Color Matters
May 26, 2009
Color makes a difference. No doubt about it, the cost of color is well worth it. Countless studies have proven that there is good reason to spend the extra dollars to purchase color, as you will receive a greater return on investment. People are attracted to color, and color used to make your ads and mail pieces stand out from the crowd.
Today, simply using color isn’t nearly enough, need to innovate with color.
As Seth Godin points out in his book Purple Cow,
“Cows, after you’ve seen them for a while, are boring. They may be perfect cows, attractive cows, cows with great personalities, cows lit by beautiful light, but they’re still boring. A Purple Cow, though. Now that would be interesting. (For a while.) The essence of the Purple Cow is that it must be remarkable.”
Seth is spot on, and this is exactly what we need to do in our marketing efforts, Be Remarkable! And color has everything to do with this, but sometimes not in the way you would think.
For example, back in my days of creating furniture advertising, we found that by switching out a few of the pieces for more colorful ones could make all the difference. As expected most consumers purchase beige couches, but we found that this was not what attracted them to store.
We found out that consumers are attracted to bright color. When we showcased red sofas in our marketing pieces, people would come pouring into the stores to find the red sofa and then ask, “Have you the same couch in beige?” Certainly it worked much better than putting a beige sofa on the piece, which only created yawns and turning pages.
My point is simple: Take risks with color! Stand out from the crowd. Use patterns and a palette that speaks directly to your consumer. Know that people are attracted to fantasy, not reality. Give them that fantasy, and you are sure to attract them.
