Do you have any idea what role color plays in your marketing efforts? And if so, do you know what message your marketing efforts are conveying with the colors you use? Let me tell you that the colors you use in your marketing efforts – your brochures, business cards, letterhead, signage, office interiors, and more – play a very important role in motivating people. The colors speak loudly and clearly, so I believe it is in our best interest to learn what the colors convey in our marketing.
The importance of color because of its “hidden language” is well known. I witnessed this firsthand several years ago when I was asked to and agreed to participate in a study being conducted by the Harvard Business School. I was one of a selected number of executives to be interviewed and asked many questions about color and emotions about color. Major corporations that produced consumer products sponsored the research. We were not told the specific sponsors.
Colors do stimulate our emotions and can generate negative reactions if used improperly. It has been stated that lasting impressions are made within 90 seconds and color accounts for 60 percent of the acceptance or rejection. So pleased be warned – learn what colors will mean to your prospects and what emotions they may trigger.
Since colors are so important, it behooves us to learn what message they convey in our marketing efforts. Here is a brief overview to facilitate our learning some basics of the meaning of colors in our marketing.
Red: conveys aggressiveness, passion, strength, and vitality and is great for accents and boldness. It also stimulates appetites and is associated with debt. It can be used to grab attention.
Pink: conveys femininity, innocence, romance, softness and health and is the most calming of all colors. It is used effectively for products and services related to romantic holidays.
Blue: conveys authority, dignity, security, and faithfulness and implies fiscal responsibility and security. A majority of people say blue is their favorite color. It is good for building customer loyalty.
Green: conveys growth, tranquility, freshness, nature, wealth and status. It is effective in creating a calming effect or growth image.
Yellow: conveys optimism, good times, happiness and can bring out creative thoughts. It can provide a relaxed feeling.
Orange: conveys fun, exuberance, new attitudes and is appealing to intellectuals. It is good for accenting things and to create a playful environment.
Purple: conveys sophistication, royalty, mystery, prosperity, and spirituality and is good for upscale and artistic audiences. Purple works when creating a premium service business.
Brown: conveys earthiness, woodiness, and natural.
Black: conveys authority, power, seriousness, boldness and can be somber. It creates drama and is often a very good background color. It works well for high-end markets or in youth markets to add mystery to the business image.
White: conveys purity, truthfulness, cleanliness and refined. It can project neutrality.
Gray: conveys middle-of-the-road, somberness, practicality, and timeless. It is a good choice for conservative audiences.
Gold: conveys prestige, success, high quality, wealth and promise of better times. A good use is to symbolize high quality.
Silver: conveys prestige, graceful, distinguished, and high tech. This is used effectively in the automotive world to symbolize sleekness and high tech and in senior products to symbolize graceful aging.
If you want to learn more about the impact of color in your marketing, please contact Glenn Ebersole at www.marketingguru4u.com or by email at jgecoach@aol.com .
J. Glenn Ebersole, Jr. is a multi-faceted professional, who is recognized as a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of business coaching, marketing, public relations, management, strategic planning and engineering. Glenn is the Founder and Chief Executive of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices: The Renaissance Group, a creative marketing, public relations, strategic planning and business development consulting firm and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an independent professional engineering, marketing, and management consulting firm. He is a Certified Facilitator and serves as a business coach and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant to a diverse list of clients. Glenn is also the author of a monthly newsletter, “Glenn’s Guiding Lines – Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach” and has published more than 275 articles on business.