Marketing research indicates that approximately 80% of visual information is based on color and a person can only keep 3-4 pieces of information stored in short term memory at one time. A lot of time, money, and effort is placed into choosing colors for a new medical product since the color needs to attract attention and inform efficiently. In the medical industry, neutral colors are typically used for large medical equipment, and bright, bold colors are used as color coding indicators for safety (i.e. in a larger setting such as a hospitals biohazard bins are red). From my experience in the Diabetes industry, marketing materials range in a variety of colors to match the company’s logo and theme as well as the product’s packaging and labeling. While the colors used for the actual products are specifically limited to neutral colors such as black, white, and gray hues. There are target range indicators for diabetic medical devices in which these colors are typically refrained from using in marketing materials because they are color indicators. Green for being in your targeted blood glucose range, red for being low approaching hypoglycemia, and yellow or blue for indicating being high approaching hyperglycemia. From my experience, it can take over 9 months to complete the marketing research for just simply determining brand name and color.
One aspect of color comes into the branding. Companies want to have a color palette that distinguishes itself. If you see red and yellow together, you'll most likely think its McDonald's since they have went through a lot of effort in their brand. Or similarly in medical devices, Stryker has gone through a lot of effort to bring about their gold and black colors. When they did the change, upper management and marketing heavily emphasized using these colors in external communication. Its because they want these colors to represent them.
A second aspect comes into advertising. They want to associate the colors based on what they are trying to relay. So for example a casino mobile game. They want bright flashing colors to attract the consumers to the screen and excite them so that they continue playing. An ad for Valentine's day may use a lot of pinks and reds because in our society we associate these colors love and relationships but alternatively in a stop smoking, red can used for negativity. It all depends on the subject matter being advertised.
If you didn't use these colors and used arbitrary colors, something may feel off about it. To use the previous example, if gray and black was used in a Valentine's day ad, it may end up giving more of a sad reaction even if the content of the ad was positive. It is crazy how important colors can be.
Color plays an important role in branding as it is the first impression that nay customer gets. It is also said that it is a secret of producing good identity of a company. Colors are more than visual aid as it also conveys emotions, feelings and lot more. Color in branding and advertising has a great psychological effect on people. Properly chosen colors defines your companys value, supports and strengthen the brad positioning and also helps in distinguishing it from other alternatives available. So picking a right color should never be underestimated.
Colors do have the power to invoke emotion, whether it is positive or negative. However, when used in conjunction with other elements such as textures (specifically visual or perceived texture) and shapes also play a large role in appealing to consumers. The combination of colors is also used to quietly associate the brand with well known positive ideas such as country flags and colors used in nature. People respond well to familiar objects and feel better connected. They are more likely to associate the product with positive emotions when it reminds them of something they already like. Colors can also be used to be a part of a theme, like how around Christmas and other holidays certain colors are used to create a seasonal spirit.
Agreed, color does play an important role in everything whether it is about restaurants, hospitality, products or brand name. Every color has their own meaning which represents the companies and their goal. Such as Going green uses Green or yellow, because it helps society to understand the importance of environment, and surrounding of us. The color green is the color of life, nature, energy,recycle, it is associated with significance of growth and happiness. This color is visible everywhere nowadays since every companies is trying to deliver a message of going green and save the plants to consumers.
Color plays an important role in branding and advertising as it is immediately noticeable and affects a persons mood or perception. One color that no one mentioned so far is white. I think it is extremely important how a company uses white and blank space in their ad. Apple is one company that often uses white. It gives off a clean, modern image. Also white is surprisingly noticeable and draws your attention - for example if you are in Times Square and everything is busy and colorful, you are more likely to notice a large white ad. This is a critical idea for advertising -- its not just what is present in the ad (color) but also what is NOT there (white and blank space) that can send an equally loud message.
Color is very important in branding and marketing because it is where first impressions of the customer are based. Also color is the secret in producing a good identity for a company. colors are more than just a visual because colors convey emotions, feelings and experiences. Visual perception is the primary sense humans have for exploring and making sense of their environment. Once a human identify a color, instantly have a chemical reaction in the brain that produce an emotional response. This response triggers a multitude of thoughts, memories and associations to people, places . Color affects us in profound ways.
So much thought goes into marketing surrounding the psychology of colors and the effects it has on consumers. A common example, as used in the post of this question is McDonald's. They heavily utilize the colors red and yellow, as red is proven to enhance appetite, while yellow has been seen to give a sense of youthfulness and happiness, which is a perfect model of what McDonald's wants their customers to feel when they walk in and out of the door at a restaurant. An interesting color to me is blue, always seenas my favorite color, many technology brands of today emphasize the color blue, and this is due to that the response on most people of blue is a safe and calming effect which is what most people want when they are shelling out a large sum of money on a piece of technology. Additionally, many high end brands such as Tesla, Lexus, and Ralph Lauren use the colorless emphasis on black and silver to display a sleek, high-end look. All colors and shades of the rainbow have a psychological effect on people, and marketing divisions of companies all over the world use this information to manipulate their target market.
I have seen a lot of food joints using red and white, while the red color as mentioned above invokes hunger, the white color represents innocence, a purity so lots of food companies do use it.
On the other hand, lots of Medical Device companies, government agencies and bank's logos are Blue which symbolizes Professionalism, Trust, Authority, Power and Loyalty. Blue is used in corporate logos as it creates a sense of security while showing loyalty and professionalism.
Brand coloring is one of the important elements of brand identity. It is where first impression of customers are based. Basically the color has its effect on human’s mood, behavior and perception. Colors are more visual and hence it plays a major role in emotions and feelings. Each color has its own way of resembling its characteristic meaning like red increases circulation, hungriness; blue is to sooth pain, positivity; yellow for purifying body, optimism; while green resembles health and nature.
For example, Restaurants like McD, Burger King, KFC, Pizza hut have their logos go on red for attracting customers. While big corporate companies like Google, Microsoft have multi colors for grabbing more users around the world. Hence brand coloring is one of the main secret in producing a good identity for a company.
Dr. Simon touched upon Branding when going over the Facets of Marketing. The coloring is an important component to think about when branding a product/company. What kind of coloring do you notice companies are using and why are those colors beneficial to their business?
For example, the color red invokes hungry and the color yellow promotes happiness. Restaurants tend to use these colors so that customers are hungry when either in their restaurants or looking at their logo and associate the company with happiness. One of the largest company I can think of that utilizes this is McDonald's.
Red and yellow are used a lot in the food industry as you mentioned, and other examples of this besides McDonald's are Wendy's, Burger King, Denny's, Pizza Hut, In n Out, etc. Blue is also used a lot to invoke a trusting emotion in the customer. Some companies with blue logos are Ford, Visa, AmEx, GM, Intel, and most social media companies. Green is associated with money and financial growth, and companies with green logos include Range Rover, Starbucks, Whole Foods, Spotify, etc. Black and White logos symbolize luxury, and companies that use this color scheme are Apply, Nike, Adidas, Sony, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, NY Times, etc. Many of the other colors are far less common in branding because they don't invoke such powerful emotions as the primary and secondary colors listed above.
Color is very important in branding and marketing because it is where the first impression of the customer lies. Colors convey emotions, experiences and feelings more than being just a visual aid. Colors and shapes are an immediate way of meaning and message without words. As the saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words". In the healthcare/medical field is blue as it is typically associated with credibility, trust, knowledge, power, professionalism, cleanliness, calm and focus. Because all of these qualities are valued in the medical community, blue is the ideal choice for medical logos. Green is the color associated with health and nature it represents growth, nature, money, fertility and safety. Green is a relaxing color that is easy on the eye and has a healing power to it.
I have noticed that technological companies use the color blue such as Samsung, Dell, Intel, HP, ATT, and GE. Also, car manufacturers such as Ford, Volkswagen, Subaru, BMW, Volvo and many others incorporated blue in their logos to represent Strength, Trust, and Dependability. The color blue represents Strength, Trust, and Dependability and that's why the majority of technological companies and car companies use this color. Also many banks and credit cards such as Chase and American Express are represented by the color blue as well because blue means trust. More blue includes major social media platforms such as Facebook, twitter, Linkedin etc. This color is widely used in major companies that we use and depend on every single day.
Colors can influence your feelings and actions. If you see red you might think danger or stop, green could be positive and encouraging. I found a chart of different colors, words associated with them, and what companies use these colors:
Grey/Silver: "Balance", "Neutral", "Calm" - Apple, Swarovski, Sony
Green: "Peaceful", "Growth", "Nature: - Starbucks, bp gas, Land Rover
Blue: "Trust", "Dependable", "Strength" - Ford, Oral-B, Facebook
Yellow: "Optimism", "Clarity", "Warmth" - Nikon, Ikea, McDonalds
Orange: "Friendly", "Cheerful", "Confidence" - Amazon, Nike, Nickelodeon
Red: "Exciting", "Youthful", "Bold" - Coca-Cola, Nintendo, Lego
Purple: "Creative", "Imagination", "Wise" - Cadbury, Hallmark, Yahoo
While for the most part I agree with the words these colors are associated with, I wouldn't associate these words with some of the companies listed. Color schemes can draw customers to your brands, but it takes more than just colors to want to keep associating with that brand. For example, the color blue is used by Facebook. While my initial introduction to Facebook when it was first launched was positive and I felt trusting of the brand, currently I don't feel the same way.
On a recent medical product the company I work for launched, they chose the brand colors blue and purple. When I first saw the box the colors made me feel like it was trustworthy, innovative, and promising. I wasn't involved in the conversations when choosing the colors however based on the color word associations list I have included above, I would say the impression the box made on me falls in line with what it was intended to invoke in people.
Although color in branding is very important in catching one's eye, there may be individual differences in interpreting the colors as well. For example, some people have a preference for one color over the other. Different cultural backgrounds can also play a role in this, where one color might have a positive meaning in one culture, but the opposite in another. There are also individual experiences with color, so associations of a particular color with a particular feeling can be very subjective. Therefore, more research needs to be done on the variability of color-effects on people. Overall, I think colors can more easily give an identity to a brand, which is important for distinguishing different brands.