How important is color psychology in advertising and marketing?

A survey on the psychology of color in advertising and marketing showed that this factor positively influences customers' purchasing decisions (85%) and brand awareness (80%). Therefore, choosing the right colors plays a very important role for a business. 

What is color psychology?

Color psychology is a school of thought that studies color shades and how they influence human perception, behavior, and decision-making. Because each color has a different tone and shade, its presence impacts how people perceive and evaluate brands and products differently.

Color psychology is often suitable for leaders, business heads, shop owners, or professions related to color such as architects, painters, designers, product designers, packaging designers, etc.

How important is color psychology in advertising and marketing?

A study has shown that color has the ability to profoundly impact human behavior and perception. Therefore, when applied to advertising and marketing, marketers only need to understand the different shades and how they affect customer emotions to fully utilize them in promoting and conveying brand messages.

More specifically, choosing the right color scheme for a brand will maximize its ability to stimulate awareness and influence customer purchasing behavior. For example, it can influence whether customers decide to skip or click the "buy" button on a website, or whether they choose to purchase items at supermarkets, etc.

Furthermore, choosing the right colors can also serve as a brand identifier for a business. This helps the brand project a unique identity and personality. A prime example is the striking red color of KFC or Coca-Cola.

Furthermore, many consumers also prefer to choose brands with their favorite colors. Therefore, by understanding this preference of the target audience, businesses can determine their marketing and advertising objectives through color to create a connection with each potential demographic group.

The secret to applying color psychology to effective advertising and marketing.

Each color carries a different nuance and meaning. Below are eight basic colors that businesses prefer and choose to represent their brands.

• White

This is a basic color, giving a clean, simple yet perfect feel, and can symbolize innocence and purity. It's suitable for fields such as healthcare, children's products, and technology products.

A prime example is the renowned Apple brand, which has used white as the primary color for its products for many years. This conveys both sophistication and a sense of perfection and meticulousness.

• Black

Many people think that black symbolizes bad luck. But in reality, from a psychology of color, black is a sophisticated, elegant color that represents power and strength. This color tone is suitable for high-end consumer goods and luxury products. Some brands have used black as their brand symbol, such as cars (BMW, Mercedes…), and fashion (Prada, Chanel…).

• Red

Red is a vibrant color, and also has the longest wavelength on the spectrum. Looking at red evokes a feeling of intensity and attraction, yet remains warm and pleasant. Some typical examples of red as a brand color include Coca-Cola, McDonald's, and iconic sports brands like Ferrari F1 or Manchester United.

• Green

Green is often chosen to represent brands in the health, medical, or natural product sectors. This color evokes a feeling of freshness and comfort, representing hope, growth, and containing a cool, friendly, and positive energy.

You can see several prominent brands in the market using green as their main color, such as Starbucks and Spotify. Additionally, brands wanting to create projects focused on health or improving physical fitness can choose this color tone to convey their project message, making it easier to reach a wider audience.

• Blue

Blue is a popular national color. It not only evokes feelings of comfort and relaxation but also conveys a sense of safety and tranquility. Therefore, it's not uncommon to see blue in community-oriented projects or organizations like the WHO, the Human Rights Committee, and social media platforms such as Facebook, Skype, and Twitter.

• Yellow

Yellow is often chosen by many brands in the food and beverage industry, representing health and wellness. Yellow evokes feelings of freshness, positive energy, and a sense of lightness and exhilaration, while still being cute, cheerful, and dynamic.

For brand websites, a predominantly yellow color scheme can create a visually stimulating effect. Therefore, yellow should be used to highlight purchase buttons, special offers, or free products. Some industries that are well-suited to yellow include confectionery and travel.

• Orange

Not as vibrant or intense as red, orange is the color of passion and energy, evoking a sense of closeness and friendliness. Several prominent brands targeting young people, such as Fanta, JBL, and Soundcloud, as well as e-commerce and shipping companies, have chosen orange as their brand identity color, including Shopee, Giao Hang Nhanh, and Alibaba.

• Pink

Pink is often favored by women, however, when compared to other colors, it is still less common. This is because it is only safe to represent fields, services, projects, or products related to women. For example, the famous lingerie brand Victoria's Secret, the cosmetics brand Benefit…

Furthermore, the freshness, youthfulness, playfulness, and cuteness of the color pink are also suitable for services and products related to children. It not only creates a fresh and pleasant feeling but also easily attracts the user's attention at first glance.

• Purple

Purple is a feminine color, but compared to other colors like pink or red, it has a gentle, subtle quality rather than being overly striking. It's a rather selective color, not everyone likes it, but it's inherently very elegant, so you can choose it as your brand's representative color to create a unique identity instead of competing with brands that use common colors.

Currently, TP Bank is a well-known brand that has chosen purple as its representative color. In addition, Yahoo, which was very popular at one time, also chose purple as its representative color.

Choosing the right color scheme to represent your brand is crucial in making a lasting impression on customers. It not only helps convey a cohesive message but also allows businesses to harmonize their colors and project a professional image. Simply understanding the basics of color psychology will give you the foundation to select the right colors.