Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Color impacts most of our daily experiences, and how we interact with the world around us. It’s in the landscape we live in, the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the signs we follow. Just as we associate color with the many moving parts of our lives, so too do we associate it with brands.
Citation preview
Marshall Strategy June 2014
Color and Your Brand
[email protected]@MarshallStrat
3 Tips on Using Color for Your Organization
Color impacts most of our daily experiences, and how we interact with the world around us. It’s in the landscape we live in, the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the signs we follow. Just as we associate color with the many moving parts of our lives, so too do we associate it with brands.
2© Marshall Strategy 2014
Introduction
It’s limitless. If you’re looking for a new paint choice, Sherwin Williams boasts more than 1,500 choices, which includes 220 shades of green alone.
What can this profusion of color tell us about our relationships with brands?
3© Marshall Strategy 2014
Color Abounds
We form all kinds of emotional associations with color. Our feelings are invoked by visual cues. Research shows that color can be used to affect appetite, enhance mood, and alter our perceptions of the passage of time.
“The high importance placed on color is an acknowledgement of manufacturers’ understanding that color has strong emotional loading, able to prompt a swifter response in packaging than either the written word or imagery.”
– Satyendra Singh, “Impact of Color on Marketing”
4© Marshall Strategy 2014
Color and Emotions
Courtesy LiveScience
Many brands hang their hat on color:
5© Marshall Strategy 2014
Brands and Color
ING Direct changed its name to Tangerine when it was acquired and verbally embraced the color that previously defined its logo. Tiffany also built a brand around its trademark light blue. Color may be limiting, but if used with commitment and strategy, such an investment might be worth it.
Many industries are dominated by certain colors. Blue, for example, is common in both healthcare and financial services. Such norms present an opportunity to clarify your brand—to either categorize it with others, or to make it stand apart.
6© Marshall Strategy 2014
Industry Trends
We advise our clients to:
1. Work with a great designer. Choose someone who understands color associations and how (and when) to make use of them.
2. Avoid bringing color into the process too early. You want to use it to build on a solid visual expression, not the other way around.
3. Consider the context of your competitive landscape. Coca-Cola “owns” red in its industry, but in social media, both Twitter and Facebook use blue. Where do you fit?
7© Marshall Strategy 2014
3 Tips to Using Color
Like everything related to your brand, using color successfully requires both thoughtful strategy and bold risk-taking. While there are definite trends that show how color affects our choices, the research also tells us that humans’ relationships with color are too personal to be predictable.
Is color a tool that you use to build your brand boldly, or is it just in the background? We encourage risk-taking. Just ensure that it’s strategic, and that you are both confident and comfortable with the color you’re committing to.
Conclusion
8
For more informationwww.marshallstrategy.com
© Marshall Strategy 2014
