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We look closely at how 21 successful brands use color to influence their customers and prospects.<\/p>\n
<\/div>Read More<\/i><\/a> Research shows<\/a> that anticipating your\u00a0consumer’s reaction\u00a0to a color and its relationship to your brand is more important than the actual color.<\/p>\n Customers want to see that a color\u00a0\u201cfits.\u201d<\/p>\n For example, the color pink probably doesn’t fit with a brand like Ford or Harley Davidson, and black would be perceived as wrong for Fisher-Price or an organic health food store.<\/p>\n It’s not that the company name Harley Davidson by itself evokes a specific reaction from its customers. But the overall composition of the brand, including its logo, marketing, products, etc., produces a reaction that responds differently to different brand colors.<\/p>\n Other research<\/a> confirms a connection between a company’s brand colors and consumers’ perception of a company’s personality.<\/p>\n The key takeaway here is that it’s less important what<\/i> color you choose and more that you choose colors that highlight or accentuate<\/a> the personality you want your brand identity and product to reflect.<\/p>\n Here is the most critical color information and how color influences what people buy.<\/p>\n <\/div>Read More<\/i><\/a> Remember that branding<\/a> is about experience and emotion. As we wrote previously<\/a>:<\/p>\n A brand is the sum total of the experience your customers and customer prospects have with your company.<\/p>\n A strong brand communicates what your company does, how it does it, and at the same time, establishes trust and credibility with your prospects and customers.<\/p>\n Your company\u2019s brand is, in many ways, its personality.<\/p>\n Your brand lives in everyday interactions your company has with its prospects and customers, including the images you share, the messages you post on your website, the content of your marketing materials, your presentations and booths at conferences, and your posts on social networks.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n A powerful brand starts with a professionally designed logo<\/a>. Color plays a vital role in logo design, as we discussed in our look at current logo trends<\/a>.<\/p>\n The importance of color also extends to how you present your products, product packaging<\/a>, and services to consumers.<\/p>\n Studies show<\/a> that choosing colors that make customers feel or think of a certain quality and help guide their actions is key to your success.<\/p>\n As we wrote in 7 Important Packaging Design Trends<\/a>:<\/p>\n In fact, marketers know that\u00a0color is one of the most important choices<\/a>\u00a0you can make when it comes to packaging design. Recent trends have designers putting colors to work for their products in innovative, inspiring ways. It may seem like an artistic decision, but the primary color you choose for your design has a significant psychological impact on how people perceive it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Studies demonstrate<\/a> that colors\u00a0play\u00a0a significant role in how advertising and signage are read.<\/p>\n 42% more signs and advertisements are read<\/a> when a color (such as red) is used versus black and white. Comprehension is boosted as well.<\/p>\n So if you’re creating signage or imagery for your store or website, make sure to add a splash of color to give it a better chance of being noticed and read.<\/p>\n We’ve already looked at how specific colors have themes or attributes, but did you know colors can influence our behavior?<\/p>\n Research on the use of color in retail fashion stores shows that customers are more likely to return<\/a> and make purchases in a store that uses a blue color scheme versus orange.<\/p>\n Pink is another color studied for its subconscious effect on people.<\/p>\n Researchers found<\/a> that viewing the color pink causes people’s endocrine system (also known as the body’s chemical messaging system) to slow down and our muscles to relax.<\/p>\n So if you’ve ever wondered why so many products connected to soothing problems (such as painkillers, stomach acid medications, and female hygiene products) include pink in their packaging, now you know: the color itself makes us think of relaxation and relief.<\/p>\n Another study<\/a>\u00a0found that patients given\u00a0placebo pills in warmer colors like pink reported them to be more effective than pills with cooler colors.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Image via Wikipedia<\/p><\/div>\n And those red sales signs? There’s a subconscious method to that madness, too.<\/p>\n Studies found that red causes people to react faster and more forcefully<\/a>. This is probably due to our society’s connection to red and danger or warning.<\/p>\n Retailers capitalize on this reaction to red to impart urgency in their clearance and sales signs.<\/p>\n The psychological effect<\/a> of color on our behavior is one thing, but how does this effect manifest in real-world usage?<\/p>\n We’ve gathered some case studies where the use of color impacted some output.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Performable ran an A\/B test on which colored button performed better. Spoiler alert: Red won.<\/p><\/div>\n As we said in our look at how 21 companies use color<\/a>:<\/p>\n Interested in using the power of red to improve conversions, marketing automation company Performable A\/B tested the difference in performance of a red call-to-action button versus a green one. The red button showed a 21% increase in conversion.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n We’ve looked at how colors like red influence our behavior (and we’ve already been conditioned since childhood that \u201cgreen means go,\u201d but what kind of effect would it have in this scenario?<\/p>\n The results were fascinating<\/a>:<\/p>\n We ran the test over a few days of traffic. In total, we had over 2,000 visits to the page, and for each visit, Performable recorded whether someone clicked on the button or not. (Using Performable’s tools, all analytics and conversion data were automatically gathered, so we could watch along as the results rolled in.) The result? The red button outperformed the green button by 21%<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n These results are impressive, but they don’t mean you should run out and change all of your buttons to red.<\/p>\n It’s essential to test any changes (like Hubspot did here for Performable) with your audience to see what works for your business and your specific audience.<\/p>\n RIPT is an apparel company that sells one-of-a-kind designer clothes.<\/p>\n Intrigued by the idea of A\/B testing, they decided to run their test<\/a> using their Buy Now button as the subject.<\/p>\n (For more about A\/B testing and how it can benefit your company, check out our guide on how A\/B testing can help your small business<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Their existing button was monochrome with a subtle arrow pointing at the call-to-action. They ran a test using this as the original and a new, colorful button as the control (or test) version.<\/p>\n The results were significant<\/a>.<\/p>\n Much to their surprise, they immediately saw a rise in sales. Encouraged by the results, they went ahead and created another variation of the button… Following version (B) of the button increased their site sales by 6.3% (notice only the button was changed \u2013 no new offers, no new products, no new policies).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n A 6.3% rise in sales is worth paying attention to, especially when you consider that there was no other change done to the design.<\/p>\n This update RIPT made exemplifies the concept we explored earlier: adding color, especially an \u201caction\u201d color like green or red, can affect behavior.<\/p>\n Heinz’s experiment<\/a> with \u201cAmerica’s Favorite\u201d ketchup is another particular case in color driving behavior.<\/p>\n Heinz’s \u201cEZ Squirt\u201d product attempted to rebrand ketchup and make it more attractive to kids.<\/p>\n Not only did Heinz give the bottle a more \u201cfun\u201d design, but they also committed ketchup heresy: they changed its color.<\/p>\n \u201cBlastin’ Green\u201d ketchup was a runaway hit, selling over 20 million units.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re on track to ship in the first 90 days what we thought we would sell in the first year,\u201d reported Heinz’s global marketing director Casey Keller<\/a>. \u201cThis thing has taken on a momentum of its own, striking a chord with kids and people in general.\u201d<\/p>\n As usual with anything targeted at kids, however, the longevity of Heinz’s experiment was short-lived.<\/p>\n It turns out kids are fickle consumers (who knew?), and sales eventually dropped off.<\/p>\n But the results still speak to the power that color can have on sales.<\/p>\n While we eulogize the end of\u00a0\u201cStellar Blue\u201d and\u00a0\u201cFunky Purple,\u201d the fact that the new colors posted impressive results is another sign that the hue you choose can make a huge difference.<\/p>\n Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy when Steve Jobs returned and turned it into a business school case study success.<\/p>\n Nowadays, they have more money than they know what to do with. (Did you know Apple made\u00a0four times<\/i>\u00a0the profit in three months<\/a> that Amazon made in its entire lifetime?)<\/p>\n But back then, things were dramatically different.<\/p>\n As Jeff Goldblum so eccentrically pointed out in commercials for\u00a0Apple’s brand new \u201cBondi Blue\u201d-colored computer, the iMac, color was a huge reason for this.<\/p>\n Referring to the existing IBM PC beige box status quo, Goldblum summed up<\/a> Apple’s attitude: \u201cIt’s beige, it’s boring, it’s bland.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/27125439\/logo-pink-blue.png\"\/){kind=logo}
<\/div>\nPicking the right brand colors<\/h2>\n
How Color Influences What People Buy<\/h3>
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<\/div>Blue, the color of repeat shoppers?<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nHow do you spell relief? P-I-N-K<\/h3>\n
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Red means… go?<\/h3>\n
Case studies<\/h2>\n
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Case Study 1: Performable red vs. green study<\/h3>\n
Case Study 2: Ript color scheme button change<\/h3>\n
Case Study 3: Heinz ketchup color change<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nCase Study 4: Apple<\/h3>\n
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