Posted by Jennifer Dinehart, April 10, 2012
Most marketers understand that the consistent use of color in advertising and marketing plays a huge role in memory recall. For example, most of us understand that the persistent use of red in advertising for Coca-Cola® is done in hopes that whenever the color red is seen it will remind us of the soft drink.
However, colors are often associated with moods and meanings, and can instantly convey a message like no other communication medium. They can have different meanings depending on culture, situation or industry, and are perceived at a subliminal level, i.e., most people do not consciously think about the associations, but their perceptions of a company are often influenced by them.
Many times not enough consideration is given to the selection of color. Perhaps your company’s color was selected because it is the owner’s favorite, or a designer’s. Since color associations are processed on a subliminal level, it is important to know and understand what those associations are so that you can select colors that will send the right message.
Ultimately, you should select colors based on the emotion and image you want to evoke in each target market throughout the world.
Remember that colors have strong cultural associations and inferences that may differ widely from one place to another globally. Make sure you research and understand this when designing your advertising and marketing for each location.
I thought about this subject a lot during the NCAA basketball season with Nike introducing gray versions of very traditional uniforms and then Adidas introducing “day glo” uniforms for several of their teams.
University sports programs traditionally have a very strong, and successful, history of branding. Nike, Adidas and Under Armor are putting these brands at risk in an effort to promote their own brands.
I know they pay the universities a lot of money to do so; however, the universities need to consider the value of their brands before they erode them.
Comment by Tom Smith — April 13, 2012 @ 6:28 am
Tie ins and sponsorship partnerships only work well when they promote, support both brands well (and this includes their color choices and visuals).
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