According to study, 90% of consumers pay attention to the appearance of products, and 80% of them would focus on the colour. In this sense, companies often utilise colour psychology to position their brands. Different colours bring different sensations; Once you master the colour strategy, your corporate image can be accurately built, sometimes even to a point where the customers may unconsciously perceive and remember your brand. Nonetheless, if you use colours in the wrong way, it could hamper the recognisability of your brand, resulting in loss of potential customers. In the following session, we will reveal the association between colour and marketing.

1. Color is an emotional cue

Clever use of colour can stimulate various feelings of customers. For example, McDonald and Coca Cola use the colour of red to stimulate appetite as well as passion of the brands; Ikea uses the colour yellow to convey the joy of buying new furniture; Facebook and Twitter use the colour of blue to build a trustworthy and authoritative impression. Let it be advertisement, web page design or product packaging, with the correct use of colour, intended brand images can be created in the back of the customer’s mind, stimulating different feelings towards your brands. This is the reason why colour psychology in marketing is so valued and crucial in the aspect of brand positioning.

2. Color simplifies message

In this age of information overflow, customers often spend under 3 seconds on each piece of news. In light of this, more and more social media posts make use of infographics instead of packed words; the ones that are easier to read get more attention. The mechanism behind is indeed related to the fact that our brain tends to favour simplified contents and avoid complicated information. When we see a red poster on a shop window, we correlate that to a sale; see the green colour, we correlate that to the environment; see the pink colour, we correlate that to femininity or romance. In the mere second that customers are paying attention, the company must know the colour that matches the potential customers and marketing goal, only then potential customers can be seized in the shortest time and get the message that you convey.

3. Color builds persona

Colour psychology in marketing for large corporations may aid their entry into the market, but it is not helping their brand recognisability. Before we practise the use of colour, market research regarding the targeted customers is a must, as blind use of trendy colours will only do harm. Using the two coke brands, Coca Cola and Pepsi as examples, for the same kind of product, the two brands use red and blue respectively to represent their brands, creating a visual difference. Therefore, the use of bold and unique colours can help your brand stand out in the market.