From the point of view of consumers, certain colours always feel a bit more premium than others. Most consumers often react to colours and associate different emotions with them, resulting in certain coloured products being more successful than others. Additionally, certain colours can also lead to feelings of trust, relaxation, and security. These feelings can be the difference between a successful product and an unsuccessful one. Marketers are always desperate to create a sense of craving for their products in the market. One major step towards this is to choose the right set of colours for the product as well as its packaging. In most cases, the urge to buy a product is majorly driven by what consumers feel rather than what they think. Thus, it is important to understand the key dynamics behind the relationship between colours and the concept of being premium.
Individual Experiences
Every individual has his or her own set of experiences from life. This is what influences their choice of colour when it comes to premiumness. Since no two individuals are the same, it is hard for marketers to choose one particular colour as being premium. However, it is evident that there are certain colours which are more likely to help the product in being successful simply because they are associated with certain broad feelings and emotions. Of course, not everyone understands and welcomes this association, but in generic terms, there are certain colours which are deemed to be more premium and exclusive than others. An example of this is that if a brand is looking to sell premium spirits, the colours yellow or pink would not be suitable in this case. This is because pink is usually associated with feelings such as imagination while yellow is perceived to be more about the warmth factor. Thus, it is critical for brands to understand which colours signify premiumness.
Gold Standard
According to research, 93% of consumers have stated that the visual appearance of a product is its more important attribute. This also holds true because the way a product looks can make us feel attracted towards it. The research also stated that 85% of consumers are heavily influenced by the colour of the product. This is a hugely significant number, and it shows that the importance of product colour cannot be underestimated. Products are associated directly with emotions, and a sense of emotion can be created by choosing colours wisely. For example, the colour gold is increasingly being used by marketers in order to portray their products as premium. This is an interesting case as it can be witnessed across a wide variety of products right from candies to soaps and cream to biscuits.
There are even mobile phones which have been successful by making use of gold as the main colour. Such techniques are especially successful in markets where there is already a huge appetite for gold. Markets such as Africa and India already have a craving for gold, and by offering products in this colour, marketers can exploit this inherent bias. There have also been cases where companies tried colours like silver and platinum, but these are far behind gold. This is because gold is a rare metal and it is perceived to be premium. And every consumer wants to have a product which is distinct from the others. Additionally, the colour gold also provides a premium feel to the product, even if the other features of the product are the same as the others. Consumers expect more returns and benefits from gold coloured products, even if it does not prove to be true. This helps the product in carving itself a niche space in the market, allowing it to have a higher chance of succeeding.
Further Examples
Another colour that is often associated with premium products is purple. A lot of brands around the world use this colour. These include some of the most successful brands such as Cadbury and Hallmark. Purple is a colour that is associated with fantasy, dreams, and extravagance. That is the prime reason why purple equates to royalty. Since all these emotions and feelings are associated with purple, consumers who are looking for premium products often choose the ones which inculcate this colour. Purple has also been historically linked with rulers and kings – resulting in a further emphasis on the extravagance factor associated with it. It is also a rich and deep colour, which results in the consumers feeling that they have bought a product which is exclusive.
Another example of a colour which exudes premiumness is black. Since black is perceived to be a colour of authority as well as power, it is associated with strong emotions by the consumers. Products using this colour are presumed to be sophisticated as well as dignified. This is because black is the colour at one end of the colour spectrum and it gives a feeling of being serious. Further, products which are black are also associated with luxury and elegance. Since the colour itself is unlike any other in terms of depth, it can also be easily associated with being luxurious and expensive. This is the reason why some of the most successful brands such as Nike and Hugo Boss use this colour for their branding activities. The black colour is also distinctive in the sense that it is one of the fundamental colours of nature (Night sky is a good example). Thus, it is easily relatable, and the consumers often tend to assume that the black coloured products are more powerful.
To sum up, premiumness and exclusivity are important factors for a lot of products. In order to build such perceptions about the product, it is vital for marketers to use the colours which are the right fit with these feelings. By using the right colours, the consumers can relate that particular product with a sense of luxury, which gives the product a better chance to succeed. The actual colour of the product can decide whether the consumers will associate it with a particular emotion or not.
Author Bio
Anna Clarke is the owner of online writing company 15 Writers. She is a successful entrepreneur with over 20 years’ experience in freelancing, academic dissertation writing consulting, specialising in Business, Economics, Finance, Marketing and Management.
