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Writer's pictureElijah Lopez

The Psychology Of Color In Marketing

The branding of your company can determine the way it is viewed by others, and how customers perceive your brand as a whole. It can attract new customers, but can equally make older customers feel at home with your company. One of the key concepts of brand identity that can influence this interaction between business and customer is your brand’s logo. Logos should always match and enhance the personality of a company, whilst being memorable. Many of the most successful logos (such as Coca-Cola and Apple) are simplistic, meaning that a customer can ‘fill in the blanks’ with positive experiences they have had with the brand.



A key part of designing a logo is the color palette used. The most effective logos use one to three primary colors, all of which have different connotations and create different emotions and responses in a customer. For example, green is often linked to health and nature, whilst red can be linked to determination, but also to energy, warmth and excitement. The color chosen will have a massive influence on how the brand is perceived. In fact, researchers have found that up to 90% of the initial judgements made by customers about products are based on color alone.




















Often, within specific industries, there are colors used regularly to promote the same sets of emotions. For example, brands in the food industry such as Arby's and KFC use the color red, as there is a large amount of research suggesting that it stimulates hunger. It also stands out easily, but can indicate anger so must be used carefully. Blue and pink are often combined when selling sugary products, such as sweets and ice cream, as they suggest a sense of playfulness and sweetness, for example in brands such as Baskin Robbins.


Age also affects the preference of some colors according to psychologist Faber Birren. Younger children seem to like colors such as yellow and orange, whilst older people again preferred blues and greens. Therefore, many brands who have children as their target audience, such as Nerf and Hot Wheels, use yellows, reds and oranges in their branding to attract them.


USE VIBRANT COLORS

Ads that are in color get read up to 42% more frequently than the same ads in black and white. Make sure your social media posts are light, bright and inviting, not dark and gloomy, as this will repel social media users.





















PICK A COLOR TO REPRESENT YOUR BRAND

Decide what you want your brand to represent, and pick a color that links to and complements this idea. You could use blue to create the idea of trustworthiness and reliability, or use red to grab attention to your brand and to convey excitement and determination.


USE RED IN CLEARANCE SALES

Red grabs customer attention and creates a sense of urgency, which would encourage people to purchase items from the sale.


USE INVITING COLORS ON COVER PHOTOS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

Use warm colors such as yellows, oranges and browns to invite and encourage people to visit your social media accounts.











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