Colors and Marketing
| Graphateria - Person to Person Printing | Written by: Hugh Butler
Clients want results. Creative people want to produce a meaningful design. The marketing person stands between the two to prevent violence. “It’s as simple as that” I was told by an account executive from a PR firm. Maybe so, I thought later, but perhaps the guy in the middle was selling himself short.
Marketing pro’s think in terms of sales pitch and incentives, and are tempted to think there’s nothing to add once they can say “This is a great idea and the creative people will make it a beautiful idea”. It’s possible, that crucial marketing decisions are being abdicated …who does the message target, and how will the design package reinforce an effort aimed at that particular group?
Questions about color come into play at exactly this juncture, and neither the client nor the designer are well situated to deliver all the answers. The marketing pro still has work to do. Here are things to remember:
• People easily remember information presented graphically, (hence the burgeoning infographic industry), and more so if that information is conveyed in a truly coherent manner. Compatible color across the project is a crucial step.
• Clients may have pre-exisiting messaging and collateral beyond the project at hand. The tone they have (hopefully) established should be carried forward.
• Different demographics respond to color in different ways. Do some research.
• Colors can be emotional Hot Buttons. Green=Eco, Red=Passionate, Blue=Stable, etc. Do some more research.
These are considerations somewhat apart from the creative steps in the job, and a hardworking marketing pro won’t just leave them on autopilot. Get the information you need from the client and convey it, with your own input, to the creative types. Then, stay calm and umpire on.