Force of Colours in Marketing Strategies

What colors have you chosen for your marketing materials? What were your reasons for making that particular choice? Was it because you liked those particular colors, or did you have a particular marketing message in mind? While visual appeal is an important consideration, your color choices could be sending a specific message to the people who view them. Are you sure you know what that message is?

You'd be wise to consider the psychology of color when designing your marketing materials. Be it business card, brochure, web site, posters or other material, you'll be making color choices. Colors not only enhance the appearance of the item -- they also influence our behavior. You will do well to consider the impact that the colors you use will have on your target audience.

For instance, have you noticed that most fast food restaurants are decorated with vivid reds and oranges? It's no accident that these colors show up so frequently. Studies have shown that reds and oranges encourage diners to eat quickly and leave -- and that's exactly what fast food outlets want you to do.

It's also no accident that you see a lot of reds and blacks on adult web sites. These colors are thought to have sexual connotations.

Ever notice that toys, books and children's web sites usually contain large blocks of bright, primary colors? Young children prefer these colors and respond more positively than they do to pastels or muted blends.

Market researchers have had a field day identifying the colors and the likely effect they have upon us.

However, the effects of color differ among different cultures, so the attitudes and preferences of your target audience should be a consideration when you plan your design of any promotional materials.

For example, white is the color of death in Chinese culture, but purple represents death in Brazil. Yellow is sacred to the Chinese, but signified sadness in Greece and jealousy in France. In North America, green is typically associated with jealousy. People from tropical countries respond most favorably to warm colors; people from northern climates prefer the cooler colors.

Color is one of the most powerful elements of design for direct mail, ads, and other marketing materials.

Why? Because color is a form of nonverbal communication. Research has shown that color increases brand identity, assists in memory, increases a reader’s participation in ads, and improves readership, learning, and comprehension.

This is a complicated subject and is worthy of a dozen posts, but three important points about why color choice is so important :-

1. Color carries meaning through association.

This meaning can be divided into two parts: natural associations and psychological or cultural associations.

By “natural association” It means that colors bring to mind certain ideas that everyone understands. For example, green is associated with nature because that’s the primary color of plants everywhere in the world. Blue is associated with the sky. Yellow is associated with the sun. These associations are simple and universal.

Psychological or cultural associations are more tricky. In the U.S., orange is associated with Halloween because pumpkins are a big part of that holiday. But since many other cultures don’t celebrate this particular holiday, that association doesn’t exist. Likewise, while black is associated with death in the West, white is often the death color in other cultures.

2. There is a “vocabulary of color.”

Colors are not as clear cut as words, but there is a loose meaning for most colors. What follows is a quick definition of some common colors for those who live in a Western culture.

Black can signify death or evil, but it is also a power color and can be sophisticated, elegant, seductive, mystery.

White is the color of purity, virginal, clean, youthful, mild, but can also imply coldness or sterility. Like black, white can be a classy color. In Asia, this colour is also associated to mourning.

Red suggests excitement and strong emotions (sex, passion), strength, speed,   danger, It’s a color easily recognized by the eye, so it’s good for getting attention.

Blue is the most popular color, especially among men. It’s calm, soothing, and businesslike. Blue colour is preferred in general by Europeans, moreover by men. It is the coldest of colours and would stand for surpassing yourself, loyalty and authority, trust, reliability, belonging, coolness.

Green is the nature color, providing a feeling of tranquility and calm. It can also signify wealth and stability, nature, fresh, cool, growth, abundance . Today, it is associated with recycling and environmentalism.

Yellow is warm and cheerful, sunshine, cheer, happiness. It’s the most attention-getting color, but can be fatiguing for the eye. Black type on a yellow background provides maximum contrast for short, high-impact messages.

Purple signifies wealth and royalty. spirituality, dignity. It also carries an exotic feeling. However purple can be a weak color for design.

Brown is the color of nature, with a feeling of strength and warmth. It can be both down-to-earth or sophisticated. It can also be boring or even evoke a 70′s feel.

Orange is the combination of red and yellow, so it’s energetic, warm, and enthusiastic, playfulness, vibrant. It is often used to draw attention.

Pink is typically associated with romance and love, softness, sweet, nurture, security. It’s a calming color for most people. Just as blue is the “male” color. Pink tends to be the “female” color.

Gold -- prestige, expensive 

Silver -- prestige, cold, scientific

Market researchers have also determined that color affects shopping habits. Impulse shoppers respond best to red-orange, black and royal blue. Shoppers who plan and stick to budgets respond best to pink, teal, light blue and navy. Traditionalists respond to pastels - pink, rose, sky blue.

Want to test some of this out? Check out web sites belonging to companies with marketing budgets that allow for extensive research into what sells best.

Jaguar  
A luxury car with a luxury web site. There's a predominance of black (sophistication) and silver (prestige). Jaguar markets to people with high incomes who view themselves as sophisticated and look for a prestigious vehicle.

Volkswagon Microbus 
Check out the predominance of yellow (happiness) and orange (playfulness). Matches the type of owners that Volkswagon is trying to attract, don't you think?

So how can you put this information to use?

First, think about your target market. Let's say that you are selling books for young children, but you are marketing to grandparents. You'd probably design the books in bright, primary colors (reds, blues, yellows) to appeal to the children who will use them. However, the marketing materials (web site, brochures, etc.) would be designed with grandparents in mind. You might decide to go with blues (trust, reliability), pinks (nurture, sweet, security) and yellow (happy, playful).

Of course, you would test your ads and colors on a small market segment before rolling out a large scale campaign.

3. Practical considerations should guide color choice.

Color associations and vocabulary are something you should know. But when it comes to designing marketing items, don’t get carried away. Copy is more important than color, and the whole point of design is to make sure people READ the copy.

So keep a few things in mind:

Black type on white paper is both practical and legible.

Your cost savings from printing in two colors can sometimes outweigh any benefits from printing in many colors.

Colors are seldom psychologically additive. That’s a fancy way of saying that you can’t reap the symbolism of multiple colors by throwing them all on a page. Too many colors will be distracting and make your layout look unprofessional and “cheap.” Keep it simple.

When in doubt, use blue. It’s a favorite color and it’s easy to use in design. It’s legible for headlines, produces good-looking tints, and lets you highlight key points in the copy while not drawing much attention to the design itself.

Some colors are hard to work with, such as orange, brown, and pink. They often don’t print the way you want them and tints can be tricky.

Orange is a great color to grab attention. It goes in and out of popularity, but in general it’s underused. So it lets you stand out more easily.

Red is a power color for headlines, subheads, phone numbers, and other hot spots. Red and black can create a high-impact, reader-friendly layout. Just make sure you use a red that looks red and not pink or purple. The best use for color? Photos and illustrations.

Graphics like these can give a layout plenty of “pop” and let you keep the text simple and readable.