers looking for authenticity and simplicity. The concept of the past is here turned upside down to become a glimpse into the future. A future that must become slower, more alive and more ours.

And so it went: from trainers in extravagant colours to 80s sports shoes like Reebok, from jeans with glitter to jeans with vintage washing techniques and vintage stitching like Levi's, from futuristic TV series to retro-looking productions like Stranger Things, from increasingly high-tech games to vintage LEGO sets or the original repurposed Tamagotchi, from streaming on Spotify to vinyls, cassettes and record players of yesteryear.

A time machine that seems to go backwards, but instead makes all generations travel to a less “artificial” more “human” world. This is the power of retro marketing and slow marketing that allow us to savour every moment of this life: the past, the present and the future.

Fujifilm's Need for Change

These two marketing strategies, slow marketing and retro marketing, can give excellent results if used in synergy as we can see in the case of Fujifilm. In fact, Fujifilm, with the advent of the latest generation of mobile phones with integrated cameras, had to reinvent its business.

So Fujifilm reminded people how analogue photography (retro marketing) is a memory that lasts, a true memory linked to the tradition and ritual of shooting, encapsulating a moment, a precise moment (slow marketing).

Analysing the retro marketing strategies, we can see that Instax cameras have increasingly vintage designs, pastel colours, packaging reminiscent of analogue film with campaigns focusing on the emotions linked to the photo shoot.

Instead, with regard to slow marketing, we can see how the brand centres its strategy on the concept that each photo is unique. Each photo contains a memory, an exact moment that can be physically preserved. In contrast to the burst photos saved in the gallery of mobile phones, Fujifilm prefers a curated shot, and then to be able to live the rest of the experience as a protagonist and not behind a lens.

The result of these strategies has brought global success especially among Gen Z and the Millennials, showing itself as a niche brand able to bring retro emotions back into fashion.

Beige Instax Mini 8 camera on open book pages, surrounded by yellow petals and dried flowers, bathed in warm sunlight with text shadows.

Conclusion

In a world that runs relentlessly, choosing to slow down is an act of courage and vision. Slow and retro marketing are not just strategies, but deep answers to the problems of the reality we live in: rediscovering authenticity, building true relationships, rediscovering the value of time.

Brands like Fujifilm show us that in the memory of a simple gesture - like taking a photo and holding it in your hands - there is the whole future of marketing that speaks to people, about people.

Perhaps real progress is not about going faster, but learning to feel every step again.