Color: A Powerful Resource in Marketing
It is estimated that the average American adult sees 2,500 commercial messages a day. This abundance of marketing communications is making it increasingly difficult to grab the attention of an audience. Using color to convey messages has become a great way to generate interest. It is a valuable resource in gaining attention, readership and likability. Not only does using color attract the attention of the audience, it helps them to view the message more positively. Various studies help prove this argument.
Color Boosts Willingness to Read by Eighty Percent
One research study found that color visuals boost willingness to read by up to eighty percent. It also found that color can increase motivation and participation by the same amount. An additional study discovered that color enhances learning and retention by over seventy-five percent, and using color in advertising outsells black-and-white by a significant 88 percent. Yet another study found that using color versus black-and-white in newspaper ads boosts in-depth reading by sixty percent. It also showed that color attracted readers and kept them more involved in the advertising message.
Color helps attract the attention of the audience, and when used effectively, emphasizes the message. It can be used to lead the eye, add weight, and show continuation or differentiation. One of color’s greatest powers is its ability to evoke emotions and associations. All of the abilities of color ultimately add impact to the message. It increases the attractiveness of a brand, product or message and therefore produces favorable attitudes in the audience. When people view a message favorably, they are more likely to act on it. The importance of color is evident and should be considered when attempting to draw awareness. It truly merits the extra expense by producing favorable attitudes about the message being communicated.
What Do Different Colors Mean?
When selecting colors for a print ad, it is very important to be aware of what each one represents. Colors mean different things to different cultures, so it is essential to know the target audience well. The meanings of different colors in the United States are as follows:
Blue – dependability, trust, security, coolness and belonging.
Red – excitement, passion, velocity, power and danger.
Yellow – warmth, joy and sunshine. It is the first color the eye is able to process and is a great attention-getter.
Green – nature and spring.
Purple – royalty and elegance.
Pink – softness, femininity and sweetness.
Orange – autumn, playfulness and vibrancy.
Silver – prestige, coldness and science.
Gold – luxury and wealth.
Black – sophistication, strength and seduction.
White – youth, cleanliness and purity. White space is an important component of design.
The current season is a factor that should be considered when selecting colors. Additionally, certain colors can be trendier than others at times. It is important to use color correctly in order to add impact to the message. Poor use of color can confuse a target audience and compromise the objectives.
Color Highlighting
While printing in full color is most common, color highlighting is also a popular technique. Color highlighted prints are primarily black and white and use color to highlight certain elements that convey the product image. This method pulls attention selectively to the objects in the ad that are most important to the message. Getting a viewer to spend time processing a message is a difficult task, and having any color in an image increases the likelihood it will be accomplished.
There are other methods aside from using color that help grasp attention and encourage a viewer to read on. Strong imagery is a fantastic attention-getter. Ads featuring large images always score the highest in stopping power. Using photos and illustrations can be beneficial to relating a message, as long as the image is quality and relevant. Using an irrelevant picture can destroy the effectiveness of the communication. The imagery must match the message.
Allowing for creativity is crucial in developing a successful marketing strategy. A message will not be noticed if it looks the same as those around it. When a marketing piece is different and exciting, it attracts attention and motivates a viewer to process the information. Once the audience has done this, the likelihood that it will act on the message is much greater.
The use of color has consistently proven to increase the effectiveness of advertising and marketing. Whether you are trying to reach your customers, employees, or target audience, color is a key factor in attracting attention and holding it long enough to impart a message. In addition to that, it increases recall and likability, both vital in making sure your message is viewed positively. So is it worth the extra cost to print in color? The answer is most definitely yes. Color printing truly prevails over black and white when it comes to conveying memorable and successful messages.
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