This document discusses how color theory can be applied in marketing. It provides information on the meanings and emotional impacts commonly associated with different colors like red, yellow, green, and blue. It also discusses how color preferences can differ by gender. Color is an important part of branding, as brands become associated with their distinctive colors over time. Research suggests that simply changing the color of a call-to-action button, like from green to red, can increase conversion rates by attracting more attention with a contrasting color. In summary, the document outlines the psychological impacts of different colors and how understanding color theory can help with marketing, branding, and design decisions.

1. A Seminar on
Application of ColorTheory in Marketing
Submitted to Dr. GurdeepSingh
Department of Applied Management
University Institute of Engineering &Technology, Panjab University

2. PERSUASION
Color psychology theory is very much related to
persuasion , but most of today’s conventions on
colors consist of hunches and anecdotal evidence.

3. MISCONCEPTIONS
Personal preferences, experiences, cultural
differences or contexts diminish the effects
individual colors have on people.
The theory that colors invoke specific emotions is
as accurate as readingTarot cards.

4. WHAT EACH COLOR
MEANS?
First, let’s start with some
interesting facts about colors:

5. COLORS & EMOTIONS
• RED: passion, anger, stop, battle, love, blood
• YELLOW: joy, intellect, cowardice, intellect, youth
• WHITE: perfection, clean, purity, virtue, peace
• GREEN: fertility, money, health, success, growth,
jealousy, environment friendly
• BLUE: royalty, richness, perfection, peace, cool, calm
• PURPLE: royalty, wisdom, spirituality, imagination
• BLACK: fear, negativity, death, evil, secrecy
• GREY: neutrality, uncommitted, uncertain

6. RED
Motivates us to take action
Means: passion, courage, energizing, pioneering
spirit, leadership
Opposite: angry, nervous
Fun facts:
•Red means “beautiful” in Russian.
•Chinese brides often wear red wedding gowns for good luck.
•It is King’s color – represents the highest ranks and positions of officials.

7. ORANGE
It is the color of social communication and
optimism and relates to instinct reactions.
It represents strong emotions, radiates warmth
and energy
Opposite meaning: pessimism and superficiality
Fun facts:
•During the Elizabethan era in English history, only nobility were
allowed to wear orange clothing.
•Frank Sinatra once said: “Orange is the happiest color.”

8. YELLOW
It is the color of the mind, intellect, acquired
knowledge.
Represents: optimism, cheerful, fun, uplifting
Opposite: impatience, criticism, cowardice
Fun facts:
•In Japan yellow means courage
•In Egypt it is used for mourning

9. GREEN
It means balance, growth, harmony, nature,
youth.
It is an emotional positive color which relates to
counselor, the good listener, the worker.
Opposite: possessive and materialistic.
Fun facts:
•Green is often used as a symbol of sickness
•Before 1950’s Santa’s suit was green
•It was a sacred color in Ancient Egypt

10. BLUE
Color blue denotes reliability, responsibility, trust,
honesty, loyalty, peace and tranquility
Opposite: inflexible and nostalgic
Fun facts:
•In Ancient Rome blue was worn by the servants
•In India blue is thought to bring bad luck
•Owls are the only birds who can see the color blue

11. PURPLE
It is the color of imagination, spirituality and
harmony.
It represents the future, encourages creativity,
inspiration and originality.
Opposite: depression
Fun facts:
•February is the month associated with purple
•Amethyst is the best known purple precious stone in the world
•Purple denotes virtue and faith in Egypt

12. Now that we found out what is the
meaning of every color, let’s see
some insights on how they play a
role in persuasion:
1. Color preferences by gender
2. Color branding

13. A helpful insight that you should consider in your branding process is color preferences by
GENDER

14. COLORS & GENDER (1)
• Khouw (2002) found that men were more tolerant of gray, white or black than women, and
that women reacted to the combinations of red and blue more frequently, and got
confused and distracted more than men.
• It was also found that the combination of red and blue was the most preferred color by
adults.
• These results suggest that there are gender differences in the perception of color.
• True, the subject’s impressions of color seemed to be more subtle and effected not just by
the coolness or warmness of the color palette, but also by the calibration of value, chroma,
and contrast used in the interiors (Khouw, 2002).
SOURCE: Kissmetrics

15. COLORS & GENDER (2) Joe Hallock’s Colour Assignments
MEN’S FAVOURITE WOMEN’S FAVOURITE

16. COLORS & GENDER (3) Joe Hallock’s Colour Assignments
MEN’S LEAST FAVOURITE WOMEN’S LEAST FAVOURITE

17. COLORS & GENDER (4)

18. COLOR
BRANDING (1)
Color branding is one of the
most important issues
relating color perception.

19. COLOR BRANDING (2)
• Messaging patterns revealed that colors play an important
role in purchases and branding. 90% of snap judgments
made about products are solely based on colors. There are
five core dimensions that have a role in a brand’s personality,
that are vital to consider:
• Sincerity - domestic, honest, genuine, cheerful
• Excitement – daring, spirited, imaginative, up-to-date
• Competence – reliable, responsible, dependable, efficient
• Sophistication – glamorous, presentation, charming,
romantic
• Ruggedness – tough, strong, outdoorsy, rugged

20. COLOR BRANDING (3)

21. COLOR & RESTAURANT
• The red color stimulates appetite because of its effect on our metabolism, making red a
popular color choice among fast-food restaurants.
• The yellow color is also employed by fast-food moguls to hijack customers’ interests – they
gain customers’ attention, increase their appetite, and encourage them to eat.This is the
best way for fast-food companies to generate sales.
• By contrast, formal restaurants use blue color to calm and relax their customers.This
comforting state is expected to increase the likelihood of the customers lingering longer.
Longer stays may correspond to larger meals, more wine, coffee, or desserts, and;
therefore, more sales.This is an important strategy for formal restaurants to increase their
sales.Although blue is linked to a calm state (Kido, 2000), its excessive use can be an
appetite suppressant! Indeed, such an outcome is not desirable by formal restaurants.

23. COLOR & WAITINGTIME
• Colors influence the perception of the passage of time.
• Time seems to pass slowly and objects seem larger and heavier under a red light.
• On the contrary, time seems to pass quite quickly and objects seem smaller and lighter
under blue light.
• Casinos take advantage of this principle – they use red color lighting to get their customers
excited while making them feel that they are not wasting a lot of time in the casino.

24. COLOR &
BRANDS (1)
• Colors evoke brands.
• Whether it is Heineken’s
distinct green label, Coca-
cola’s red, Shell’s yellow,
or Cadbury’s purple, all
have different color values
to different consumers.

25. COLOR &
BRANDS (2)
• The high importance placed on
color is an acknowledgment of
manufacturers’ understanding
that color has strong emotional
loading, able to prompt a
swifter response to packaging
than either the written work or
imagery .
• Holograms and metallic colored
packaging onColgate
toothpastes entice consumers
to choose their toothpaste over
Proctor & Gamble’s.

26. CANYOU RECOGNIZETHE ONLINE BRANDS
JUST BASED ON COLOR?
1.
2.
3.
4.

27. FACEBOOK
BLUE denotes the communication,
globalism, and dependability. Blue
being a cool and soothing color is
appropriate for a social networking
site.
SILVER denotes prestige, wealth, &
mental telepathy.
GREEN denotes youth and harmony.

28. GOOGLE
BLUE denotes the
communication, globalism, and
dependability.
SILVER denotes prestige,
wealth, & mental telepathy.
BROWN is honest, genuine and
sincere. It relates to the
hardworking, the industrious
and reliable. It is a practical and
sensible color which implies
common sense. It hides the dirt!

29. FLICKR
BLUE denotes the communication,
globalism, and dependability. Blue
being a cool and soothing color is
appropriate for a social networking
site.
SILVER denotes prestige, wealth, &
mental telepathy.
PINK denotes creativity, charm, &
tenderness.

30. LINKEDIN
BLUE denotes the communication,
globalism, and dependability.
SILVER denotes prestige, wealth, &
mental telepathy.
YELLOW denotes mind, acquired
knowledge, optimism. The follow
button is yellow.

31. DOES SIMPLY CHANGING COLOR OF A
BUTTON MAKE A DIFFERENCETO
CONVERSION RATES? (1)
• Green connotes ideas like “natural” and “environment,” and given its wide use in traffic
lights, suggests the idea of “Go” or forward movement.
• The color red, on the other hand, is often thought to communicate excitement, passion,
blood, and warning. It is also used as the color for stopping at traffic lights. Red is also
known to be eye-catching.
• Performable (now HubSpot) conducted anA/B test.
• They guessed that Green, the more friendly color would win.

32. DOES SIMPLY CHANGING COLOR OF A
BUTTON MAKE A DIFFERENCETO
CONVERSION RATES? (2)
21% more people clicked
on the red button than
on the green button.
Everything else on the
pages was the same, so
it was only the button
color that made this
difference.

33. DOES SIMPLY CHANGING COLOR OF A
BUTTON MAKE A DIFFERENCETO
CONVERSION RATES? (3)
• CONCLUSION:
• The button change to red boosted conversions by 21 percent, but that
doesn’t mean that red holds some sort of magic power to get people to take
action.
• It’s obvious that the rest of the page is geared toward a green palette, which
means a green call to action simply blends in with the surroundings. Red,
meanwhile, provides a stark visual contrast (and is a complementary color
to green).

34. THANKYOU!
SUBMITTED BY:
KUSHALWALIA
UM 10905
BE + MBA 10th SEMESTER