insight : welton hong
Using Color and Color Theory in Marketing Color choices and contrast can greatly affect the effectiveness of your online and offline marketing
W BY WELTON HONG
indow fashion professionals know that color is important. The colors and patterns you choose for window coverings or other elements in a room’s décor set a mood for that space. But did you know the same thing holds true for marketing?
Color really does impact marketing performance because color plays a critical role in the visual experience people have with your advertising and marketing. Studies indicate that 90 percent of people make purchase decisions based at least in part on visuals, making the visual aesthetic of your webpages, social media posts and advertisements important.
Do specific colors make people feel certain ways? You’ve probably heard that various colors elicit certain responses from people. Red, for example, is known as the color of passion or boldness. Blue, on the other hand, is known as a calm color. This is true to some extent, so it’s important to be aware of what emotions various colors tend to evoke in people. Some of the most common thoughts on this topic are summarized in the list below. Red: passion, boldness, youth, excitement
Orange: confidence, boldness, professionalism, friendly Yellow: cheerful, warm, optimistic
Green: growth, money, healing, peace
Blue: calm, trust, dependable, strong, peaceful
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| wf-vision.com
Purple: imagination, wisdom, creativity, powerful Gray: neutral, calm, professional
However, it’s not quite this simple. Colors come in an unlimited number of shades and tones, changing how they impact people. And every person is unique and has a different internal response to colors and other visuals. You can’t simply put curtains of a certain color in your ads or make the background of all your social media posts blue and call it a day. To put the power of color theory to work in marketing, it’s important to have some understanding of the technical design ideas behind color, as well as the preferences and needs of your target audience.
Some basics of color theory for marketing First, you must decide if you’re going to include color at all. While black-and-white or grayscale visuals do offer potential elegance, they’re not usually the most powerful option for marketing. Marketing and advertisements that include color are more likely to capture someone’s attention. In fact, ads that include color are read 42 percent more often than black-and-white ads. After deciding to include color in a piece of marketing content, you need to decide which colors and in what combinations. It’s often a good idea to start with your brand colors, especially when you’re creating images for social or infographics. Having your brand colors show up in those images can help people begin to identify your content with your window fashion business—and be more likely to remember your business later.
