The Power of Color in Marketing

What is Color?

“Color” is defined in many different ways. Technically, it can be defined as a visual attribute of bodies or substances that depends upon the spectral composition of wave lengths, stimulating the retina and its associated neural structures .   It is the visual, perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, blue, yellow, etc.

The world is full of light… and colors.

The retina contains four types of light sensors which record brightness and are optimized to absorb a different spectrum range of visible light, absorbing long wavelengths –  the reds – middle size wavelengths – the greens – and short wavelengths – the blues, gathering the information that our brain then processes into one combined image.

What is Marketing?

Focused on customer orientation and satisfaction of customer needs it is defined as  “an integrated communications-based process through which individuals and communities discover existing and newly identified needs and wants, that may be satisfied by the products and services of others” .

"The right product, in the right place, at the right time". – Dennis Adcock

Let’s put it all together…

Improving brand recognition through color and marketing integration

According to the secretariat of the Seoul International Color EXPO 2004  research study, the use of color for marketing purposes threw the following insights:*

– 92.6% said that they put more importance on visual factors when purchasing products. Only 5.6 % said that the physical feel via the sense of touch was more important. Hearing and smell each drew 0.9 %.

– When asked to approximate the importance of color when buying products, 84.7 % of the total respondents think that color accounts for more than half among the various important factors for choosing products.

Color  affects the way in which people recognize a brand and this perception influences the decision to buy.  In addition to the fact that a well used combination of colors attracts the attention at a higher level compared to the use of black & white.

Another research by CCICOLOR – Institute for Color Research also revealed that “people make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment, or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing, and that between 62% and 90% of that assessment is based on color alone”.*

This last affirmation confirms that although we might not be aware, the colors that we choose when we dress, or to decorate our homes or offices define us.  We have an inclination towards certain colors and those colors make people to remember us.

Our minds are a wonderful place.

Developing a unique personal or commercial public signature when creating a logo, based on a specific color palette that identifies with a product or service and the feeling behind it, is very important, especially now that marketing is far more focused on bonding with individuals and offering specific user experiences.

A careful selection of colors might affect the way in which people will perceive and understand the message behind a brand’s logo, as each color holds a different meaning. Knowing what each color represents can help us through the decision of working on the best combination that will highlight the brand’s mission and values.

Published on www.brieffin.com

* Sources: www.colorcom.com and www.zazzlemedia.co.uk