Color is all around, from the green grass to the blue sky. Of course, color has made a tremendous impact on the world of marketing and advertising. Both business leaders and consumers rely on color theory to help provoke human emotions and behaviors in their spending habits. Here are some of the important roles of color psychology in marketing today.
What Is Color Psychology?
Color psychology is the theoretical concept that color influences human behavior and emotion. Different colors, hues, and tones have their own respective characteristics and response triggers, although this can depend on culture and personality. Marketers rely on color theory to project their products in the most desirable way both directly and indirectly to increase consumer behavior. For instance, a restaurant may use specific colors to increase hunger and desire for a new menu item. Alternatively, a tech company may use a bold or assertive color to project a tough image of its product.
Brand Identity
Of course, while color psychology is meant to increase consumer demand, it also is a great tool to establish brand identity. For example, anyone can see golden arches and automatically assume they’re for McDonald’s. Relatedly, you don’t need to drink coffee to know that a green circle is directly related to Starbucks. Businesses use various color schemes to market their brands or logos. You can see any tone of yellow, green, blue, red, black, white, or pink and associate it with a certain item or brand.
Emotional Response
Another important role of color psychology in marketing is to trigger consumers’ emotional responses. Blue, for instance, triggers feelings of loyalty, respect, and socialness. Red triggers boldness, adventure, and energy. Many marketers choose black printer ink for their packaging or labeling to trigger emotions relating to decision-making, confidence, and seriousness. Businesses also look to competitors for inspiration citing consumer trends and responses to color usage as a predecessor for their future logos and product designs.
