The power of colour

This week, the guest Tiina Hiob presented how signs and their meanings influence communication. Indeed, these are very important because they create a social relationship with the consumers. It is also because of them that a brand can become stronger if it releases a lot of emotions and feelings to the consumer, creating thus sensuous associations. One of the factors that create the strongest brand by subliminal associations is color. Selecting a color should be studied and thought, because each color has a special meaning and evokes certain emotions and feelings. That is why it is very important for a company to choose the color of its brand. It can catch the attention, support the main idea and make the image 60% more interesting than others.

However, because every culture is different, it is important to pay attention to the meaning of the colors used, particularly when a company works internationally. Indeed, while black is for us a sign of mourning, in China, for example, it is rather the white that has this function. We must therefore take into account these cultural differences. A good example is General Mills, which has adapted the colors of one of their products:

                                                           

U.S publicity


















Chinese publicity


In China, yellow is the color of the emperor, which means power. Red has a very positive effect in the business, in addition to being associated with happiness. Also, the Chinese in food often seeks bright, vivid colors. We can easily notice that General Mills has tried to appeal to the Chinese market because these two colors were amplified in the Asian advertising.

As the guest said, knowing that colors increase the memorizing and brand recognition up to 80%, I believe that every company should study what they want to evoke. This detail may seem trivial, but it can be crucial for the effectiveness of a product.

STÉPHANIE VILLENEUVE