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Color A brand differentiator

Colors are expressing human emotions for years. From pink for romantic moments inShakespears love story to white for peace negotiation between the armies on the battlefield,different color got its place as a symbol for communication. The relationship of color with

religion is so strong that it embedded in the beliefs of the people. Color as a symbol of religionis quite common in every country. Generally Green is a color that symbolizes nature and thenatural world but the same color in Arabian countries symbolizes Allah. On the other handorange represents Bhagavan in Hindu religion and in Roman countries the color of god is red.Apart from religion, emotions like love, pride, sadness and anger got its association withdifferent colors. The use of colors in medication is quite common in China.

About 90 percent of information reaches our mind through visuals. Color are the basicdifferentiators or in real sense information filters for information intake. Color increases brandrecognition by up to 80 percent according to a study by University of Loyola, Maryland study

The greatest example in the history of brand management happens with the phenomenalsuccess of Heinz EZ Squirt Blastin' Green ketchup. More than 10 million bottles were sold inthe first seven months following its introduction, with Heinz factories working 24 hours a day,seven days a week to keep up with demand. The result: $23 million in sales attributable toHeinz green ketchup [the highest sales increase in the brand's history]. All because of a simplecolor change. Nokia is a good example in durables. All its products are positioned on the basesof combination of colors. On the other hand, Motorola is positioning its products on the basesof high memory capability.

Relationship of brand management with color is not a new concept now. Many companies areopting color combination for their brand logo and background but the logic is limited to thenatural behaviour of colors. Pink is essentially a light red and is usually associated with loveand romance. The best example I can quote of its use is of Hutch in its brand logo. But theonly thing Hutch should make sure that its mass consumers are of similar psychographics.Tata indicom portrait its brand image with blue color, the color that described as a favoritecolor by many people and is the color most preferred by men. The hidden side of strategy can

be seen in its advertisement where the targeted consumers are males. The yellow color usedby Tata indicom describes the optimistic behaviour. On the bases of the above examples onecan see color as the brand differentiators.

Future group, with orange color that calls to mind feelings of excitement, enthusiasm, andwarmth fits with the target consumers as youngsters. I recall about one company (name cantbe disclosed) that opted green color for packaging of its sport shoes in Arabian countries.Guess what has happened?

Internsindia.com believes that color plays an important role as a part of brand communication.A brand is psychological concept and for its long life it should behave as a part of culture andmust be on the belief on people. Looking further for behaviour of color, perceptions of colorare somewhat subjective; there are some color effects that have universal meaning. Colors inthe red area of the color spectrum are known as warm colors and include red, orange, andyellow. These warm colors evoke emotions ranging from feelings of warmth and comfort to

feelings of anger and hostility. -------------------------- --------------------------------------------

Colors on the blue side of the spectrum are known as cool colors and include blue, purple, andgreen. These colors are often described as calm, but can also call to mind feelings of sadnessor indifference. It is hard to trace the origin of keywords attached with colors. A transparentblue color liquid relates to kerosene oil in India and the same color in the opaque form has

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different meanings. Pepsi Blue never gained the market share due to mal-position of its color.During world cup time, PepsiCo has launched Pepsi Gold. Why Gold??

Brand color reposition, the latest example is of Bisleri mineral water which has changed itslabel from blue to green. The reason is quite obvious as green is the symbol of nature, health

and tranquility. One more effect is that green color improves reading ability.You might have seen a tag of green color on most of the product that has positioned asnatural products For instance: Dabur, Himalaya drugs and now Bisleri. Decoding the colorposition of Dabur logo which is a combination of orange and green color portraits that it isnatural and full of excitement and enthusiasm and Dabur strategically follow this way for itsbrands.Internsindia.com takes the color management as a brand building exercise. Digging theconcept further, we found the contrast and brightness are also important constituents of colormanagement. The different brands in the soap category like Haman in green color, Lux in lightpink color, Liril in Green convey their brand position. The green of Haman is different fromgreen of Liril. The color of Haman is dark green that portraits nature but the bight yellowish-green of Liril portraits freshness. How many people will buy Lux of dark brown or black color?It is not hard to guess.

Geographical extensions of the brands across the border can face the problems as differentcountries have different meaning for colors. It can be a competitive advantage or adisadvantage depends upon the color opted for a brand and the belief of people for that color.Imagine Bisleri extends in Arabian market.

Lets do an exercise I am comparing two brands on the bases of their color position.

Brand Name Caf Coffee Day BaristaProduct Coffee Shop Coffee Shop

Brand Symbol

Back ground Red Brown

Font Color White White

Inferences White Color is for purity andcommunicates hygiene. Themost emotionally intensecolor, red stimulates a fasterheartbeat and breathing. It isalso the color of love.

As far as brown is concern, Itis the color of earth and isabundant in nature (coffeebeans). Light brown impliesgenuineness while darkbrown is similar to wood.Brown can also be wistful

Color Positioning Both are positioning their brands from different angles. If yousee in details the Caf Coffee day is more like trendy brand onthe another hand barista is more on taste and resources side.

Attention & Attraction High Low

Color is the stimulator of human mind and if branding is all about psychology how can oneneglect color in brand positioning.