Red Yellow Blue- How brands use these colours to their advantage?

 

What makes a brand stand out? Is it all about a unique product, the jingle or is there a science of colour involved? 

Psychology plays a crucial role in all marketing efforts. Since a product is conceptualized to make people’s lives easier, knowing how to sell it to people is also an art. Understanding people’s psychology helps to a great extend.

As it is a very broad domain, it is crucial to know how colours influence your audience. To be fair, in the hands of an experienced marketer, using colours is one of the easy new skills to learn for a beginner.

Among the array of hues and tints, primary colours- blue, yellow and red are at the top in the entire colour wheel. Let’s take a look at how you can use colour psychology to accentuate your brand and make it more impactful.

 

Impact of red colour in marketing 

Before we learn how red is used by major brands, it is important to study its impact on the human psyche. Red comes from the most natural element- the sun. So, it is a hue associated with energy, passion, danger, anger, love, and emergency. With the diversity of emotions red colour arouses, brands use it in their call-to-action buttons, in sporting events, or anywhere else where they want to divert attention. McDonald’s, CocaCola and other energy drinks brands have masterfully used red to reap the influence of red on hunger. The colour supposedly induces hunger too as it also symbolizes ripeness.

 

Impact of blue in marketing

There is a reason why blue is used dominantly by IT companies, financial institutions, healthcare and sporting events. It is a colour that represents trust since clear blue skies and sea stand for sustenance. Moreover, the colour is very pleasing to look at.

Marketers can use hues of blue along with other vibrant colours for balance and trigger trust and pleasing mood.

 

Impact of yellow colour in marketing 

The colour hails from the sun. It, therefore, corresponds with warmth, happiness, optimism and hope. Yellow is not as dramatic as red, so the colour is used by brands like Lays, Maggi, Ferrari and Nikon to grab attention. Yellow is also deployed by brands to attract a younger audience.

 

The effect of colours on the mind is very prominent. It is a tendency among beginner acrylic painters to play with colours that call out to them. Similarly, people tend to select their favourite colours based on the ones that most appeal to their mind. A lot of it also depends on their personality as pointed out by Greek physician Hippocrates. Moreover, the influence of colour on mind and personality is so prominent that it is used to test a person’s psychological state.