The PSYCHOLOGY of COLOR in Marketing and Advertising

The game with colors in the production of marketing and advertising has become an essential element, due to the spontaneous reaction that is associated with a certain color, thereby producing certain reactions emotional Numerous studies support that each color maintains a relationship with different reactions to them and, therefore, advertisers have learned to make use of it.

The color used has been shown to have a strong impact on increasing sales, which is why the psychology of color has become an essential element in advertising. Against this, strategies are used with different chromatic levels of colors depending on the emotion that wants to be stimulated, making color an essential element for the processes commercial. In this Psychology-Online article we will show you the color psychology in marketing and advertising, exposing the meaning of colors in advertising.

Index

1. The psychology of color
2. Color psychology in marketing and advertising
3. Meaning of the color white
4. Meaning of the color yellow
5. Meaning of the color orange
6. Meaning of the color red
7. Meaning of the color purple
8. Meaning of the color blue
9. Meaning of the color green
10. Meaning of the color black

Edwin D. Babbitt (1878) developed, without being aware of it, what we know today as psychology of color, becoming the driver of the aspects related to the play of colors in the marketing. The psychology of color is a branch of study that has the objective of analyzing how colors influence us, how we perceive colors Y the emotions that different ranges of colors arouse in us.

This field of study has been applied above all in marketing and advertising. Everything we see and perceive in advertisements is designed to attract the attention of the public and arouse certain emotions in a specific group. However, the psychology of color does not apply only to advertisements to increase sales. The colors, for example, chosen to decorate a store or those used for the logo of a certain brand, are also carefully chosen to awaken an effect on you. Thus, marketers or advertisers use this tool to provoke feelings such as joy, calm, desire, passion or irritability. Faced with this, we must bear in mind that on many occasions it is our emotions that are making the decision to consume and not the rational thoughts elaborated by ourselves.

Although the symbolism of each color has not been empirically approved in the scientific field, many of the more common colors have been associated with various emotional reactions, accepted in the culture western. Namely, colors can affect mood. Another important author in color psychology is Eva Heller.

Next, let's see the meaning that has been associated with these colors and that is being used in the world of marketing and advertising. In the following sections we will see the meaning of colors in psychology.

The color white has generally been associated with light, purity, goodness, innocence and cleanliness. The color white in advertising and marketing has a positive connotation in the eyes of the buyer. In advertising, it tends to be used to promote freshness and cleaning, as well as medical products. We also see white in advertisements about new technologies, with the aim of communicating simplicity.

Yellow is the color of sunlight and, according to color psychology, symbolizes the joy, happiness, intelligence, energy, warmth and optimism. For this reason, the color yellow has been used to promote pleasant emotions and tends to be used in advertisements about entertainment or children's products. Yellow is the first color that perceives our attention and more so if it is used in contrast to black, for this reason it is the color selected to paint traffic signs. However, we must be careful with this color, since an excess can have a disturbing effect. Here you can see in depth the meaning of the color yellow in psychology.

The color orange represents a mixture of the feelings of energy that red produces and the happiness projected in yellow. According to color psychology, orange carries emotions of enthusiasm, attraction, creativity, determination, success and encouragementAll these emotions are emotions with a high invigorating and stimulating effect on mental activity. Usually, this color is used for the advertisement of food products, because it is related to the stimulation of appetite and toys.

The color red has been associated with strength, determination, desire, passion, danger or love, according to the psychology of color. It represents a color with a high emotional intensity, associated with an increased heart rate and high blood pressure. Frequently, it has been used in advertising for ads with seductive content, such as red lipstick, shoes or nail color. On the other hand, it is also very suitable for advertising aspects related to energy, such as energy drinks, sports, activities involving risk, cars or motorcycles. Here you can see in depth the meaning of the color red in psychology.

The color purple has been linked to wealth and extravagance. According to the psychology of color, it denotes feelings of power, luxury, ambition, creativity, independence and dignity. However, in advertising it is used to promote products intended for women or children before the stage of adolescence, because it is a color that is not frequently found in nature and is related to magic and mystery.

Blue, although it is the coldest color, is the most attractive to the vast majority of people, being the color of the sky and the sea. The color blue has been associated with wisdom, conscience, intelligence, truth, trust and loyalty. With this, it has become a very suitable color to promote cleaning-related products, both personal and home and all those elements related to the sea, the air, the sky or the Water. Like white, it is also used to promote technological products. According to color psychology, blue is not suitable for food advertisements, as it acts as an appetite suppressant.

The main color of nature, representative of feelings like security, peace, freshness, abundance, tranquility, health, stability and resistance. The green color tends to be associated with health aspects or to advertise products of natural origin, ecological, outdoor activities and gardening. Also, if a darker shade of green is used, it is very suitable for the promotion of financial and inexpensive products.

Black is a color that arouses strong feelings, being able to represent emotions of strength, intransigence, authority, power, formality, elegance and mystery. However, it tends to be used to intensify the other colors that are placed next to it to increase contrast and attention to that color. As for the psychology of color in marketing and advertising, black tends to be linked to classic, luxury or high-end products.

In addition, colors are also related to personality. If you are interested in the theme of color in personality, you can make the Lüscher color test.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to The psychology of color in marketing and advertising, we recommend that you enter our category of Cognitive psychology.

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