The Psychology Of Color In Marketing And How it Can Help You

Take a minute and think about your favorite fast food restaurant, what is the main color that takes up their branding?

If you said red, you are not alone.

Red –  According to most studies, red encourages an appetite, as well as being associated with stimulation, excitement, and activity.  Because of this, it is used by a lot of fast food chains: McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Wendy’s, DQ and food applications: Grubhub, Tomato, Yelp.  However, one can beg to differ that the color red has just become synonymous with the fast food industry as a whole because of how red has been marketed.  If you are looking for a color for your fast food company or food app, integrating red is definitely recommended!

Culturally:

North America – Energy, excitement, action

South America – Passion, sacrifice, love

China – Heroic, used for festive occasions, vitality, happiness

India – Love, fertility, sign for married women

Africa – Color of mourning

Middle East – Sacrifice, sin   

Blue – While red increases appetite, blue is said to deter people from eating. The color of skies, the beautiful clear waters of the Caribbean evokes a calmness.  Blue is also a color that is preferred by men, provides a sense of security and stimulates productivity.  Many brands that want to promote trust in their brand opt for this color choice.  Such as brands that are in the health industry, financial brands, social media and service companies just to name a few.

Culturally:

North America – Trust, authority, conservative, peace and calm, masculine

South America – Holiness, color of soap

China – Immortality, feminine

India – Religious color

Africa – Positivity, happiness

Middle East – Protection

Yellow – Oh yellow, such a love hate relationship with this color.  On one spectrum, Coldplay wrote a song about it, a girl that reminded him of all the beautiful things that are yellow.  And on the other, it has a disturbing reaction on babies to the point where it makes them cry.  Brands that usually choose yellow to represent them are companies that want to represent playfulness, creativity, or companies that want an attention getting color.  Such as companies geared towards kids products.  However, most companies that do choose to use yellow do not use it alone and need another color to either border it or accompany it.  Too much yellow can be disrupting to consumers and cause anxiety.

Culturally:

North America – Happiness, joy, caution

South America – Happiness, warmth

China – Sacred, honor, masculine color, pornography

India – Sacred, symbol of a merchant

Africa – Usually reserved for people of high ranking

Middle East – Happiness, prosperity

Green – The luck of the Irish ring any bells?  Green for most is the color of good fortune, health, and prosperity.  Most brands like Whole Foods, and many other health conscious stores tend to veer towards this color to portray themselves as a brand you can trust to have good healthy options.  Other companies that tend to use green are companies that wish to portray stability and wish to showcase that they are environmentally friendly.  For example, a lot of new car models that have the “eco” mode are represented by some sort of green icon.  

Culturally:

North America – Lucky, spring, new birth, nature, environmental awareness

South America – Death

China – Fertility, regeneration, hope

India – Hope, harvest

Africa – Corruption, drug culture

Middle East – Wealth, prestige