LOGO

Digital has replaced what went before and undoubtedly presented plenty of new possibilities.

But it’s easy to forget that it’s removed plenty of old ones too.

Following on from last week’s blog, I give a big NO to brand retro-fitting content into digital applications, but a big YES to digital-retro: a balance of digital and analogue brand experience.

Brands are already embracing a look and feel that wraps up vintage, retro and analogue aesthetics. Old is cool: the nostalgia, the novelty, the charm (see Stella Artois blog post), and the classic styling (see Umbro blog post). Analogue represents a robustness, tangibility, back-story, ownership and personal touch. And those qualities can live either juxtaposed against or integrated with Digital living.

Take Lomography, the camera manufacturer and boutique photography chain, with its reproduction old school cameras and analogue processing. It’s a very hands-on brand, with gallery stores and workshops. Tapping into the needs of an analogue-love community, Lomography has, most crucially, embraced Digital by maintaining its community online, showcasing products and promotions and calling customers to digitally share analogue photos. It’s a sensible, selective use of Digital, whilst maintaining Analogue integrity.

Is there a full circle developing? Well, in terms of cameras, there’s no going back for the masses, although there’s a myth that a younger generation of consumers are questioning what that odd-whirring-click-sound actually is when they press the red button of an iPhone camera touchscreen, stirring a return to analogue photography. Whether that’s true or not, Lomography certainly believes (or ironically states?): “The Future is Analogue”.

The Digital world has gone a little bit mad. The craziness is well illustrated by the Lomo-style camera app developed for iPhone (note, not made by Lomography) – you can even choose the type of ISO film you wish to expose.

Clever and convenient, or thoughtless and lazy? Not sure.

Playing to consumers’ love of Analogue and applying it to Digital living? Yes – an instant win.

Playing to a love for novelty phone apps? Definitely.

Analogue will continue to feature in our lives – one day, as museum pieces – but it feels like we should hold on to it a little longer before life gets REALLY digital (think Minority Report). We should embrace the personal touch that Analogue life brings (brought). And brands should tap into, if nothing else, that physicality, individuality and 3D-ality, and use Digital to facilitate real, personal, Analogue experiences… for now at least… whilst they can.

Brand Regard is an online digital asset management solution that makes it easy to organise, find and share your marketing material. You can get started with a 30-day free trial in under 5 minutes.