Color Psychology in Marketing Strategies

Introduction and Justification of Research Question

Marketers now realise that colour can be a powerful tool of communication which can be applied to not only influence mood, cause certain physiological reactions but also signal an action (Dwyer, 1971). It is in this regard that this literature review intends to provide evidence which demonstrates the effect which colour has on people's mood and how it can affect the way they think as well as act in different places. This research will also analyse how colour affects people purchasing choices and influence them to pick different products by influencing branding. Research by Lankow, Ritchie and Crooks (2012) says colour psychology can be applied to raise conversations on a company's website. The research discovered that colour is able to wield huge sway over people's emotions and attitudes. These researchers claim that when the eye of a person takes in a particular colour, a part of the brain called hypothalamus is communicated. A cascade of body signals are then sent to the individual's pituitary gland and then to his or her endocrine system and finally to the thyroid glands. This last gland then signals the secretion of body hormones, which causes changes in emotion as well as mood, therefore, causing certain behaviours. This study shows that when colour is adjusted, the rate of conversations on a company's website is increased by at least 24%. The research states that it takes a person just 90 seconds to develop an opinion concerning a good or service and that between 62 to 90 percent of the interaction happens because of the item's colour. Research has also found that colour says much about a company's logo (Infographic). According to Ciotti (2014), a logo is important in identifying a brand and is usually the first which a customer thinks of. These individuals say that a message behind a company's logo while perfecting it should be their primary concern as the design, especially the logo's colour should be such that it can make customers think positively about the company’s products.

Therefore, evidence has proven that humans can easily identify various hues. The implication of the effect which colour has on human emotion has been found to be far-reaching this understanding the connection which customers have with colours can enhance a business’s method of branding. Research done on marketing and web design found that people decide about an item in less than a minute and that 85 percent of customers first see colour as the reason for buying the item. Additionally, 80% of customers consider colour to increase the recognition of a brand (Smith, 2016). Colour has also been used in block merchandising. It has been demonstrated that many businesses have overcome competition and have gained shoppers attention by using applying colour in merchandising (Ebster, 2011). Colour block merchandising has been used to make the displays in a company to stand out and give customers experiences which are easy to remember. In merchandising, colour wheels are used to demonstrate the connection between various colours where primary colours such as yellow, blue and red are used to develop secondary colours by mixing them. Block colour merchandising has also been used where products are arranged from the darkest to the brightest in a left-right arrangement allowing customers to read in the same order. Research has shown that colour can affect mood by causing a psychological effect on customer purchasing behaviour. Colour not only attracts consumer attention but also inspires various feelings. By using storefront displays, which are attractive visual merchandising, customers can be attracted towards a particular store more than the other (Ebster, 2011).

Colour is also important in brand identity (Morton, 2010). Research has shown that it has an effect on the eyes readability and can attract attention and should be carefully chosen for prints advertisement, signing. Literature shows that a company can get an advantage by consistently owning a colour which offers them extra recognition. Many companies have their logo of different colours on business cards. Therefore, colours are essential in brand identity and many companies are usually advised to test the influence of new brand identity they are establishing using colours. It is crucial to consider how the colour association will differ with people, particularly culture and experiences with the intended colour (Morton, 2010). Research says that while some colours make people anxious, others make them relaxed and calm (Aaronson, 1971). Other evidence shows that different sunlight wavelengths exert influence on 'people's mood. It has been proven that colours are light waves which have distinct wavelengths (Koehler, 1971). It is with no doubt that some studies have discovered a link between mood and colour and that people's perceptions of different colours are entirely individual. Evidence shows that the same environment can be very relaxing for one person but completely stressful for a different person. Thus it is quite a challenge to assume that certain wavelengths have a similar effect on everyone (Koehler, 1971). There is also a lack of sufficient research in this topic even though colour psychology as a concept is becoming a heated topic in the field of marketing, design and art.

Methodology

Only peer-reviewed literature was searched in this review. The technique applied in the search for relevant literature was the "use of keywords" with which the conjunctions AND, OR, AND OR, NOT were used together with the said keywords. These keywords included COLOUR, MOOD, MARKETING, and PURCHASING. There was no time limit for the literature used to increase the amount of peer-reviewed literature found during the search. The literature chosen for this research must have contained words like "the effect of colour on moods" and "how colour influences purchasing" otherwise, it was excluded.

Literature Review

Even with the lack of sufficient research on the effect of colour in business and retail settings, Babin, Chebat and Michon (2004) conducted a study where they measured perceptual appropriateness of music, scent, colour, perceived quality, effective approach and response as well as avoidance behaviour by customers in a mall. They discovered in their study that there are matching environmental features which positively influence affective reactions and quality perceptions and the actual consumer behaviour. Their research suggests that when there is reduced perceptual appropriateness, lower quality ratings on products was reported by consumers as well as decreased effective responses. Research by Johnson (2007) shows that colours can appear unimportant and simple, but they influence 'people's daily lives more than it is recognised. For instance, Johnson (2007) says that if someone feels angry, it is possible that they are angry or that they are surrounded by the red colour. Johnson (2007) found that colour affects people's mood by producing some chemicals and by stimulating varying feelings like stress and hunger. Another researcher outlines are the colour blue, which can give a person the feeling of calmness as it makes the body to produce calming chemicals. On the other hand, the red colour makes one hungry as it acts as a stimulant for appetite.

Yellow, on the other hand, can make a person feel irritated, and it has been shown that this colour can make a person to lose temper when in a yellow room. Furthermore, pink has been found to act as a sleeping agent and can make someone feel weak. This researcher thus concludes that depending on the particular colour in a person's surrounding. Their body can produce chemicals which can result in different emotional reactions such as being sad. Another survey conducted by Smith (2007) shows that colour produces an effect that is based on what the body does as a response. This researcher claims that yellow activates memory by mentally stimulating a person while red increases an 'individual's confidence. The researcher further says that the brown colour can give a person a feeling of stability and orderly while dark blue gives people a sad feeling. This researcher concludes that colours have the ability to change the mood that people have and can result in either a positive or negative consequence. Cottet, Plichon and Lichtle (2007) also compared the effects which music, colour and scent have on emotions customers felt in a store, on return intentions and on satisfaction. According to these researchers, it is crucial to maintain congruence between the layout of a store, scent and image to influence the satisfaction and emotions of customers positively. They stated that colour must be congruent with different environmental features for a store to increase customer loyalty and cause return intentions. To support this argument, Cottet, Plichon and Lichtle (2007) emphasised on the significance of congruence between different environmental features to positively influence consumer behaviour and emotions. Babin, Hardesty and Suter (2003) examined the effect of lighting and colour in a retail environment that is scenario based. The result of their research demonstrated that an interior which is cool was most preferred over those who are warm and that cool interior generated more willingness of customers to purchase products. The research found that both good lighting and cool interiors influenced the 'customer's mood positively. Brightly lit environments were found to have similar effects on the mood and purchasing intentions of customers positively.

Similarly, the effect of using music and colour in a retail field-based setting on a two high and low-arousing music by two high and low-arousing colour design found that with congruent music and colour regarding the quality of their arousal, customers experienced increased or enhanced satisfaction as they demonstrated increased levels of impulse and approach in their buying behaviour which led them to spend more money than in incongruent settings. Another study by Crilly, Moultrie and Clarkson, (2004), shows that when new products are being marketed, it is important to consider that customers often place colour and visual image over all other factors including texture, smell and sound. For instance, almost all products and designs of Apple uses the white colour. Most top brandings also use the basic white colour on their products. Marketers have now understood why it is important to maintain consistency in design and colour. They know that it is vital to move past the standard tagline and logo and assume a holistic approach which evokes emotions in potential consumers across marketing channels, particularly social media platforms. Colour can be used to 'one's advantage. Certain brands are very closely associated with a particular colour scheme which enables customers to recognise them even without seeing the company's name (Crilly, Moultrie and Clarkson, 2004). Another researcher, known as Wollard (2000) is of the same idea that colours can influence an 'individual's mood. For instance, Wollard (2000) says that pink colour decreases aggression, and as a result, have been used on the Seattle prison jail cell walls. However, the effect can also depend on a 'person's culture as well as their personal reflection. For instance, a person from Japan might not associate the red colour with being angry like can be done by individuals from the United States. Additionally, an individual who likes the brown colour my link it with happiness. This researcher also thinks that some colours can make everyone have a similar feeling or close to a similar mood.

Eric (2007) on colour psychology says that colour possesses both psychological and physiological effects. He claims that green gives people a relaxed feeling by relaxing the muscles and making them breathes more slowly and deeply. On the other hand, he found that blue could lower people's blood pressure, thus making them calm. Eric (2007) says that colour influences mood due to its effect on 'one's body. Airey (2006) argue that colour is energy with emotional, spiritual, mental and physical effect on individuals. This researcher says that black colour can give a person the feeling of security and sophistication but can also give them a feeling of depression. Airey (2006) further says that brown colour can give a person a feeling of seriousness and reliability while the white colour lifts an 'individual's self-esteem. This researcher thus concluded that various colours have the ability to affect people's mood. In marketing, there is the issue of branding, which is more connected to colour perception. Research by Singh (2006) shows that colour very relies on individual experiences and cannot be generally translated to some certain feelings. However, there are broader patterns of messages that are associated with perceptions of colour. Valdez and Mehrabian (1994) are other researchers who found long-wavelength colours to have more arousing effects than short-wavelength colours. In another similar study by Kwallek, Woodson, Lewis and Sales (1997), the impact of red, white and blue colours on productivity and mood of workers in office settings was examined. In this study, people's screening ability was accounted for, and it was found that some people can effectively decrease an 'environment's complexity while others do not have this data reduction ability. These researchers discovered that people who did tasks in mostly red environments scored higher on anxiety and stress. As opposed to high- screeners, people who were low screeners in the study were found to experience more feelings that are depression related in white and red-environments. Low-screeners in the research also scored dismally on tasks when they were put to work in red coloured environments but did better in blue coloured workplaces as compared to high-screeners.

In a survey conducted by Bottomley (2006), it was discovered that most snap judgements (up to 90 percent), that are made concerning products could be related to colour alone and depending on the particular product. Concerning the role which colour plays in businesses in branding, another study by Labrecque and Milne (2012), show that there is a connection between colour hinges and brands on the seen appropriateness of the particular colour which is applied for the brand. The research shows that customers ask themselves the way in which a certain colour that is used fits the item being sold. In another survey done by Radiological Society of North America (2006), it was confirmed that consumers purchasing intent is usually influenced by colour because of their impact on the way they perceive the brand. The research demonstrates that colour influences the way consumers view a brand's personality. Moreover, another research by Carter and Carter (1983) revealed that the human brain prefers brands which are immediately recognisable and which uses colour as a significant element when developing their brand identity. Different research by Fernandez-Vazquez et al. (2011) proposes that it is crucial for brands which are new to use colours which provide them differentiation from competitors who are already entrenched in the market. The business also needs to ask itself why and how it is necessary to choose a certain colour and position themselves against the entrenched competitors as well as how they will employ colour to achieve their goal. Concerning choosing an appropriate colour, research by Aaker (1997) has shown that it is very important to try and predict the type of reaction which consumers will have when a particular colour is chosen. A study conducted by Jennifer Aaker (1997) on brand personality dimensions elaborate on five principal dimensions, which play a major role in brand personality. These dimensions are shown below in the following figure 1.

Research shows that brands can occasionally cross between different traits but are usually dominated by a single trait. Literature shows that while some colours align broadly with certain traits such as brown and ruggedness, red and excitement and purple and sophistication, it is far more crucial to have colours which support brand personality which a business wishes to portray rather than attempting to align stereotypical colour connections (Labrecque and Milne, 2012). Valdez and Mehrabian (1994) say that colour can be used to differentiate hue, saturation and brightness. These researchers claim that colours can be grouped into warm and cool colours based on needed hue. Valdez and Mehrabian (1994) point out that colours which are considered cool are known to possess short wavelengths, for instance, blue and violet. Crowley (1993) supports this evidence by saying that warm colours have longer wavelengths, for instance, orange and red. According to Crowley (1993), colours exist in a hierarchy from red, orange, yellow, green and blue, which flow from longer-wavelength to shorter-wavelength colours. Camgoz, Yener and Guvenc (2002) discovered that both saturation and brightness play a significant role in colour perception and that brightness determines the darkness or lightness of a particular colour. These researchers say that the reflection of much light show the colour is light while a low reflection of light shows a darker colour. According to these individuals, saturation demonstrates the purity of a particular colour where high saturation shows it is a colour which is pure. Low saturation, on the other hand, demonstrates a greyish or pale colour. These individuals say that colour is perceived to be more pleasant when there is an increase in both attributes. According to Hemphill (1996), bright colours get linked with positive feelings like hope, joy and happiness. This researcher proposes that bright colours are considered much friendlier, beautiful, much cultured and pleasant. In comparison, dark colours cause negative feelings like sadness and boredom. Elliot and Maier (2007) found in their study that colour is able to evoke reactions and associations. According to these individuals, the meaning of colours can be an outcome of learnt association, for instance, green, orange and red colours which are applied to traffic lights. Additionally, nature determines the meaning of existing colours. Tofle, Schwartz, Yoon and Max-Royale (2004) claim that emotional reactions which are started by colour emerge from learnt association based on characteristics and culture of a person.

Wexner (1954) assessed the relationship between mood and colour. Participants in this individual's study faced coloured cards and were asked to indicate their associations with varying moods. An association was determined between being calm, comfortable and serene with cool colours. In comparison, warm colours were linked with exciting and stressful moods. The participants in the survey got exposed to coloured cards and not really situated in coloured rooms or environments. Wexner (1954) thus concluded that there is a connection between arousal levels and wavelength. Stone (2003) changed environmental colour and evaluated the impact on people's performance while conducting very demanding tasks and less demanding tasks. Working on less demanding tasks, individuals performed dismally in environments with blue colour as compared to in red coloured working places. However, when the individuals did very demanding activities in an environment with blue colour, they performed better than when working in red coloured environments. This research thus shows that performance can be affected by the colour of the environment where one is working. Mehta and Zhu (2009) found that warm colours induced avoidance motivation than cool colours and that the warm colours enhanced performance on cognitive tasks that are detail-oriented, whereas cool colours improved performance on creative cognitive activities. According to Van Hagen (2011), approach behaviour is about positive behaviour which is caused by one's environment like a desire to return and stay in a particular place. Meanwhile, avoidance behaviour is about negative behaviour caused by one's environment like wanting to leave or not willing to come back to a particular environment. This individual says that there is a primary degree of stimulation from the environment which a person feels more comfortable and that the level at which an individual feels more comfortable rely on different factors such as gender. Bellizi and Hite (1992) examined the effect of red and blue colours on people's shopping behaviour in stores dealing in furniture. The outcome of this research demonstrated that participants felt comfortable in a store with blue colour as compared to the in-store environment with a red colour. Moreover, Yildirim, Akalin-Baskaya and Hidayetoglu (2007) evaluated the effect of cool violet colour and warm yellow colours in a restaurant. In this research, the cool colour was considered more pleasant as compared to the warm colour. They found that colours could attract attention, a scenario called approach orientation towards colours and retailers can use this scenario to elicit some kind of illicit behaviour. Bellizzi and Hite (1992) also claim that shopping environments with blue colour had people who were willing to buy goods and look around than in red coloured shopping environments. They further found that in blue environments that are less distracting, few purchasing decisions were postponed and consumers spent more money.

Bellizi, Crowly and Hasty (1983) evaluated approach attractiveness and approach behaviour of varying colours in their experimental study. Their survey measured the angle and distance at which those taking part in the research sat relative to the 'room's coloured wall. The outcome of their study was the opposite of the previously mentioned findings that individuals were more attracted to warm colours. According to Meyers-Levy and Maheswaran (1991), women are more prone to details and this show higher sensitivity to features in the environment that generally result in a preference for less levels of arousal. Berlyne (1971) says that there is a connection between arousal and pleasure. Situations which have low or high arousal are perceived as being less pleasurable than those with moderate arousal levels. Benaroya-Milshtein et al. (2004) claim that optimal environmental features presentation for certain activities lead to experiences which are optimally pleasant. Therefore, too low or too high stimulation can cause negative feelings and discomfort. Benaroya-Milshtein et al. (2004) say that extremely high stimulation, which is caused, for instance, by being exposed to very bright light, can cause stress. Additionally, very low stimulation caused by being exposed to greyish colours can result in boring feelings.

Conclusion

This research has shown that people are often in a bad mood when they are sad and that colours are very close to 'people's mood. Some studies have discovered a link between mood and colour and that 'people's perception of different colours is entirely individual. Evidence has shown that an environment can be very relaxing for different people but completely stressful for others. Literature has demonstrated that it is important to match environmental features which positively influence affective reactions and quality perceptions and the actual consumer behaviour. It is apparent that an image can be used to influence the satisfaction and emotions of customers positively. Research has demonstrated that an interior which is cool is often preferred over those who are warm and that cool interiors generate more willingness of customers to purchase products. It has been shown that colours can appear unimportant and simple, but they influence 'people's daily lives more than it is recognised and that colour affects 'people's mood through producing some chemicals and by stimulating varying feelings like hunger, anxiety, being relaxed and happy. Colours have thus been found to influence an 'individual's mood. However, the effect can depend on a 'person's culture as well as their personal reflection. Colour psychology says that colour possesses both psychological and physiological effects.

Recommendations

There is room for marketers to improve likability and customer preference through the use of colour. For instance, they should apply colour to increase the visual search of their items online as well as on their official website page through colour coding. This will facilitate a visual search for their products. Marketers should also use colour to improve recognition of products by intentionally using colours through a dissonant, creative or playful approach. Additionally, marketers can apply colour to enhance the intended meaning and allow customers to drive meaning from their item, which stands outs. Marketers should further use colour to establish and reinforce their identity in the advertising and marketing sphere. A company should derive a way of portraying their culture through symbolism using colour. For instance, they can use the orange colour to show that they are a vibrant company which allows team spirit and excitement. Emotion can be evoked further by communicating a mood using colour. Marketers should understand how to use different colour aspects such as colour purity or dark or light colour to develop a more positive atmosphere which attracts consumers. Lastly, companies/businesses can use colour to demonstrate words or images that refer to different meanings (metaphors), which can be understood easily from an image or illustration and pass a message quickly and interestingly.

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