Color in Branding
We all encounter color in our everyday lives, from traffic lights to the products we buy. Color certainly influences what we read and what we buy. Have you ever thought about the importance of color in branding?
The proper use of color in branding is vital, and it plays an integral part in memory recall. Color stimulates all the senses, instantly conveying a message like no other communication method. Color conveys meaning and message without words and it should represent your brand’s image.
Choosing the correct color for your brand is crucial, the colors you use in your branding efforts should be carefully weighed because it sets you apart from your competitors’ products and logo. Each color triggers certain emotional and psychological reactions.
You want your brand perceived in a way that is rememberable to your customers, some brands are instantly recognizable by their colors. For example, McDonald’s use their brand color “yellow” to great effect. Yellow is the most visible color, which is why the McDonald’s M can be seen from a great distance. (Test your knowledge of trademarked colors by taking this pop quiz)
Visualize the color blue
Blue is a very popular color for corporate websites because it conveys communication, authority, and clarity. Many global companies like IBM, JP Morgan, Samsung, AT&T, BMW and General Electric use blue as the primary color in their logo. And most websites incorporate blue or at least one shade of blue into a design or logo.
Have you ever thought why social media sites use blue? Twitter, Tumblr, WordPress, LinkedIn and Facebook, they all use blue in their brands.
Blue is gender neutral and generally associated with the mind and intellect and it is the most popular color in the universe. This is not a coincidence that all social media giants picked blue. There is no doubt that they must have invested a great deal of money and time to make sure that they chose the right color for their brands.
Blue dominates the world-wide web including my blog header. From Reddit, Skype, Mashable, Foursquare, Digg, MSN Windows Live, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft, Skype, the White House website.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was asked why he decided to make Facebook blue in an interview. His answer was “Blue is the richest color for me and I can see all of blue”
Color plays an integral factor in the success of your business! Think carefully and choose wisely.
Do you believe there is a psychology of color?
Recognisable Brands Test brand color test
Lastly, if you’re questioning the power of color in branding, look at this example:
Carlton Draught – Big Ad Commercial
Carlton Draught, the Australian beer. The Big Ad is a larger than life commercial.
This ad was a genius idea by George Patterson and Partners (Young & Rubicam) of Melbourne, Australia. Big Ad parodies the visual style of battle sequences used in notables movies like Lord of the Rings, the story is about two battle teams. In the end one group looked like a man and the other as a pot of Carlton Draught beer. The ad was catchy, interesting, musical, very dramatic with a touch of humor in it.
This was considered an expensive ad, but it entertained people, and the ad took 7 months to launch. The agency used viral marketing techniques to promote the ad before it was broadcast on television. A half a million people watched the ad on the web. Within 24 hours after release, the “Big Ad” had been downloaded 162,000 times; two weeks later, it had been seen by over one million viewers in 132 countries making it the biggest viral Australian beer launch in history.
The “Big Ad” has since received over 30 awards globally. But it was reported that given its popularity, it didn’t increase the shareholder value to match the hype and popularity.
Enjoy “The Big Ad”
Infographic: Over 7.5 million Africans on LinkedIn; South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt account for over 60% of users
Africa is the world’s second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. Social media in general is taking Africa by storm . Over 7.5 million Africans use LinkedIn, over 20% are entry-level, and the majority of the users are ages 18-34, most of them are male. LinkedIn is quickly gaining popularity among working class professionals in Africa though it is still far less popular compare to Facebook and Twitter. Other countries with the fastest growing number of users include Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Morocco, and Cameroon as seen in the images below.
Social Media Marketing Strategy
Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining traffic or attention through social media sites. Social media can also be viewed as a monitoring tool, widely used to inform customer service, product development and marketing activities.
Social media marketing uses technology to build relationships, drive repeat business and attract new customers through friends sharing with friends. Social media marketing not only increases branding and website traffic, it is a powerful influence in overall search engine optimization.
Social media marketing can help you increase the activity around these top goals:
- Website traffic and user behavior (external and internal tracking)
- Conversion and sales tracking
- Page views, ad exposure
- Raising brand awareness
- Creating a positive brand association and keeping it there
- Broader customer reach
When shifting gears from traditional marketing to social media, it is important for a company to prepare a scheme. The strategy begins with a focus, which include goals. And those goals can include short and long-term goals. When you think about social media, it is important to remember to set realistic business goals. For example: Are you going to generate leads, answer complaints, engage with customers, or something else? Will you be doing all the above? How will this relate to other functions and tools, like the rest of the marketing plan or the rest of customer service? Try to stay focused and be specific.
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