Color Psychology: Overrated in Branding?

About Color Psychology: Overrated in Branding?

Imagine entering a conference room where you encounter eight men who closely resemble one another in facial structure and body build. They look like the cast of Matrix, all dressed in black suits. Can you differentiate between them? Yet this is what most people are doing as they build their brands.

Now picture the same scenario, but this time all the men are dressed in red from head to toe, except for one in blue, head to toe. You can clearly differentiate him from the others in red. In this case, it's easier to identify the unique individual - it is the guy in blue. You can even say that he is the bold one. But is blue bolder than red? Well, what does color psychology say?

Wait - now picture a third scenario where the 8 men are distinguished by the colors of their clothing: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, black, white, and gray - each a full color, head to toe. Can you differentiate between them? I’d bet it would be very very easy.

Color psychology suggests that colors carry distinct meanings and emotional associations. 

• Red: Passion, energy, excitement, danger, love (red carpet, red roses)

• Orange: Warmth, enthusiasm, creativity, optimism, energy, caution (traffic cones, life vests)

• Yellow: Happiness, cheerfulness, warmth, caution, attention (school buses, yellow smileys)

• Green: Nature, growth, balance, tranquility, health (recycling bins, green “exit” signs)

• Blue: Trust, loyalty, stability, calmness, professionalism, leadership (“blue ribbon” awards, blue scrubs for medical professionals)

• Black: Power, sophistication, elegance, mystery, formality (Johnie Walker Black Label, Black Judicial Robes)

• White: Purity, cleanliness, simplicity, innocence, minimalism (White wedding gowns, White flag of surrender)

• Gray: Neutrality, balance, sophistication, stability, modesty (Gray suits, gray hair)

While this may be true, color psychology is garbage in the marketplace. Okay, lemme be less harsh - color psychology is secondary. The primary focus should be on deliberate differentiation.

Take the example of cattle branding. When ranchers brand their cows, the purpose is to differentiate between their herds, even if the cows look identical in terms of breed, color, and build. Similarly, when creating a brand, differentiation is key.

If you are building a brand centered around romance and your top competitors use red, green, black, and blue, your options are limited to orange, and yellow. I recommend using the basic colors. Any of these colors could work for branding purposes, depending on how effectively you execute your branding strategy. If you want to factor in color psychology, you can choose from the remaining colors based on color psychology principles and what would make sense to your target audience, perhaps settling on a warmer color like orange.

The advantage of being the first mover

When you are creating a new market, this is the only time that you should consider psychology. At this point, you are the category leader and you are expected to choose a color most fitting for the category, ideally, based on color psychology. 

Coca-cola chose red because cola liquid is a reddish-brown liquid - they could do this as the first movers in the category. When Pesi-Cola came in, unfortunately, they chose red and blue. They struggled for years to differentiate from Coca-Cola because people already associated red with Coca-Cola. If people saw red, they assumed there was Coca-Cola and would go ask for Coca-Cola. This didn’t work for Pepsi-Cola sales at all. As it stands, Pepsi is using blue more, they have learned their lesson. You can see the evolution of their packaging here.

Takeaways

• Branding should focus primarily on deliberate differentiation rather than relying solely on color psychology.

• Color psychology can be used as a secondary factor to aid in brand differentiation, but the ultimate success depends on the effective execution of the branding strategy.

• First movers in a market have the advantage of selecting a color most fitting for their category, setting the tone for competitors.

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