COLOR MEANINGS, COLOR PREFERENCES AND EMOTIONAL CONNOTATIONS OF COLOR; USING COLOR AS

A STRATEGIC MARKETING TOOL

Lisa Ferraro

Objectives of the Study

I. Determine color preferences among a large group with diverse ethnic representation

II. Elucidate the relationship between emotional feelings and color

III. Establish how our increased understanding of color would improve marketability of new products, such as textiles

Images/concepts that influence color preferences

Overview

Systematic Study of Perception and Emotional Connotations of Color:

• Selection of Observer Panels • Interview Process • Color Matching • Analysis of Results • Conclusion

Observer Panels • 47 total observers • Even distribution of males and females

– 25 females – 22 males – Age range 18-61 (average age 25.5 years)

• Five ethnic groups represented – African Americans (5) – Hispanics (3) – Whites (21) – Middle Eastern (8) – Asian (10)

• Each observer was tested for normal color vision1

Neitz J., (2001). Manual: Neitz Test of Color Vision www.wpspublish.com

Interview Procedure • Semi-structured interview1

• Each observer described their feelings for eleven color names in the English language2: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, gray, black and white

• The same three questions were asked for the 11 colors: 1. What does the color (red, orange…etc.) make you feel? 2. Do your feelings change if the shade or the hue changes,

if so how? 3. Are there any other experiences or associations that

have influenced your feelings for this color?

1. Clark T., and Costall A. (2008). The Emotional Connotations of Color: A Qualitative Investigation, Color Research and Application, 33(5), pp 406-410.

2. Berlin, B., & Kay, P. (1999). Basic color terms. Their universality and evolution. Stanford, California: CSLI Publications.

Color Matching

• Each observer selected a range from The Munsell Book of Color as well as a specific chip for every color

• After selection of each chip, the observer was asked how confident they felt about their selection in that it matched the color they had been visualizing

• It was important that the observers did not look at the samples while describing their feelings about that color so they would not be influenced by other colors

Ligh

tnes

s Chroma

Hue description

Color Matching

Munsell® Book of Color

Analysis of Results-I (Hue Range)

Determined an overall range for each hue on a Munsell hue circle

N

G B

P

Pi R

O Br

Y

Analysis of Results-II (Hue Selections for Color Names)

5

18

4

21

5 2 1

5 1 1 1

5 9

22

3 6 11

3 1 1 1 5 10

27

1

14

6 1

6 6

50

1 1

8 3

14

3

11

4 8

4 4 2

18 17

11 16

1 1 1 3

10

17 16

2

8 4

1 1 4 3

10

1

18

7 11

5 2 1

0 5

10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60

1.25

Y 2.

5Y

3.75

Y 5Y

6.25

Y 7.

5Y

7.75

Y 8.

75Y

8.75

YR

Not

pre

sent

6.

25R

10

R

1.25

YR

2.5Y

R

3.75

YR

5YR

6.

25YR

7.

5YR

8.

75YR

10

YR

Not

pre

sent

10

R

2.5Y

R

5YR

7.

25YR

7.

5YR

10

YR

2.5R

5R

6.

25R

7.

5R

5P

10P

2.5R

P 3.

75R

P 5R

P 6.

25R

P 7.

5RP

8.75

RP

10R

P 1.

25R

2.

5R

Not

pre

sent

2.

5P

5P

7.5P

10

PB

Not

pre

sent

7.

5BG

2.

5B

5B

7.5B

10

B

2.5P

B

3.75

PB

5PB

6.

25PB

N

ot p

rese

nt

1.25

GY

2.5G

Y 5G

Y 7.

5GY

8.75

GY

10G

Y 1.

25G

2.

5G

5G

7.5G

10

G

Cou

nt

Hue

Chip Selection

Color Matching

Analysis of Results-II (Dominant Chips)

34

14 10

6 7 9

5 9

6

22

44

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Freq

uenc

y

Dominant Chip Color

Red 7.5R/4/16

Orange 2.5YR/6/16

Yellow 5Y/8.5/12

Green 1.25GY/5/12

Blue 2.5PB/3/10

Purple 5P/3/10

Pink 5RP/7/10

Brown 5YR/3/6

Gray N 6.25

Black N .5

White N 9.5

65%

25%

5% 5%

Black

Very Confident

Confident

Neutral

Not Confident

75%

16%

5%

1% 2% White

Very Confident

Confident

Neutral

Not Confident

57% 35%

5%

3% Red Very Confident

Confident

Neutral

Not Confident

Analysis of Results-I (Highest Confidence Ratings/ mental matching)

33%

40%

22%

2% 2% Pink

Very Confident

Confident

Neutral

Not Confident

Positives Negatives Associations

Red Passion, love, hot, warm, excited,

hungry, happy, power, excitement, bright, victory

Fury, angry/anger, fire, aggressive, caution, loud, embarrassed, violence,

blood, danger, agitation, evil, uncomfortable.

Hearts, Valentine’s Day, tomatoes, food, NCSU Wolfpack, school spirit, stop

signs, stop lights, Korea, Spain, corvettes, matadors, Tiger Woods,

Ferrari, Christmas, apples, Stop sign

Orange Hot, bright, cheerful, excited, happy, joyful, invigorating,

awake, fire, lively, sunny, active, Obnoxious, angry, upset, loud

Fruit, sour, thirsty, fall, pumpkins, Halloween, tropical, Hawaii, freshness,

sports, basketball, sun, summertime, bricks, culture, friendship, cool aid

Yellow Happy, cheerful, calm, relaxed,

bright, positive, energetic, inspired, glory, content

Uncomfortable, unstable, jealousy, headache, unhealthy

Sun, smiley face, summer, beach, bees, tropical, kings, royalty, fruit and food,

baby pastel colors, McDonalds, highlighter, baby chicks, traffic signals

Green Energized, relaxed, pleasant, silent, healthy, strong, young,

life, serene, calm, anxious, vibrant, peaceful, intelligence,

confidence, recycle

Scary Nature, woods, environment, grass,

money, vegetables, Christmas, being sick, Al Gore, Saint Patrick’s Day

Blue Calm, relaxed, comfortable, cool,

free, pure, peaceful, fresh, invigorating, nostalgic

Sadness, gloomy, depressed/blue Sky, sea, water, boys, sports teams and rivalries, religion

Analysis of Results-I (Emotional Connotations of Color)

Purple Happy, pretty, feminine,

outgoing, bright, passionate, lively, fun, glory, girly

Selfish, incompatible, trouble, uncomfortable, over-ripe,

moody

Royalty, Barney, Mardi Gras, children/childlike, Minnesota

Vikings, egg plant, grapes, wine religious robes in Guatemala

Pink

Girly, cute, pleasant, feminine, cheerful, bright,

warm, friendly, mild, innocent, young, delicate

Annoyed, yuck

Girly/female/feminine, youth, beauty, Victoria’s Secret, women

and breast cancer, Valentine’s Day, Paris Hilton, sororities, tropics,

Barbie, underwear, lipstick

Brown Nature, calm, warm,

confident, safe, maturity, intelligence

Dirty, distasteful, aggressive, muddy, sad, death, boring

Wood, earth, dirt, rocks, leather, shoes, life, food, old men in their

study, chocolate, cigars, hair, poop, coffee, Thanksgiving

Gray Neutral, formal, official,

institutional, old, cool, warm, peaceful, unbiased

Depressed, sad, gloomy, stormy, violent, not fun, uninspired, lazy, boring

Rainy, getting older, TV, metal, silver

Black Dark, bold, mysterious, formal, confident, sexy,

outgoing,

Silent, strict, torture, trouble, death, scary, secluded, dreary,

bad, void

Funerals, hell, vacuum, space, black dress, nighttime, uniforms, rubber

tire, mourning, beans, Batman

White

Clean, pure, pleasant, happy, majestic, bright, crisp,

refreshed, neutral, anticipation, comfortable

Upset, bad, fear of getting dirty, daunting, dingy, boring

Angels, snow, death, food, smile, moon, brides and white dresses, basics: socks, t-shirt, dress shirt,

clouds, sugar, paper

Analysis of Results-I (Emotional Connotations of Color)

Color as a marketing tool • It has been proven that color is the primary purchasing consideration among consumers

10 and research reveals all human beings make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment or item within ninety seconds of initial viewing and that between 62%-90% of that assessment is based on color alone1.

• Evidently color plays a key role in the marketing strategies of new products and is one of the many marketing tools that global managers use to create, maintain, and modify brand images in customers’ minds2. Many studies have been focused on general color preference, but there is information lacking in understanding differences in consumers’ perceptions of colors based on their cultures2. If researchers can conduct studies that give clear indications of color preferences for specific demographic consumer groups, then new products can be better suited to fulfill consumer wants and needs. Color and decisions made for a new product is something that is considered throughout every step of the (NPD) process. In the testing phase, new products are test marketed among actual consumers who provide feedback that is used to validate the product so it can move on to the next phase. If the test market feedback is poor the necessary changes are addressed before the product is launched.

• Color is important in the marketing of textile products and with a better understanding of the emotional connections people have with different colors, additional novel products can be developed and more effectively marketed once the product reaches the market.

Conclusions • Using information similar to what has been found in this study in combination with test

marketing for new products could reveal useful information for specific consumers. Potential consumers who have agreed to be involved in the test market are already similar in their demographic and psychographic characteristics and could identify what specific colors mean to them. A perceptual map could be produced for each customer and that map would communicate to the new product development team certain meanings of the specific colors tested. Then, once all of the perceptual maps have been created for all the customers in the test market, an overall representation could be determined based on the individual information. Patterns can be easily identified to determine what the most liked and disliked colors are. This could be a powerful tool that would validate the test market results. This could reduce time that is spend on creating the marketing strategy for the new product and determine whether or not the product has met all the criteria to move on to the next step in the NPD process. Or it could become clear that the product needs to return to a previous step or be reconsidered altogether. Conducting test market research is time consuming and costly and any method that could help reduce one or both of those factors would be well received.

• If color studies can contribute to better knowledge of the ways in which people respond to color, then new products should be able to more effectively meet consumers needs, reduce the costs involved with new product development and manage the product throughout its life cycle once it enters the market.

Conclusions • Using information similar to what has been found in this study in combination with test

marketing for new products could reveal useful information for specific consumers. Potential consumers who have agreed to be involved in the test market are already similar in their demographic and psychographic characteristics and could identify what specific colors mean to them. A perceptual map could be produced for each customer and that map would communicate to the new product development team certain meanings of the specific colors tested. Then, once all of the perceptual maps have been created for all the customers in the test market, an overall representation could be determined based on the individual information. Patterns can be easily identified to determine what the most liked and disliked colors are. This could be a powerful tool that would validate the test market results. This could reduce time that is spend on creating the marketing strategy for the new product and determine whether or not the product has met all the criteria to move on to the next step in the NPD process. Or it could become clear that the product needs to return to a previous step or be reconsidered altogether. Conducting test market research is time consuming and costly and any method that could help reduce one or both of those factors would be well received.

• If color studies can contribute to better knowledge of the ways in which people respond to color then new products should be able to more effectively meet consumers needs, reduce the costs involved with new product development and manage the product throughout its life cycle once it enters the market.

Acknowledgments

• AATCC • All the observers who participated • Dr. Renzo Shamey