We’ve been doing a lot of talking about color, it’s use and where various colors come into play in your winter marketing campaign. Apparently we missed a step along the way.
The part that explains why you should care.
In the words of “Bones” star Temperance Brennan, psychology is a “soft science”. She might be fictional, but from a marketing standpoint there’s little empirical evidence to back up claims that so-and-so will think A if you show them B.
But when you’re in the print marketing game, that understanding is absolutely vital to the well being of your company.
Logic vs. “Hey, Look!”
Consumers undertake a complex process when they decide to make a purchase. There’s the interest phase, the information gathering phase. If you’ve ever sat through a business class or two, you’re already familiar with the process.
To get them through these stages, however, it’s first necessary to catch their interest. That process is much simpler. You just need to create an image or advertisement that’s going to make them say, “Hey, look!”
That’s your hook.
Creating that hook requires an intimate knowledge of what your customers want, what your customers need, and what you need to do to convince them that your company can give them both. You do that with images, with sounds and yes, with color.
The wrong use of color in your print marketing materials can sabotage your marketing campaign before you have time to blink. Remember, there are lots of other companies out there trying to sell to the same consumer base you are. If your ad “just doesn’t do it for them” your customers are going to go somewhere else.
At that point, your print marketing materials aren’t the only things you have to worry about. Product development itself becomes a waste of time and money, because you have a product that no one wants to buy. Where are you and your company going to be then?