Time your feedback requests

People won’t just remember what happened, but how they felt about it.

So if you time your feedback or review requests at the right time, you can shape their perceptions and leverage better social proof.

For example, Chewy—a pet product brand—doesn’t waste time. It asks for feedback shortly after purchase to make the most out of the post-purchase excitement:

It makes sense, doesn’t it? If you wait for too long, small frustrations start to creep in as customers tend to overanalyze and look for every minor inconvenience.

Airlines, for example, often ask for feedback right after landing when relief overshadows any mid-flight discomfort.

With this, you can control the way customers talk about your brand and how they remember it.

Dive into nostalgia

“I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them,” says Andy Bernard, The Office.

This quote is great because it is relatable. But what Andy doesn’t know is that he’s probably tricked by nostalgia—a form of Recall Bias where we remember the past as being better than it was.

That’s why brands often use retro packaging, reference past times, create “revival campaigns,” and more. They want you to reconstruct the past in ways that feel warm and familiar.

Some long-lasting brands tap into their own past, others blend the old and the new.

Adobe Photoshop did the latter when it referenced the legendary Joy of Painting TV Show by Bob Ross for its campaign:

With this video, Adobe helps customers recall the serene, artsy nature of Ross’s show and combine it with the brand’s own modern technology. And it does it so effectively.

By the way, you can read about the Nostalgia Effect in full and see more examples of it in action here.

Use wording to trigger false recall

Remember how “smashed” made people recall a more intense and high-speed accident than “hit?”

Certain words create stronger emotional impressions, making us “imagine” events in higher or lower intensities.

That’s why marketers use vivid, emotional, or high-impact words. Because they don’t only describe a product—they shape how people remember it.

This is especially true for repeat purchases. If a skincare product says it “erases wrinkles” instead of “reduces fine lines” it will feel more dramatic and effective looking back.

Remember: Memory isn’t a perfect record, but a reconstruction influenced by language and context.