Increase sales by using warm colours in your campaign

American researchers did some pioneering research that sheds new light on your choice of supermarket. They studied the influence of warmth perceptions of colours.

I got a question for you: what factors determine at which supermarket you buy your groceries?

I personally just head to the nearest supermarket, because I simply hate to cycle with a heavy bag of groceries. But perhaps you desire a reasonable price-quality balance, or possibly you also let the assortment (un)consciously play a role. You wouldn’t go to a supermarket that doesn’t sell your favourite chocolate, right?

American researchers did some pioneering neuromarketing research that sheds new light on your choice of supermarket. They studied the influence of warmth perceptions of colours.

I can hear you think: ‘OK, we all know about colour psychology, so what’s new?’ Well, this is what makes their results so exciting: The use of warm colours in a logo or campaign causes psychological warmth among consumers, which evokes feelings of trust and a positive attitude towards the advertiser. This in turn increases purchasing intentions. Now that’s the kind of neuromarketing we like!

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When applying this research to the supermarket example, the company logo and interior colours will greatly affect your choice of supermarket. Where brands with warm colours (like Dirk on the left) evoke more positive feelings among customers, which in turn increases sales.

The interesting thing is that this positive feeling is not only created amongst customers, but also among employees. The use of warm colours in a workspace will lead to positive feelings towards the organization, as a result people will work harder. You go Dirk!

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Why do we love Coca Cola?

Enough with the supermarkets. Let’s take a closer look at some other brands that successfully and unsuccessfully follow this principle. We all love Coca Cola, don’t we? The strange thing with Coca Cola is that you can strongly dislike the drink, but still love the brand itself. How the hell did they manage that?!

This is because Coca Cola focuses on the positive feeling towards the brand, rather than promoting the drink itself.

According to these American researchers, the choice of the warm colour red strongly contributes to this positive feeling, because warm colours enhance a positive attitude and increase trust towards the brand. Additionally, this leads to more sales. This warm colour will also cause employees to work harder, because they will experience this positive attitude towards the brand as well. Well done Coca Cola!

Coca Cola’s age-old opponent is of course Pepsi, which personally for me enhances positive feelings to a way lesser extent than Coca Cola. Although they focus less on the ‘good feeling’, we now also know that their choice of colour greatly contributes to this. The choice of the cold colour blue doesn’t enhance trust and a positive attitude towards the brand.

Now let me show you something funny. Do you notice anything odd about this image? Right, Coca Cola and Pepsi are switched. To what brand do you now experience the most positive feelings? According to the American researchers, the highest brand appreciation would still lie with the red commercial, regardless if it says ‘Enjoy Pepsi’ now. This is because the red evokes psychological warmth and positive feelings. Funny, isn’t it?

Concluding

Of course it’s always a combination of different factors that determine a brand’s success. It’s hard to predict what factors actually cause the big success of Coca Cola, since their commercials also focus on the happy experience and positive arousal. However, when creating a campaign or commercial or starting your own business, keeping this neuromarketing principle of warm colours in mind will definitely contribute to your success!

Take home points:

• Warm colours enhance psychological warmth.
• This psychological warmth evokes positive feelings of trust towards the advertiser, which leads to a higher purchasing intention.
• The use of warm colours in a workspace create positive feelings amongst employees, which leads them to work harder.