Colors and Marketing: A Brilliant Mix

How color influences your marketing's results.

Color. Does it really make a difference?

Absolutely!

Color is a highly persuasive element when it comes to buyer behavior. Typically, people pass judgment on a company or its offering based on color—and often within the first ninety seconds of interacting with a product, service, or person. Studies show that color

• increases brand recognition by up to 80 percent,
• improves readership by as much as 40 percent,
• increases comprehension by 73 percent, and
• can be up to 85 percent of the reason people decide to buy.

Colors can evoke different emotions and actions based on the viewer’s gender, geographic location, and age. Analyze your audience carefully to ensure you use colors that best fit your intentions.

Here’s a quick reference guide to what common colors typically signify:

• White: Purity, innocence, cleanliness
• Black: Authority, boldness, and elegance
• Red: Action, excitement, and passion
• Blue: Confidence, trust, and security
• Orange: Creativity and enthusiasm
• Yellow: Warmth, happiness, excitement, fun
• Green: Freshness, growth, health, nature—as well as money, wealth
• Purple: Spirituality and royalty
• Pink: Youthfulness, playfulness, energy, and fun
• Brown: Stability, age, and relaxation
• Gray/Silver: Authority, creativity, and practicality

Choose your colors carefully—not only will they evoke different emotions from different audiences, they will become closely associated with your company. Who doesn’t associate a certain forest green with Whole Foods? Red with Coca-Cola? Golden arches with McDonalds?

Huge amounts of thought, effort, and research go into every single color you see in a company’s marketing and advertising. Brands use colors to help project their value to customers and potential customers and to generate appeal, interest, and loyalty.

Which colors do you use for branding and marketing? Why? Do you believe they accurately represent and affect the way visitors perceive your brand?