Ever seen an advertisement and felt an immediate connection? Well, that is because the colours invoked a type of emotion in you. Imagine that you are placed in a red versus a blue room, the way you feel will starkly differ with anxiety for the former and calmness for the latter. The same theory applies with colours used in advertising.
The use of the right colours can help you relay your messages effectively because they invoke a certain type of emotions. In fact, colours speak to consumers more than you can imagine. It is more than just supplements to a visuals; it is a language used to persuade buyers to act.
Like a placebo effect, using the right colour can a product more attractive, even if they may look entirely the same.
According to one study, researcher Satyendra Singh emphasises on the impact of colour psychology in marketing [1]:
“People make up their minds within 90 seconds of their initial interactions with either people or products. About 62‐90 percent of the assessment is based on colors alone. So, prudent use of colors can contribute not only to differentiating products from competitors, but also to influencing moods and feelings — positively or negatively — and therefore, to attitude towards certain products.”
Using Colours as a Tool for Communication
Colours provide the fundamental grounds in the way buyers perceive a product/design. The ability to harness colour psychology that speaks to your buyers are as important as targeting the right people.
It is crucial to first understand who your customers are because colours can influence how a buyer thinks and feels about a product.
Researchers have indicated that there are intimate links between certain colours and behaviours. A specific colour can influence and change a buyer’s behaviour, for instance, black and red are commonly associated with impulse buyers and brown is often not suitable for health products because we associate it with dirt and the state of rotting.
With this in mind, the art of colour psychology in brand marketing stretches beyond the purpose of evoking emotions. It is also about using colours to meet consumers’ expectations.
As consumers, our expectations are stemmed in something called “biological programming”. That is, we subconsciously associate certain colours to something that we see in nature. For instance, red is a commonly used colour for food brands as it indicated ripeness like that of a freshly cut meat.
At the end of the day, we decide what to buy based on what we see and deciphering whether the colours are fulfilling their intended purpose.
The Impact of Colours in Marketing and Advertising
By now, you would already have a sense of how important it is to use the right colours that will influence buyers on their purchasing decisions. Every colour is unique and has their own list of associations that will be useful to your content marketing materials. Let’s look at the common colours and how each of these could be used effectively to suit your marketing and advertising needs.
Green
If you have an understanding of the Colour Wheel, you would know by now that Green is a cool color, which means they are colours that are calm and soothing. In this respect, the colour green is thus most suited for calm, mature and professional brands. We often associate this colour with:
- Landscapes
- Health
- Luck
- Wealth
- Harmony
- Environment
- Soothing
- Freshness
- Renewal
Blue
Blue is commonly seen as a “male” colour but let’s not gender classify our colours here because there is more to the colour Blue than you think. We can also associate blue with:
- Nature
- Serenity
- Refreshing
- Hydration
- Peace
- Calmness
- Spiritual
- Sadness
Purple
Purple is all about mystery, royalty and even lascivious. We commonly associate Purple with:
- Exquisiteness
- Luxury
- Piety
- Magic
- Seduction
- Femininity
- Creativity
- Ambition
- Spirituality
Red
Red is a colour that is definitely seen everywhere…. wherever a sale is calling. Common associations with red include:
- Passion
- Courage
- Love
- Warmth
- Fire
- Vigour
- Life
- Danger
Yellow
Yellow breathes positivity and energy. Just like how the yellow sun burns bright in the sky, you can be creative with this colour that evokes a myriad of emotions and associations:
- Optimism
- Happiness
- Bravery
- Holiness
- Youth
- Cheerfulness
- Warmth
References
[1]: Impact of color on marketing by Satyendra Singh