Color in Marketing: Shades of Meaning
What does the environment and color has to do with your product? More than you think. In today's competitive atmosphere and intense scrutiny of marketing effectiveness, color marketing as an element of the mix can serve as a way to make your messages stand out and perform. Color affects the human mind and body in different ways. People tend to respond to certain colors in uniform ways- gray, which connotes dullness or lethargic versus yellow signifies excitement and happiness. Yet certain colors convey different meanings, not only across cultures with certain combinations associated with a particular cultural ideologies and traditions, but also within a single culture. For example, black clothing in the United States conjures up funeral images. In urban markets across the United States, however, black clothing is trendy. In the Middle-East, black clothing connotes the essence and modesty of women.
Last year, yellow, rich green, bright metallic and dramatic dark were the dominant color influences for fashion, print, consumer products and automotive. According to annual forecast of Alexandria, Va.-based Color Marketing Group, 1999 will be the year of clean, complex, warm, calming and comfortable colors due in part to the aging population, environmental awareness, technological advances, and more important the increasingly global village.
Consumers may not be consciously aware of what impacts color attractiveness, marketers must understand the wide-ranging effects of color in their product offerings. Color is a primary communicator of the message within both a marketing and product design or packaging. A product's color can function not only as an immediate identifier of its brand but also its quality and price. Take the automotive industry for instance,where a noticeable shift in colors has occurred. Purple Hues, Mossy Green, Earthy Mineral Tones in Subtle Sand and Silt colors are popular colors in the United States. Consumers today appears to be attracted to some of the more Subtle Earthy Tone colors in their selection of cars. Introducing an unpopular color can have a devastating effect on the bottom line. An unpopular color can be perceived as a fad with major implications in three to five years when these cars are resold as used .
Color changes are highly visible in the clothing industry, where manufacturers follow and create seasonal apparel. In the food arena, the introduction of light, low-fat, healthier food products borrowed heavily from the ecologically-friendly durables which are now package in mostly green. Marketers often use this color as a high status indicator. According to a study conducted for a pharmaceutical company by Cheskin and Masten, a Redwood Shores, Calif.-based marketing research firm, vitamins packaged in yellow bottle with a white and black lettering were mistaken for ant poison. The company was able to change the packaging to beige and brown to emphasize the product's all-natural aspect.
Color is an important element in cross-cultural marketing because it tends to elicit certain consumer emotions and responses. In many cultures, certain color packaging conveys prestige. In Hong Kong, for example, gold type on a soup can label signifies high quality, while black-on-white labeling generally conveys a generic or inferior quality.
Because one color does not fit all, it is important for marketers to strategically augment color marketing in their packaging and offerings. It serves as an integral part of the mix to effectively communicate and reflect the cultures and customs of the local markets they serve.
* A copy of this article is also published in the March 16,1998 edition of Marketing News
J. Greg Gimba is a Managing Partner with Anet Consulting Group, Inc.,a Daytona Beach, Florida based Global Business&Marketing Consulting Firm., and an Adjunct Instructor, Graduate Business & Management Dept., University of Phoenix, Orlando campus, Florida . Greg can be contacted at jgg@anet-cgroup.com
J.Greg Gimba
Managing Partner/CCO
Anet Consulting Group,Inc.
E-mail: jgg@anet-cgroup.com
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