6 Pointers To How Color Psychology Affects Your Branding Strategy

Over 500 years ago, the poet and monk John Lyngate repeated a phrase that could about sum up the modern theory of color branding: “You can please some people all of the time, you can please all people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.” When it comes to color psychology and marketing, much is dependent on the individual. However, there are trends.

1. Overall Color Trends

The effect of color affected different people in surprising ways. Red, as an example, was favored by 7 percent of men and 9 percent of women and disliked by 2 percent of men and no percent of women. The color had a so-called cheapness reaction of 9 percent.

Compare this to orange, very close to red on the color scale. Nearly the same amount of men and women love orange, but 22 percent of men and 25 percentage of women hate it. And 26 percent perceive orange as cheap. These are significant results that should not be ignored.

2. Different Colors For Different Sexes

According to a study, men’s favorite colored cars were yellow and orange, with black a distant third. While women loved teal-colored autos, this shows that the sexes have a different perception of color, and if you are branding either a vehicle or clothing that is gender-specific, then pay close attention to how your sex reacts to different colors. This is just an example, how branding takes place and how important it becomes to focus on branding. One can find various companies that provide services to improve your brand. Such a company can help you find the best options for branding.

For example, a fashion website surveyed dozens of women and the clothes they liked on men’s clothes. For men who they did not know, red and purple were by far the favorites. Red seemed to evoke power, good health, money, social status, and passion in women, something that biologists agree with, noting that many female animals are aroused by displays of men as well.

However, for those women who have a man attached to them, it’s then blue, not red that they prefer the most. As to the color purple, 36 percent of single women reported they would accept a date for a man wearing a purple shirt.

There was a similar study conducted on men and found that women who wear red attract men the most, and they are perceived as more desirable and interesting. Black, yellow and pink also were great for attracting men’s attention.

3. Perceived Value

If someone buys a car, they may prefer a color that offers a perceived value such as blue, where the price is not the main object of concern. However, if someone is comparing the cost of frozen pizza, they may see a lot of orange and yellow colors.

These colors shout out “discount” in subtle ways. A lot depends as well on the type of shoppers, quality or quantity. Don’t be surprised, therefore to find yellow price tags on the shelves at the grocery store, where people are conscious of price but different colored tags in the meat and seafood section. Marketers, using direct mail may want to do split testing with different colors to determine the best results from color.

4. Attracting Loyalty And Stability

Although single women loved red in single men, when they were attached, their attentions usually shift towards loyalty, stability and family life. Changing Minds.org noted that blue represents all of these traits, and that’s why not only women tend to love blue clothes on men, but blue cars, and blue painted houses.

Could it be, without really understanding exactly why, that women are so drawn to blue color? What women in a relationship don’t want loyalty and rock-solid support. Hence, we have another piece of the puzzle. Do young, single women, prefer vibrant colors, and then shift to solid blues as they age. What about when they age when they get older. Do they tend to shift again?

5. Age Changes In Color

A research study found that color preferences do occur as people age. While blue was the favorite color of both sexes overall, women in their 60s and beyond became much more interested in greens and reds. Men in their middle ages significantly had changes in their least favorite colors.

6. A Shift Due To Changing Ethnic Patterns

A study looked at the many factors that relate to color psychology and marketing, and one of them was the increased multiculturalism. As the country is increasingly being divided into different pockets of ethnicity, the trends of those countries, in particular, Latin American cultures, tend to lead toward brighter colors, particularly reds. Marketers may want to pay specific attention to this trend.

Wrapping Up

Color psychology, when it comes to marketing, is still an infant science, with more questions than answers. But those who want to get a small boost in the market may want to pay extra attention to even minor items like pricetags to tap into subconscious preferences.