MEANINGS, COLOR PREFERENCES AND EMOTIONAL CONNOTATIONS OF COLOR; USING COLOR AS A STRATEGIC MARKETING TOOL

Lisa Ferraro Objectives of the Study

I. Determine color preferences among a large group with diverse ethnic representation II. Elucidate the relationship between emotional feelings and color III. Establish how our increased understanding of color would improve marketability of new products, such as textiles

Images/concepts that influence color preferences Overview

Systematic Study of Perception and Emotional Connotations of Color: • Selection of Observer Panels • Interview Process • Color Matching • Analysis of Results • Conclusion

Observer Panels • 47 total observers • Even distribution of males and females – 25 females – 22 males – Age range 18-61 (average age 25.5 years) • Five ethnic groups represented – African Americans (5) – Hispanics (3) – (21) – Middle Eastern (8) – Asian (10) • Each observer was tested for normal color vision1

Neitz J., (2001). Manual: Neitz Test of www.wpspublish.com Interview Procedure

• Semi-structured interview1 • Each observer described their feelings for eleven color names in the English language2: , , , , , , , , gray, and • The same three questions were asked for the 11 : 1. What does the color (red, orange…etc.) make you feel? 2. Do your feelings change if the shade or the changes, if so how? 3. Are there any other experiences or associations that have influenced your feelings for this color?

1. Clark T., and Costall A. (2008). The Emotional Connotations of Color: A Qualitative Investigation, Color Research and Application, 33(5), pp 406-410. 2. Berlin, B., & Kay, P. (1999). . Their universality and evolution. Stanford, California: CSLI Publications. Color Matching

• Each observer selected a range from The Munsell Book of Color as well as a specific chip for every color • After selection of each chip, the observer was asked how confident they felt about their selection in that it matched the color they had been visualizing • It was important that the observers did not look at the samples while describing their feelings about that color so they would not be influenced by other colors

Color MatchingColor

Munsell® Chroma Book of Color Color of Book description Hue

Analysis of Results-I (Hue Range)

R Br Pi O Determined an overall range Y for each hue P on a Munsell N hue circle

G B Analysis of Results-II (Hue Selections for Color Names)

60 55 50 50 45 40

35 30 27

Count 25 21 22 18 18 18 20 17 16 1716 14 14 15 11 11 11 11 9 10 10 10 10 8 8 8 7 5 5 5 5 6 5 6 6 6 5 4 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 3 4 4 3 5 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1

0 5Y 5P 5P 5R 5B 5G 10P 10R 10R 10B 10G 5YR 5YR 5RP 5PB 5GY 2.5Y 7.5Y 2.5P 7.5P 2.5R 7.5R 2.5R 2.5B 2.5G 7.5G 7.5B 10YR 10YR 10RP 10PB 10GY 1.25Y 3.75Y 6.25Y 7.75Y 8.75Y 6.25R 6.25R 1.25R 1.25G 2.5YR 7.5YR 2.5YR 7.5YR 2.5RP 7.5RP 2.5PB 2.5GY 7.5GY 7.5BG 8.75YR 1.25YR 6.25YR 8.75YR 7.25YR 3.75RP 6.25RP 8.75RP 3.75PB 6.25PB 1.25GY 8.75GY 3.75YR Notpresent Notpresent Notpresent Notpresent Notpresent Hue Color Matching

Chip Selection Analysis of Results-II (Dominant Chips) 50 Red 7.5R/4/16 45 44 Orange 2.5YR/6/16 40 Yellow 5Y/8.5/12 35 34 Green 1.25GY/5/12

30 Blue 2.5PB/3/10 25 22 Purple 5P/3/10 20 Pink 5RP/7/10 Frequency 14 15 Brown 5YR/3/6 10 9 9 10 7 Gray N 6.25 6 5 6 5 Black N .5 0 White N 9.5 Dominant Chip of Results-I (Highest Confidence Ratings/ mental matching) Black 3% Red Very Confident Very Confident 5% 5% 5% Confident Confident 25% Neutral Neutral 35% 65% 57% Not Confident Not Confident

White 1% 2% 2% 2% Pink

5% Very Confident

22% 33% Very Confident 16% Confident Confident 75% Neutral Neutral 40% Not Confident Not Confident Analysis of Results-I (Emotional Connotations of Color) Positives Negatives Associations

Hearts, Valentine’s Day, tomatoes, food, Fury, angry/anger, fire, aggressive, Passion, love, hot, warm, excited, NCSU Wolfpack, school spirit, stop caution, loud, embarrassed, violence, hungry, happy, power, signs, stop , Korea, Spain, Red blood, danger, agitation, evil, excitement, bright, victory corvettes, matadors, Tiger Woods, uncomfortable. Ferrari, Christmas, apples, Stop sign

Fruit, sour, thirsty, fall, pumpkins, Hot, bright, cheerful, excited, Halloween, tropical, Hawaii, freshness, happy, joyful, invigorating, Obnoxious, angry, upset, loud Orange sports, basketball, sun, summertime, awake, fire, lively, sunny, active, bricks, culture, friendship, cool aid

Sun, smiley face, summer, beach, bees, Happy, cheerful, calm, relaxed, Uncomfortable, unstable, jealousy, tropical, kings, royalty, fruit and food, bright, positive, energetic, Yellow headache, unhealthy baby colors, McDonalds, inspired, glory, content highlighter, baby chicks, traffic signals

Energized, relaxed, pleasant, silent, healthy, strong, young, Nature, woods, environment, grass, Green life, serene, calm, anxious, Scary money, vegetables, Christmas, being vibrant, peaceful, intelligence, sick, Al Gore, Saint Patrick’s Day confidence, recycle

Calm, relaxed, comfortable, cool, Sky, sea, water, boys, sports teams and free, pure, peaceful, fresh, Sadness, gloomy, depressed/blue Blue rivalries, religion invigorating, nostalgic Analysis of Results-I (Emotional Connotations of Color)

Royalty, Barney, Mardi Gras, Happy, pretty, feminine, Selfish, incompatible, trouble, children/childlike, Minnesota Purple outgoing, bright, passionate, uncomfortable, over-ripe, Vikings, egg plant, grapes, wine lively, fun, glory, girly moody religious robes in Guatemala

Girly/female/feminine, youth, Girly, cute, pleasant, beauty, Victoria’s Secret, women feminine, cheerful, bright, Pink Annoyed, yuck and breast cancer, Valentine’s Day, warm, friendly, mild, Paris Hilton, sororities, tropics, innocent, young, delicate Barbie, underwear, lipstick

Wood, earth, dirt, rocks, leather, Nature, calm, warm, Dirty, distasteful, aggressive, shoes, life, food, old men in their Brown confident, safe, maturity, muddy, sad, death, boring study, chocolate, cigars, hair, poop, intelligence coffee, Thanksgiving

Neutral, formal, official, Depressed, sad, gloomy, Rainy, getting older, TV, metal, Gray institutional, old, cool, warm, stormy, violent, not fun, peaceful, unbiased uninspired, lazy, boring

Dark, bold, mysterious, Silent, strict, torture, trouble, Funerals, hell, vacuum, space, black Black formal, confident, sexy, death, scary, secluded, dreary, dress, nighttime, uniforms, rubber outgoing, bad, void tire, mourning, beans, Batman

Clean, pure, pleasant, happy, Angels, snow, death, food, smile, majestic, bright, crisp, Upset, bad, fear of getting dirty, moon, brides and white dresses, White refreshed, neutral, daunting, dingy, boring basics: socks, t-shirt, dress shirt, anticipation, comfortable clouds, sugar, paper Color as a marketing tool • It has been proven that color is the primary purchasing consideration among consumers 10 and research reveals all human beings make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment or item within ninety seconds of initial viewing and that between 62%-90% of that assessment is based on color alone1. • Evidently color plays a key role in the marketing strategies of new products and is one of the many marketing tools that global managers use to create, maintain, and modify brand images in customers’ minds2. Many studies have been focused on general color preference, but there is information lacking in understanding differences in consumers’ perceptions of colors based on their cultures2. If researchers can conduct studies that give clear indications of color preferences for specific demographic consumer groups, then new products can be better suited to fulfill consumer wants and needs. Color and decisions made for a new product is something that is considered throughout every step of the (NPD) process. In the testing phase, new products are test marketed among actual consumers who provide feedback that is used to validate the product so it can move on to the next phase. If the test market feedback is poor the necessary changes are addressed before the product is launched. • Color is important in the marketing of textile products and with a better understanding of the emotional connections people have with different colors, additional novel products can be developed and more effectively marketed once the product reaches the market. Conclusions • Using information similar to what has been found in this study in combination with test marketing for new products could reveal useful information for specific consumers. Potential consumers who have agreed to be involved in the test market are already similar in their demographic and psychographic characteristics and could identify what specific colors mean to them. A perceptual map could be produced for each customer and that map would communicate to the new product development team certain meanings of the specific colors tested. Then, once all of the perceptual maps have been created for all the customers in the test market, an overall representation could be determined based on the individual information. Patterns can be easily identified to determine what the most liked and disliked colors are. This could be a powerful tool that would validate the test market results. This could reduce time that is spend on creating the marketing strategy for the new product and determine whether or not the product has met all the criteria to move on to the next step in the NPD process. Or it could become clear that the product needs to return to a previous step or be reconsidered altogether. Conducting test market research is time consuming and costly and any method that could help reduce one or both of those factors would be well received. • If color studies can contribute to better knowledge of the ways in which people respond to color, then new products should be able to more effectively meet consumers needs, reduce the costs involved with new product development and manage the product throughout its life cycle once it enters the market.

Conclusions • Using information similar to what has been found in this study in combination with test marketing for new products could reveal useful information for specific consumers. Potential consumers who have agreed to be involved in the test market are already similar in their demographic and psychographic characteristics and could identify what specific colors mean to them. A perceptual map could be produced for each customer and that map would communicate to the new product development team certain meanings of the specific colors tested. Then, once all of the perceptual maps have been created for all the customers in the test market, an overall representation could be determined based on the individual information. Patterns can be easily identified to determine what the most liked and disliked colors are. This could be a powerful tool that would validate the test market results. This could reduce time that is spend on creating the marketing strategy for the new product and determine whether or not the product has met all the criteria to move on to the next step in the NPD process. Or it could become clear that the product needs to return to a previous step or be reconsidered altogether. Conducting test market research is time consuming and costly and any method that could help reduce one or both of those factors would be well received. • If color studies can contribute to better knowledge of the ways in which people respond to color then new products should be able to more effectively meet consumers needs, reduce the costs involved with new product development and manage the product throughout its life cycle once it enters the market. Acknowledgments

• AATCC • All the observers who participated • Dr. Renzo Shamey