As you scamper to and fro from store to store this holiday season, looking for the perfect gift or the best bargain, I’d like to challenge you to do one simple thing: ignore color. Can’t do it, can you? Our brains are hardwired for color… but why? According to an article found on cnet’s News Blog about a new study from Caltech, the answer may make you blush:
The spectral sensitivity of color cones in humans and chimps are somewhat unusual. Bees have four color cones that are evenly spread across the visible color spectrum. Birds have three color cones. By contrast, humans have three types of cones that are sensitive to a limited range of wavelengths. The closeness, however, allows for the detection of subtle tone changes. When someone blushes, the skin becomes red from elevated oxygen levels.
Historically, color was even used as therapy to treat a host of ills both physical and psychological (now generally regarded as pseudoscience, but fun to read about anyway). But what does all this have to do with marketing? It’s quite simple. Since we rely on color “cues” to help us interpret emotions, it stands to reason that color can be used to influence the way we feel about things—especially buying things. Walk past any Harry & David store, what’s the first thing that hits your eye? Warm earth tones, muted cranberry reds, touches of gold and forest green. Those colors aren’t there by accident, folks. Subconsciously, hypnotically, they invite you to sample the wholesome goodness that lies within.
The same principle holds true for your direct marketing pieces. If you haven’t done so already, develop a content versioning system that employs subtle variations in the color scheme of your mailings and track the results. You’ll be surprised at what you find. In fact, QuantumDigital has a great Personal Design Service available to help you get started. Which brings me to my next question: what are some of the most effective color schemes you’ve seen lately? How about the most awful?
Mmm. Just thinking about all those goodies at Harry & David makes me want to… oh, look at the time! Gotta run!
