THE PSYCHOLOGY OF COLORS IN MARKETING

The psychology of colors in marketing is a fundamental discipline for business. Colors influence consumer choices, for example, did you know that color influences the taste of a food? Did you know that straight men are more attracted to women dressed in red? Do you know how to apply color theory to sell more? Want to find out how? Then continue reading.

Relationship between colors, emotions, and people.

There is a deep relationship between colors, emotions, and people. The latter can associate a color with each emotion. Each color has a different shade, and varying the shade slightly can make the consumer perceive different emotions. The following image tells us that:

• A lighter almost sky-blue blue is most favored among people who show no signs of depression or anxiety;
• While a darker blue was chosen among the most anxious and depressed people;
• The gray shades instead were the colors that best represent anxiety and depression;
• The favorite color of the happiest people is yellow.

Given this information, we can understand something important: if individuals can associate a color with an emotion or state of mind, then it is true that the vision of a color can recall the emotion or state of mind itself.

Meaning of colors

Over the years, colors have taken on different meanings depending on the culture of a given geographical area. However, we will focus on the psychology of colors in Marketing and understand how companies use colors in communication. Below is a list of the main colors, where their meaning is described, and some useful advice for using them.

Psychology of the Color White

White is the color of deities, it represents spirituality, wisdom, purity, goodness, and cleanliness. It is widely used for goods/services that have to do with hygiene. In the field of design, it communicates minimalism and the absence of superfluous details. When using white it is difficult to give personality to your brand, so it is recommended to use it when the personality of the brand is linked to characteristics such as simplicity, purity, and transparency.

Psychology of the Color Yellow

Yellow is the color of the sun, this color symbolizes joy, happiness, optimism, hope, and intellect. We’re talking about a lively, energetic, and cheerful color, these characteristics are very associated with children, and using yellow to communicate with them is a great idea. However, this color in some circumstances can communicate cheapness. So if you want to avoid giving the consumer the perception that the product is inexpensive, you need to associate yellow with good logo design.

Psychology of the Color Orange

Orange communicates energy, balance, friendship, courage, ambition, and understanding. It can be used when you want to communicate friendly with the target and you want to convey a message of optimism. Orange is great when you want to communicate with teenagers. However, for luxury, traditional, and more serious brands, it is not recommended to use this color, otherwise, the perception of the characteristics you want to communicate is lost.

 

The expert in the strategic use of colors in a Brand’s visual content is the Web Content Editor. Find out with a test if this profession is right for you!

Psychology of the Color Red

Red is the color of blood and the heart, it symbolizes passion, love excitement, willpower, but also anger and aggression. Red is one of those colors that attract people’s attention and is widely used by fast-food restaurants to perform impulse actions. This color has a very strong meaning, so it is advisable to use it with discretion. But if in an industry many brands tend to avoid using red, it would be a great idea to use this color to stand out from the crowd and more easily capture the attention of consumers.

Pink color psychology

Pink is a very sweet and delicate color, for this reason, it communicates love, affection, tenderness, innocence, and kindness. This brand particularly attracts a female audience, but is also used in the childhood sector to make the consumer perceive feelings of tenderness, delicacy, and affection.

Violet color psychology

Purple is a color full of strong meanings. It is the color of wealth, spirituality, nobility, wisdom, and creativity. For women, it also serves to communicate sensuality, while for men, darker shades of purple recall a meaning of luxury. Purple strikes a female target more, it is not used much by logos, but even in this case there is the possibility of differentiating if combined with good design and a brighter shade.

Psychology of the Color Green

Do you all know the proverb “Green hope is never lost”? well, this color symbolizes hope. But green is also the symbol of health, healing, fertility, and balance. This color helps a lot to relax the nervous system and in chromotherapy, it is used to improve mood. It is particularly used in the health and food sector to communicate a message of well-being and health. A brighter and clearer green makes you perceive qualities such as growth, vitality, and renewal, while a stronger and darker green is a symbol of wealth and abundance, but in some circumstances, it can also define envy and jealousy.

Blue color psychology

Blue is the color of the sea, and when we think of the sea we often think of relaxation. It is no coincidence that blue also has a significant relaxing effect, and also communicates tranquillity, calm, harmony, security, and stability. Thanks to these characteristics, blue used in marketing tends to create a feeling of trust and loyalty between companies and consumers. Depending on its tonality and context it can also express a feeling of sadness and depression. Furthermore, this color is used by many logos, so its use is not recommended if you want to differentiate your logo or product from those of others.

Brown color psychology

Brown is a very sensorial color, reminiscent of coffee and chocolate. It symbolizes emotion, and sensuality and also communicates that a product is organic and healthy. Brown is widely used when the product is linked to nature, thus recalling the color of the forests. It is a very delicate color, and based on its tone and context it can also recall dirt, however, the problem does not arise if the product is linked to elements such as earth or mud.

Color Psychology Black

Black is the color of mystery, but it also communicates authority, power, and respect. Black is also used by brands to communicate luxury, refinement, and exclusivity. It is one of the favorite colors in the fashion industry and is widely used by lawyers, architects, or personalities who want to highlight their authority and power. Black goes particularly well with bright colors such as white or gold, while to increase the feeling of luxury it is possible to add a touch of opacity.

Colors and Brand Identity

Brand recognition

The psychology of colors in marketing also comes to our rescue when we want to make our brand recognizable. Brand awareness is the ability to identify or associate a product with a particular brand. According to research by Loyola University, color increases brand recognition by 80%. In other words, it means making sure that when consumers think of a product, they also think of the colors of your brand, and they will remember you. To achieve this goal it is necessary:

• Choosing colors that best fit the corporate values and the product;
• Choose colors not used much by the competition, where possible.
• Be consistent in proposing the chosen colors in the different areas in which you communicate with the customer: Packaging, physical store, advertising, website;
• Consistency in proposing the same colors over time.

But be careful, because when the brand has managed over time to create a strong brand identity with certain colors, it can play with the surprise effect. It means going to change the colors of the brand for a limited and short period. A successful example is given to us by the Heinz company, which changed the color of the ketchup bottle from red to green. Consumers, now accustomed to the usual red bottle of ketchup, were surprised to see a new green bottle. All of this allowed Heinz to increase product sales by $23 million.

Impact of Colors on Purchases

Brand colors have a great impact on purchasing behavior, for the following reasons:

• If the customer is looking for a product with certain qualities, the eye will fall on the product that has a color that best recalls the quality sought;
• the consumer makes a judgment about a product within 90 seconds. And that judgment is heavily influenced by color.
• The right color attracts the right target, we saw earlier that pink and purple appeal to a female target, but a darker purple is a symbol of wealth and can capture the attention of a male target.

These principles also apply to Digital Marketing campaigns. The visual impact of a website will determine whether or not the customer stays, a post published on Social Networks will capture the customer’s attention if it has colors that differ from other posts. So the psychology of colors in Marketing concerns this discipline in its entirety. All this makes the difference in choosing one brand over another.

Colors and calls to action that convert

We have said that in building a strong brand identity it is necessary to recall the colors that symbolize the brand and the site in every context. The colors of a website are no exception. But is the same with the calls to action on the website? Can colors increase the conversion rate? The answer is yes, let’s find out how together.

• Define a strong contrast between the call-to-action button and the website color: a strong contrast between these two elements will make your call-to-action clear, and will immediately attract the user’s attention;
• Choose a color that not only creates contrast with the background of the site but is also completely different from the colors of the page: the TEDx CTA in the image is a good example. the color of the CTA, in addition to contrasting sharply with the background, has different colors than those used on the page.
• Be consistent with the use of color in the call to action. If you use red in a page’s call to action, then you must always use that color in subsequent calls to action. In this way, we educate the user to recognize our call to action. In other words, the consumer knows that by clicking on the red, he will perform a specific operation. However, he tries to avoid putting red in other non-clickable parts of the text.

Finally, I won’t tell you that by using a certain color within your website, you get a bigger conversion boost than another. As we have seen before red attracts attention and stimulates an impulse action, however, if it is used in the wrong context, the desired results would not be obtained. So it is not necessary to think only in terms of symbology, but also to adapt it to the context and above all to experiment and understand what works best.

Conclusions

In this article, we talked about the psychology of colors in Marketing and we understood that:

• Colors play a vital role in influencing consumer choices.
• Depending on the culture and context, each color arouses an emotion;
• A slightly different shade of a color can change consumer perception;
• Colors are particularly powerful in creating a strong Brand Identity;
• Brand recognition is achieved by recalling the brand colors in every possible situation, from the physical store to the website;
• To define a clear and converting call to action, you need to follow a few small tricks;
• No color universally influences a person’s choices, but the right colors must be applied to the right context.

 

If you’re struggling to figure out which colors are most effective for your business,
contact an expert. Together you will define the best communication strategy for you

REQUEST A FREE CONSULTATION

 

ALTERNATIVELY, FILL IN THE FORM BELOW AND YOU WILL BE CONTACTED