How Colors Influence Purchasing Decisions

Share this ARTICLE with your colleagues on LinkedIn .

---

Colors influence our moods, our appetites, our energy levels and our purchasing decisions.  And they exert a great deal more influence than a great many marketers and brand managers realize.

Certain colors have "equivalencies," either in terms of emotions, perceptions and drives. Before designing corporate stationery or a corporate logo -- or even a website design -- these should be taken into account. Keeping away from U.S. politics, and remembering that the context in which any color is displayed will affect its meaning or message, here's a beginner's list:

RED - Associated with aggression; blood and cardiology; Valentines and love; challenges and conflicts; and anger, although that last one is declining in associative value;

BLUE - Associated with water; peace and tranquility; air travel; and diplomacy;

PURPLE - Rage and royalty;

ORANGE - Foods and hunger; children (as a non-food item); caution, although this is becoming less and less the case;

YELLOW - Foods and hunger; sunlight; wealth; intelligence and creativity;

PINK - Femininity; cancer (increasingly so, especially in terms of breast cancer); bandages (although this last one is becoming archaic);

GRAY - Technology; robotics; steel, militancy; serious business; intellect;

TEAL and TURQUOISE - Cruises and Vacations; tropical waters; relaxation; creativity;

GREEN - Conservation; the Earth; plants; fertility; springtime; refreshment; wealth and money;

A study follows (which appears courtesy of KISSmetrics) which more specifically addresses the effect of color choices on consumerism. The information, provided in simple form, happens to be accurate and comprehensive.




Colors influence our emotions, our energy levels our actions, and ultimately, our purchasing decisions. You'd be wise, oh readers of the Mad Marketing Tactics Blog, to study the content above in its entirety before coming up with logos, letterheads, packaging, labels, buttons (on websites, blogs and newsletters), presentations (visuals, such as slideshows and PowerPoint displays) and clothing choices.

Color me clever.

Douglas E. Castle for The Mad Marketing Tactics Blog and The Daily Dose Of Brilliance Blog.

#MadMarketing

---

Related articles

• How Did Your Parents' Color Choices Influence Your Own? (apartmenttherapy.com)
• 25 Years Later, Microsoft Unveils A Revamped Corporate Logo (techcrunch.com)
• Design professionals offer tips for creating quality company logos (themetropreneur.com)
• Secret Signals: The Romney/Obama Debate - An Explosion Of Verbal And Non-Verbal Cues, Clues And 'Tells'. (sendingsignals.blogspot.com)
• Court in Australia upholds logo ban on cigarette packs (foxnews.com)
• Startup founders reveal their #1 user acquisition tactic (teamtreehouse.com)
• Ben Cohen's Stamp Stampede: "Money's Not Speech, Corporations Aren't People!" (technorati.com)
• Sherrell's "Casadecordas Cool" Room - Room for Color Contest (apartmenttherapy.com)
• COLOR RUN: Spectators Throw Powder Paint on Runners (whotv.com)
• This Is AIG's New Corporate Logo (businessinsider.com)

Turn Your Biggest, Stupidest Mistakes Into Public Relations and Customer Relations Opportunities.

Share this ARTICLE with your colleagues on LinkedIn .

---

Turn Your Biggest, Stupidest Mistakes Into Public Relations and Customer Relations Opportunities.

Recently, established retailer THE GAP decided to change its logo -- to give itself some kind of "facelift." Stupid idea. Failed Experiment. Customers hated it. Critics said that the new logo looked like some stupid, cheap clip art. Tim Gunn (an expert on virtually everything fashionable except monetary policy, and the US has Ben Bernanke to "shape" that -- hint: brown, steaming, foul-smelling with a halo of flies buzzing about its apex...").

After a great deal of free (but seemingly adverse) media exposure, GAP switched back to its traditional logo. They could have made this highly-published flop into a media holiday. They could have said, "Our loyal customers have spoken. They want their GAP logo back. We'll, we've listened. It's back. Can you ever forgive us?"

"Our loyal customers have spoken. They want their GAP logo back. We'll, we've listened. It's back. We've located the individuals responsible for this hideous miscalculation, and have locked them in a room. Now, our loyal customers, we'll need your opinion again...should we merely fir these people, sue them or stone them. We'll need your input."

"Our loyal customers have spoken. They want their GAP logo back. We'll, we've listened. It's back. We apologize...after all, when they tried to make ketchup bottles with wider necks, everyone screamed -- but they're still punching the bottoms of those ketchup bottles to get their favorite flavoring out, right? And when Coke tried to re-brand itself with "New Coke" and "Classic Coke" they almost had to call out the National Guard -- but did people stop drinking Coca Cola -- Heck, no! Several generations of folks use it as a mouthwash! You still love ketchup. You still drink Coke. Well...come back home to us and fall into the GAP. You know, we might even have a few special items at tremendously reduced prices in a special "Guilt Sale" at selected locations.

You get the point. Almost any mistake can be turned into any opportunity. Marketing is a clever type of interpretative opportunism.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle








MAD MARKETING TACTICS™ !
Get MAD... Get CRAZY... Get MOVING... Get ATTENTION!
Visit us at http://MadMarketingTactics.blogspot.com