Exciting red and competent blue: the importance of color in marketing

• Published in: Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol. 40; no. 5; pp. 711 - 727
• Main Authors: Labrecque, Lauren I., Milne, George R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.09.2012; Springer Science + Business Media LLC; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Advertising; Aesthetics; Anstrichmittel; Beziehungsmarketing; Brand image; Brand management; Brand names; Business and Management; Color; Consumer behavior; Consumer preferences; Consumers; Hypotheses; Investigations; Logos; Markentreue; Marketing; Original Empirical Research; Package design; Personality; Personality traits; Produktgestaltung; Psychological aspects; Purchase intention; Social aspects; Social Sciences; Sociological research; Studies; United States; Brand personality; Purchase intent; Aesthetics; Logo design; Package design; Color
• ISSN: 0092-0703; 1552-7824
• DOI: 10.1007/s11747-010-0245-y

From beverages to consumer electronics, marketers are using color in innovative ways. Despite this, little academic research has investigated the role that color plays in marketing. This paper examines how color affects consumer perceptions through a series of four studies. The authors provide a framework and empirical evidence that draws on research in aesthetics, color psychology, and associative learning to map hues onto brand personality dimensions (Study 1), as well as examine the roles of saturation and value for amplifying brand personality traits (Study 2). The authors also demonstrate how marketers can strategically use color to alter brand personality and purchase intent (Study 3), and how color influences the likability and familiarity of a brand (Study 4). The results underscore the importance of recognizing the impact of color in forming consumer brand perceptions.