Let's talk about the power of color psychology for branding and marketing. It's not a secret that different colors convey different emotions. Colors like green are often linked to stability while blue is linked to calmness and trust.
Famous brands like McDonald's use red and yellow to promote happiness and friendliness while also attempting to stimulate customers' appetites. When a customer sees the big yellow M from the highway, they may feel a sense of hunger that drives them to go stop for food. If McDonald's used colors that were calmer and muted, they may not have been able to catch the customer's attention at that moment.
Understanding color psychology in branding will help you build a brand that aligns with your customer's likes and interests. It can also help boost sales, improve marketing, and help you solidify your brand's image.
In this article, we'll explore different color psychology strategies your brand can use to successfully build your brand in the public's eye.
Here's everything you need to know:
What is Color Psychology?
Brand color psychology is the process of using specific colors to convey emotions and to provoke specific behavior. Brands must be strategic with the colors they incorporate in their branding to build connections with their target audience and boost brand awareness with a new prospective audience.
Understanding The Power of Different Colors
Before you can start using color psychology strategies for branding and marketing, you must first understand the different emotions that colors convey. Here are some of the most popular colors:
- Purple - Luxury, spirituality, stability
- Blue - Trust, loyalty, confidence
- Red - Aggression, intense, determined
- Black - Power, professional, sophisticated
- Grey - Timelessness, elegance, strength
- White - Innocent, clean, pure
- Green - Wealth, health, luck
Each color conveys a different emotion and can completely change the feeling that your brand conveys. If we switched the red and yellow in the McDonald's logo to green and white, you may be more inclined to think it's a healthy fast food alternative. These subtle shifts can completely change your branding and marketing strategy, so it's important to choose wisely.
How to Integrate Color Psychology in Branding
Now that you understand how color psychology in marketing and branding works, it's time to use color to your advantage.
Here are six color psychology strategies and tips to consider:
- Choose Colors That Align With Your Branding, Not Personal Preference
- Avoid Aggressive Colors
- Pair Colors With Neutral Tones
- Take Inspiration From Other Brands
- Understanding Cultural Preferences
- Stay Consistent
You may really like the color purple, but that doesn't mean that's the best color you can choose for your branding and marketing. Purple is often seen as a color that promotes luxury and spirituality. This is great for companies in apparel or wellness, but might not make sense for companies in fitness.
Instead of going with colors you like, choose colors your customers will like. This will ensure the color aligns with your brand goals and ideals, not just your own. The same rules apply when shopping for custom t-shirts or backpacks to add your branding to. You may really like one color, but you should always choose items that align with your customer's needs instead.
Red is often a color that's associated with aggression. While the brand color psychology works for companies like McDonald's that pair it with a happy color like yellow, it doesn't portray the same feelings for other companies. If you incorporate an aggressive color, pair it with a secondary color that provides contrast and balance.
Most brands have around 2-4 colors they use frequently in their branding. After you pick a primary color that you plan to use in your branding and marketing, consider pairing it with a secondary neutral tone like grey, white, or black. This will provide elegant contrast and make your branding look and feel professional.
The same rules apply to branding and promotional products. Once you choose a secondary color, you may find that you like to invest in a custom swag in a secondary color and brand it with your primary.
If you're a relatively new business still trying to get your footing, don't be afraid to use competitors for inspiration. This will help you determine what colors are best for your branding or marketing initiatives. Competitors provide key insight into what works and what doesn't, especially for the industry you're in.
If you plan on building your brand in different countries, it's important to note that color holds different meanings. If you're still in the early stages of establishing your brand, consider where your main target audience will be. From there, conduct research to find what colors are most suitable for your target audience. You may need to consider a/b testing a few different colors, looking into case studies, or conducting a competitor analysis.
Once you find a set of 2-4 colors you plan to use, stick with it. You'll want to use these colors in all digital marketing campaigns and promotional product purchases. This will help build trust with your target audience and improve brand recognition. You'll also want to keep the same colors if you change your logo later, to ensure your logo is recognizable.
Using Brand Color Psychology in Promotional Products
If you plan to incorporate promotional products in your marketing and branding, you'll want to make sure you use colors to your advantage to build connections with your audience. Items like promotional home gifts, custom apparel, and promotional bags can all be decorated to complement the colors you choose to incorporate in your marketing.
At Bagmasters, we have a wide range of promotional products available that are sure to complement your brand colors. If you decide to go with custom drinkware in a neutral tone like black or white, we can help you add a pop of color with the decoration method.
All of our decorating is done in-house, in our facility in Corona, California. Our team is professional and attentive, so you can feel confident that the decorating imprint will match your branding and help you elevate your color psychology strategies.
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