What does the colour of your logo say about your business?

Research research claims that the colours you use for logos and marketing material can define how customers view your company. How does colour play a part in your strategy?

It’s been claimed that firms who are smart with their use of colour can actually speed up the sales process by subliminally influencing clients and prospects.

What's in a hue?

Do the colours used by organisations affect how we see them? We switched around the colours in some well known logos. Does it make a difference to your perception of them?
 

The power of red
Your usual monthly pile of bills has arrived and there are a couple of white envelopes, one or two green and one red – which do you open first? If it’s the red, you’re not alone. Psychologists believe that red is the most powerful colour, triggering all sorts of reactions.

In the sporting arena, red is the colour most associated with winning. An analysis of England’s Premier League from 1947 to 2003 found that football teams wearing red had a disproportionately higher rate of both winning home games and securing the title than teams wearing either yellow or orange.

Researcher Russell Barton of the University of Durham said the colour had a psychological effect on both teams, since looking at it can reduce a person’s capacity to perform – thus limiting the opposing team’s capacity to respond. Red may also attract more fans to a particular team if used consistently over a number of years, he argued.

In a business context, colour experts argue that red also produces the most extreme responses. One bank found that customer queues moved faster with an increased use of red in the bank lobby, while a study of college students discovered that pupils responded more quickly to directions presented under a red light than a green one. It seems we’re hard-wired not to ignore that red envelope at the bottom of the pile.

Provoking reactions
In a recent HP study into the decision making impact of colour, respondents who were given red questionnaires offered three times as many extreme responses than surveys in other colours – either strongly agreeing or disagreeing with statements put in front of them.

In terms of suggestibility, green was found to be the most persuasive colour, with 53% of respondents either agreeing or strongly agreeing with statements put before them in that colour.

Want clients to get back to you? Don’t write to them in blue or black – these were found to be the most indifferent colours.

Regional differences
International companies take note: Colours carry varying meanings in different countries. Germans proved to be most susceptible to colour prompting, with 60% of respondents agreeing to statements put to them in green, compared to just 45% in the Netherlands.

The UK was discovered to be home to the most extreme responses, with 35% strongly agreeing or disagreeing with the propositions, compared to just 24% in Italy.

There were also some subtle differences between the sexes, with more than twice as many men (24%) returning an extreme response to colours across the chart as women (11%), although red still prompted decisive action from both genders.

Five top tips for managing your ‘colour ROI’
According to the experts, businesses looking to drive value from their tints and hues should abide by five golden colour rules.

1.    Make colour pay
Consider colour as a resource that should be carefully controlled. The same cost/benefit analyses should be applied as with any other resource.

2.    Experiment and compare the results using different colours
Not all demographic groups and geographies will respond in the same way to different colours. Try to experiment with the use of different colours and compare the results to identify the most appropriate combination for each target audience.

3.     Take feedback from your audiences
Test your colour campaigns prior to launch with a variety of potential audiences. Colours carry a range of meanings which may change according to environment and cultural context. Securing local feedback before ‘hitting print’ could prove invaluable.

4.    Don’t restrict yourself to external communications
Colour can be a powerful tool to grab attention and stimulate response both externally and internally; it can – for instance – send a compelling message to employees regarding a company’s brand and values. It can also be used to secure attention and stimulate response and reaction in exactly the same way as with external audiences.

5.    Select colours that work across a range of formats
Communications campaigns are increasingly integrated across a range of media: Print, broadcast, web and even mobile. Think carefully when selecting colours to ensure that they work across the range of mediums you are planning to use; certain colour tones which send a clear message in print may not necessarily reproduce the same effect on screen. The surest method is to test and ask the opinion of others before selecting your colour range.

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