Use Color Power to Boost Your Marketing Power

Last updated on September 1, 2019

Use Color Power to Boost Your Marketing Power.  As marketers, we know that business is an art of persuasion.

While there are many things that influence shoppers, it is often the subtle and less noticeable visual inputs that generate the most power for your branding campaign.

Scientists have studied and measured the emotional effect that color has on humans and our buying decisions – here are their findings for you to use to your sales advantage.    

The Power of Color on People And Buying

Color shades have potent effects on people’s moods and buying activities. You can influence your customer’s purchasing behavior and choices, to your benefit, by using the right color in your logo design, branding, and advertising campaigns. I used red in my new 99 logos because it is bold and attention-getting.

Scientists Prove that Color Markets

Scientific research has discovered that 93 percent of buyers credit the visual look of a product as their top buying factor and 85% people say that the most important reason they bought a particular product was the shade!  

• 92% Believe color presents an image of impressive quality
• 90% Feel color can assist in attracting new customers
• 90% Believe customers remember presentations and documents better when color is used
• 83% Believe color makes them appear more successful
• 81% Think color gives them a competitive edge
• 76% Believe that the use of color makes their business appear larger to clients

Source: Conducted by Xerox Corporation and International Communications Research from February 19, 2003, to March 7, 2003, a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

When asked to approximate the importance of color when buying products, 84.7 percent of the total respondents think that color accounts for more than half of the various factors important for choosing products.

Source: Secretariat of the Seoul International Color Expo

Research reveals people make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment, or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing and that between 62% and 90% of that assessment is based on color alone.

Source: CCICOLOR – Institute for Color Research

Color increases brand recognition by up to 80 percent

Source: University of Loyola, Maryland study

Now that you know the enormous power of color to influence your customers to utilize this business research to construct your own very best new advertising campaigns.

Emotions of Colors for Branding Purposes

Red –– Creates a sense of urgency, which can be very good for clearance and sales earnings. Fast-food chains, therefore often used to stimulate our desire. Stimulates the full-body, heart rate and raising blood pressure, associated with excitement, excitement, and movement. Major brands such as Coca-Cola, Target, Youtube, and Heinz all use red as their primary marketing color.

Blue — The most preferred color of men. It’s linked to peace and success. Over 40% of the INC 5000 fastest growing companies in America use blue in their branding.

Blue provides a sense of productivity, curbs appetite, and promotes security.

The color used by manufacturers looking to advertise trusts such as banks and brokerage houses. Blue is used in the logos of American Express, Linkedin, Dell, and Facebook, etc.

Green — Associated with health, tranquility, ability, and private character. For relaxing shop surroundings and also to encourage green living and products. Green stimulates and promotes confidence and equilibrium. Green is shown in the logos of Whole Foods, Land Rover and John Deere.

Purple — Ordinarily connected with royalty, wisdom, and admiration. Stimulates creative problem solving and imagination. Often used to market beauty and anti-aging products. Yahoo and Hallmark both use purple in their branding.

Orange & Yellow — Happy colors that make people feel optimistic and joyful.  Sometimes orange can make people think caution, because of its use in safety equipment.  

The color orange can urge shoppers to enter stores and sites. Top brands such as  Home Depot and Amazon both use orange while Nikon and Ikea use yellow to good effect.

Black –– Associated with electricity, capability, stability, and endurance. If used in surplus it can get overwhelming.

Grey — Means practicality, senior age, and solidarity to many people. Too much grey can bring on feelings of depression and boredom.

White — Associated with feelings of purity, cleanliness, and safety. The white area in branding layout helps since it could be seen as a clean slate and provoke the imagination.

Colors Used By Industry

According to the 2017 study – Shades in Branding, studying different businesses, these are the top colors utilized in their branding and logos and the associated the emotional reactions generated:

Restaurants – Red for appetites and vitality. Green for feeling good and healthy.

Banking – Blue for reliability. Red for Warmth and caring. Yellow for Cheerfulness

Apparel and Accessories – Dark tones such as Black for elegance. Red for fire and trendiness.

Automobile and Truck Manufacturers – Grey for quality and longevity. Red for masculinity. Blue for dependability.

Home Improvement – Blue for comfort. Orange for Excitement and capability. Red for inspiration.

Pharmaceuticals – Blue for cleanliness. Orange for optimism. Green for energy.

Color Preferences by Gender

As a company owner, your target clients could be mainly of a specific gender; now you will be able to use specific colors to more efficiently market to such individuals.

According to this revolutionary color study from Joe Hallock, here are the findings by sex of color preferences:

Men’s Best Favorite Colors

Blue – 57 percent

Green – 14 percent

Black 9 percent

Red – 7 percent

Orange – 5 percent

Grey – 3 percent

Brown – two %

White – two %

Women’s Best Favorite Colors

Blue – 35 percent

Purple – 23 percent

Green -14 percent

Red – 9 percent

Black – 6 percent

Orange – 5 percent

Brown – 3 percent

Yellow – 3 percent

Men and Women’s Least Favorite Colors

Brown – 20-27 percent

Orange – 22 -33 percent

Color Shades Preference by Gender

Unsurprisingly, studies have decided that Men favor bolder tones and girls like softer, paler colors. Thus Men’s manufacturers have enhanced their brand awareness with darker, darker colors and feminine concentrated products do nicely with lighter tints of colors as brand colors.

Conclusion and Action Steps

Use these proven effects of color on people’s minds to your benefit by integrating the colors that convey with your target clients gender,  the feelings you would like your products to evoke.

Review your logo, site design, and advertising materials to establish whether you’re positively or negatively utilizing color to interest your clients.

References: Studies about Color for Branding

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