Nov 20, 2013
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Colors matter. Simply put, every color appeals to a different audience. You may have noticed that some companies appeal to you more than others. I will give you an example of the importance of color in marketing.
Coca-Cola – This is just a paraphrased story. Or rather, this is how I assume it went down. I wasn’t there so don’t quote me. I imagine that there were a couple execs brainstorming in the conference room about how to sell more Coke. They probably talked about how a lot of people were more health conscious. For some reason Diet Coke sold like gangbusters to women but men wouldn’t touch it. That’s when I picture a young employee (much like myself) who had the courage to say something like, “What if we made a new diet cola?” They made Coke Zero. But how can you sell a diet cola to men? Easy, use the word zero instead of diet and make the wrapper black.
Coca-Cola really did take a survey and found men don’t like the silver wrapper of Diet Coke. Coke Zero is now popular with men, but not women. Why? Because the wrapper is black.
Now let’s try to apply this to your company. Let’s say you are a pediatric dentist. You have lots of kids coming in and out of the office. Usually their mom’s are there. I suppose there could be outrageously independent 7 year olds walking to the dentist on their own to get their teeth cleaned, but I doubt it. So what colors are going to appeal to moms and their children? Try the primary colors. These colors along with other bright colors appeal to children.
Do you have a fast-food joint? Reds and oranges have been shown to help people get in and get out quickly. Do you need to reach impulse shoppers? Try black, red-orange, and royal blue. If you need a quick reference guide here is a list of colors and their appeals:
Red –excitement, strength, passion, speed, danger
Blue –(most people’s favorite color) trust, reliability, belonging, coolness
Yellow –warmth, sunshine, cheer, happiness
Green — nature, fresh, cool, growth, abundance
Orange — playfulness, warmth, vibrant
Purple –royal, spirituality, dignity
Pink — soft, sweet, nurture, security
White –pure, clean, youthful, mild
Black –sophistication, elegant, seductive, mystery
Gold — prestige, expensive
Silver — prestige, cold, scientific
Take a good look at what message you are trying to send to your clients and customers. Pick your colors accordingly. Success is in the details.