Evolution of Colours and their role in Brand Identity

It is believed artists invented pigments using a combination of soil, animal fat, burnt charcoal, and chalk as long as 40,000 years ago. Initially, artists only invented a basic palette that consisted of red, yellow, brown, black, and white. Later, through scientific progress and advancement, colours like blue, green and violet were invented. Since then, there have been numerous discoveries of new and colours simply by mixing and experimenting.

Today, colours are present all around us and are associated with every aspect of our lives. They influence the way we think, cause actions and reactions. They can irritate or soothe your eyes. Some colours are calm and give us a feeling of serenity while some can cause anxiety. Every colour has its unique meaning and associations. In today’s society, colours have become a very powerful form of communication and are irreplaceable. The study of human behaviour towards colours is known as ‘Colour Psychology’ and this is a widely used concept in Marketing and Branding. Here, we will see how our mind perceives certain colours:

Red: Red is known to be a very strong, noticeable and an emotionally intense colour.  Red is most associated with energy, youth, courage, strength, warmth, desire, passion and excitement. While on the other hand, it is also associated with war, danger and aggression. Red has the ability to enhance metabolism, raise blood pressure and increase our respiration rate. Red colour also makes objects appear much closer than they actually are and thus, grabs more attention this is why danger signs, traffic signals are in red.

Yellow: Being the colour of sunshine, yellow puts a smile on the dial. The most visible colour from a distance, it communicates cheerfulness, friendliness, energy, reflects joy, optimism, confidence, happiness and creativity. However, at the same time, yellow is the colour of caution and associates with fear, depression and anxiety. Yellow also arouses hunger and hence most of the fast food and ready to eat products are packed in yellow.

Brown: Brown is seen as a serious and very down to earth, warm, with properties like stability, structure, support and sophistication. It is among the oldest colours and is associated with wholesome, natural and organic produce and anything related to the great outdoors, agriculture and farming. Hence, most organic products use brown in their packaging.

Black: The colour black relates to hidden, secretive, unknown, and as a result it creates an air of mystery. It is associated with elegance, glamour, luxury, power, exclusivity. Black is bold, classic and to be taken seriously. Black on the other hand also has a negative side to it like evil, oppression, grief, and insecurity.

White: White represents purity, simplicity, hygiene, innocence, clarity, transparency. It is known to be the colour of perfection. If we had to identify one brand that has uses white to convey its brand message to perfection it would have to be Apple, white represents the simplicity of the products in both their form and function. White can also be associated with emptiness, coldness, unfriendliness, isolation and emptiness. The colour white also depicts peace, cleanliness and calmness; thus hospitals are generally painted in white.

Blue: Blue is a universally preferred colour, having versatile qualities. Blue is widely used and appreciated for its calmness and serenity. Brands using the colour blue in logos give a sense of reliability, trustworthiness and authority. Thus brands like Dell, Intel, Facebook, Twitter, Samsung have their logos in blue. However, being associated with feelings, also expresses sadness or depression.

Green: Green has two very common meanings - one being nature and environment, and the other being finance and wealth. It signifies harmony, balance, freshness, awareness, growth, restoration, and stability. Though, it can also be significant to boredom, blandness. Green representing nature is also considered to be beneficial for Mind and Body and is also said to have amazing healing powers.

Violet: In ancient times, violet was termed as ‘the colour of atmosphere’. It is known to be a soft colour with calming effects that convey creativity and wisdom. Violet is also associated with spiritual awareness, vision, luxury, truth, and quality. Violet also has negative associations like introversion, suppression, and inferiority. 

Colours and Brand Identity:

Colours are known to have effects on a person’s psychological, physiological and sociological behaviour. Thus, colour is an important aspect while considering the Brand Identity System. As every colour has a unique identity, it is important for brands to select the right colour. Using colours that go with your brand personality and consistently using brand colours, has been proven advantages and create a stronger Brand Identity and has higher brand recall. Few examples are Coca-Cola is known for its bright red labelling on bottles; Dairy milk uses their patent violet for all its chocolates, Christian Louboutin is known or its red bottom pumps and Barbie uses the typical pink for all its packaging. Colours are thus an important element in a brand’s visual identity and needs to be based on logic, meaning and purpose.

Article contributed by:

Riya Wadhwa, Brand Artisan - Marketing

Types of Emotional Benefits

 Let’s start with an experiment. Melt a Toblerone and mould it into a slab. Ask a friend to taste it and observe their reaction. Most probably your friend will throw it at you and will be disgusted for having such a terrible taste in chocolate. And you would agree with him after you taste it yourself. That pops a question in my mind.

How Toblerone makes its sales and how did they make it so big?
Answer - Emotional Benefits

It is the Emotional Connection that draws a customer to the Brand. Every decision in our lives is influenced partly by Functional and partly by Emotional Benefits. 

Let’s identify the myriad of Emotional Benefits that we receive from other Brands.

1. Recognition – Our lives revolve around it. Right from childhood, you start forming an Identity that you want to be seen as. Some Brands intentionally own a space in our minds, that inspire a feeling of ‘being recognized’.
Mercedes: I own Prestige.
Chanel: I am Expensive (only a handful can afford me).

2. Belongingness – We have our own trust circles. Our choices often reflect the school of thoughts we belong to. So do brands.
Apple: I belong to people who are cool and look beyond convention.
BMW: I belong to people who enjoy driving

3. Confidence – A definitive element of our personalities. It is about how we feel about ourselves, rather than how others feel about us.
Victoria’s Secret: My body ‘feels’ desirable.
Abercrombie & Fitch: I ‘feel’ sexy.

4. Individualism – In the Millennial age, it is not uncommon for individuals to be bold enough to express or explore. There are a few brands that harness these heroic emotions.
Louis Vuitton: I am indispensable.
Old Monk: I am not afraid to show who I am.

5. Nostalgia – Our memories are very precious to us. Few Brands reflect that through their Brand Identity.
Paper Boat: Indian packaged drink brands that play around childhood memories
Nintendo: Do you think Pokémon Go Smartphone Game would have been as successful without the nostalgic memory of Pokémon game we played decades ago?

Every brand needs an Emotional Benefit. It is the Emotion (limbic system) that commands the Rational Brain. While we may think of making Rational choices, we always need Emotional Connection with the Brands we choose. So what made you buy that Toblerone?

Article contributed by Himali Jangam, Marketing Team, Yellow Fishes

Emotional Benefit - Emotion is energy in motion

"I was the vice-president at PepsiCo. What reason would I have to leave a very sustained and highly paid job to join a company of nerds selling computer? But he said to me and said it looking deep into my eyes - 'Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life or want a chance to CHANGE THE WORLD?' I could not resist.", said John Sculley.

What was he (Steve Jobs, of course) doing? Selling an offer to Sculley to join Apple? But do you see him mentioning the monetary gains or rational benefits or the level of control he would enjoy at Apple? No. He used sentiment, an emotion, a feeling of greatness or being unique because he (Sculley) was granted an opportunity to change the world, influence perceptions and create better experiences. What Sculley couldn't resist was the Emotional Benefit, and not a Rational Gain.

Every Brand, Product or Service, has its own set of Emotional Benefits and Rational Benefits. But do they leverage? Let's look at a few Brands that do it smartly.

1. A Product Brand A sports Brand that never talks about quality and functionality of its products and yet continues to influence buyers across the world only through the stories of Heroism. Nike. But now, it is expanding the scope of heroism and is concentrating more on defeating the villains inside you like laziness, fatigue etc. Nike passes on these strong ripples to their consumers so much that even owning a pair of shoes is in itself a motivation to stick to their fitness goals. Advertising slogans like - "Run Faster", "If you didn't lose your conscious in the end, then you could run faster" or the advertisement with the monologue of a runner trying to fight his demon called fatigue - talks about their attention to consumer emotions.

2. A Service Brand In the current Airline Industry Scenario, where everyone is talking about low fares, punctuality, hospitality and on-board entertainment, British Airways stands out with their emotion driven communication. 'A ticket to visit mum': A warm heart-touching story of a mother longing see her son who is studying abroad and how British Airways helps to reunite them. They always talk about what kind of emotional or spiritual give-and-take experience it is to connect people. They seldom mention about strategic rationality they are capable of bringing to our flying experience.

Brands that make their way into your subconscious are a combination of Rational AND Emotional Benefits. That subliminal connection leads to loyalty for a Brand. It is analogous to our Human relationships and bonds.

Does that mean low priced Brands or Mass Retail Brands don't have any Emotional Benefits? No. All products and services can have strong Emotional Pull – it just needs to be recognized by the Brand Managers and Consumers. An inexpensive pen has several Rational Benefits like smooth nib, long lasting and non-blotting ink, but it still has one strong emotional benefit. Well here it comes, 'Even if I lose it, I would not worry or regret.'

'Emotion is the Energy in Motion' as Peter McWilliams said. So, pay attention to your Consumer's Emotions and harness the Energy.

Article contributed by - Himali Jangam, Marketing Team, Yellow Fishes