Introduction
Does effect the Marketing world? to put simply, yes it does. Color in Marketing has been around for years and utilized by many companies such as McDonalds, Starbucks, Coca Cola, etc… with Color being apart of their iconic look. While my major is Marketing Management I have done research on why color is important in marketing along with how it is used. My blog contains such information of how important color is, how it is used to target consumers, grab attentions, and increase sales.
The video that explains the effectiveness of color. The video goes on to explain how important and impactful color can be as it is able to affect a persons perspective in business’. The videos demonstrates how color in a resume or document can improve an employees efficiency along being more eye catching compared to a document with no colors. Ultimately, the video indicated how useful color can be in a work environment. Similar rules apply in the Marketing world as you can see down below!
The Importance of Color in Marketing
Have you ever wondered why you’re drawn to certain products over another? Well it turns out color may be the reason for that. Color plays a big role in our decision making process when it comes to buying goods. In fact, it’s one of the most diverse utilities in the marketing world that can be used for attracting people’s attention and persuading consumers to conclude a purchase. While branding and logos are important, color is the first thing consumers see before they test out the product, making it one of the most important aspects of marketing. Here are some reasons why!
Targeted Marketing
Colors can be used to target specific audiences and increase sales. For example, research done by V.Madzharov, Ramanathan, and G. Block (2016) has shown that colors like bright blue and red are used in children’s yogurt to entice younger consumers into begging their parents to buy it for them ( V. Madzharov, Ramanathan, and G. Block (2016, pp 589). Similarly, a survey I conducted on 30 young adults from ages 18-23 showed that the space black color option was the most popular for the iPhone 13 Pro Max with a 38.7% pick rate compared to the other colors which were less. Apple has a variety of colors to choose from, but the darker shades seem to be the most appealing to young adults. Overall, the color of a product can lure in more customers depending on who the companies are trying to target.
Attention-Grabbing
Oftentimes customers who enter a store or just people walking on the streets are observant and by having color embedded in their products and advertisements you can attract their attention to check out the goods you are selling. According to Burst (2021) big companies like McDonald’s use the colors red and yellow to appeal to children while also creating a sense of urgency (Burst 2021, para 15). Businesses can use color to attract more customers and influence them. By using color to create a sense of want, companies can increase sales and obtain more customers over time with this method of marketing.
Influencing Purchase Decisions
Color can influence a buyer’s decision in a matter of seconds. According to BYTYÇI, S.(2020) Studies have shown that 85% of respondents choose color as the main reason for purchasing a product based on the visual aspect. When people are out shopping, they make subconscious judgments within seconds of seeing an item. The initial impression that a color creates can change a person’s mind on whether they want to buy an item or not. Color helps customers determine if they’re willing to spend money on an item they’re interested in. For example, if a child saw the same toy they wanted but with a different color, the toy with his favorite color is more likely to catch his eye and make up his mind on wanting it or not.
Increasing Sales
Color can also cause an increase in the sales of products. For example, in 2017, Apple released a new red colorway for the iPhone 7 to support and spread awareness about AIDS. The new colorway was expected to increase the sales of the iPhone and bring in a heavy sum of money. According to Kasperkevic,(2017) Apple was expected to make between 12-24 million dollars (Kasperkevic, 2017, para 6). Additionally, color can affect a person’s perception of pricing, leading them to purchase a more expensive item. Studies done by Grandi and Cardinali (2022) have also shown that colors such as red can cause people to purchase items that are more expensive, misleading them to believe they got a good deal even if the sale was not much to begin with. (Grandi and Cardinali (2022), para 1).
Color VS Branding
Firstly, branding is an important part of marketing as it would cause people to want a product more. Branding itself, has the ability to create loyal customers who come back for more goods and makes the company well-known among the rest but, color does play a more significant role when it comes to marketing. The reason is that color is able to embed branding into people’s minds and it’s because of color brands become iconic. Singh (2006) demonstrates how color can make a brand iconic by explaining that color is able to evoke the brand into people’s minds, meaning that when people think or see a color similar to a specific brand they immediately think that that brand (Singh ,2006 pp 786). Take the brand Coca-Cola for example when you think of the color red don’t you also see the iconic brand in your mind?
Conclusion
Marketing is important but knowing the basics of marketing is even more important as a simple thing such as color is able to affect consumer purchase choices in many ways. By using color to target specific audiences, create attention, influence purchase decisions, and increase sales, businesses can use this powerful tool to their advantage. The next time you’re out shopping, take a moment to think about why you’re drawn to certain products over another because chances are color may be the reason for that!