Research: Purple in Marketing

Before starting my research on the colour purple and how it is connected to products, I feel like it is valuable to examine how purple is used in existing logos and marketing. This will make me understand how each logo and brand has connected their identity with the colour purple. After doing this research, it will be easier for me to point our how the colour purple is used in different products. 

I wanted to do some background research on the colour and some statistics before I dive into the existing logos.

RESEARCH:

Research shows that different colours can be associated with different emotions depending on the shade of it. Light purple might evoke a sense of happiness whereas dark purple might evoke a sense of sadness. I will look into this more in the next blog post, however, it is important to understand the gravity colour has on the customer.

Purple is most popular for gaming and beauty products as it represents sophistication and mystery. It was a very unused colour till Marketo was found.

'According to a large survey conducted by Xerox Corporation, 90% of their customers feel that color attracts new customers, 81% believe that their brand colors give them a competitive edge, and 83% feel that their color choices make them appear more successful.' (cited by La belle, 2020)

This shows how that a large percentage of the market is attracted to some products because of their colour. This is beneficial information for my design as these statistics made me realise how valuable and important colour is. 

A study shows that brand recognition can also be improved by 80% because of the colour choice. In fact, aesthetics in general are a very important aspect as 7% of customers use the colour as a primary reason for purchasing a product, 93% look at visual appearance, 52% of people do not go back to stores because of their aesthetics, 62-90% judge products based on appearance.

I did a survey in the past that asked people what is more important, form or function. To my surprise, most people responded that both are equally important. However, this study shows how crucial colour is to my design in order to attract a consumer. I have to keep this in mind to ensure that I achieve maximum results. 

I found this images which shows with statistics the favourite colour of males and females. 

Looking at purple in females, it is the second most favourite colour. It is known that purple is usually associated with females as it is more of a 'girly' colour. Looking at males, the colour purple is the least favourite with 0%. This is not a good start for my design as I have to find a way to manipulate my designs and make them enticing to both males and females. It is also evident that blue is the first choice of both females and males. Purple is a result of combining blue and red. Therefore, I can add more blue to the combination and create a blue undertone that might attract more males. 

It also suggests that males prefer brighter shades whereas women prefer softer shades. I can combine both and create something in between. 

This picture shows the least favourite colour of males and females. 

This shows that the most disliked colour amongst men is purple. T

It was also pointed out that orange is considered to be a 'cheap' colour. However, there are still multiple successful companies such as amazon and Harley Davidson that still use this colour.  This shows that I can still use purple and implement it in my designs to make it stand out from the rest. I will consider men not liking purple as a challenge to overcome and make this product stand out. It is not a traditional colour, however, I know it will still look good by the end. 

This is another survey that supports how men dislike the colour purple in comparison to women.

This image shows the six powerful colours that are used in marketing. However, the right shade of them determines their definition and emotion. It is as easy as red to come off as angry or blue to come off as sad. Each colour has both positive and negative connotations with it and I have to ensure that purple will be associated with the positive ones.

It is also proven that 66% of customers will not buy a product unless it comes in their preferred shade.

To make the shade appear to men, I can try to go for higher saturations and deeper shades to pair them up with blue. As blue is liked by both genders, then it will complement purple and attract more people. However, to attract more females I should go for stronger and lighter hues and complement them wink pinks and reds. This is something to look at in the next blog post where I will be exploring different shades of purple.  

After looking at some statistics and charts, it was time to look at some existing logos and how purple is used. 

LOGOS

Urban Decay

In the studies shown above, it is evident that purple is a colour preferred mostly by women. Beauty brands like urban decay take advantage of that and use purple to promote their logo. This might also represent feminism to entice more women to buy it. It represents a creative and artistic approach. The shade of purple has more blue undertones which might make it more inviting to males.

This shade of purple also looks very rich and bold which might represent the quality of their products. Purple is often associated with luxury and royalty which is what this high-end brand might promote. Their products are relatively expensive so they rightfully decided to portray the company as a luxury brand as it is not affordable to many people. 

Twitch

Twitch is a video-game broadcasting platform for many viewers to donate to their players. In their logo, they include a very vibrant purple to catch the users eye. I associate this shade of purple with energy and enthusiasm which might suggest that this is what twitch is aiming to make you feel. This shade makes the user very alert and hyper which is what a gamer needs to be when playing. 

Purple is also a colour of passion and dedication which is what this brand wanted to promote. They wanted users that are passionate to use their platform and be creative and have fun with it. 

'There is no Twitch without purple. Period. Purple is the only color alive enough to represent our collective creativity, mischievousness, and energy. Our new purple is brighter and more vibrant to match that energy.' (Twitch, 2019)

I really like this shade of purple. It was spotted out in the research above that purple is often used for gaming platforms. Additionally, it was pointed out that purple does not really appeal to males, however, the vast majority of gamers are males. The company claims that purple did a lot for their brand which shows that the right shade of purple can entice males. Additionally, creating a shade similar to this might encourage Twitch users to buy it as they are influence by the game. 

Hallmark

The elegant font of the logo alongside the colour make this seem like a very luxury brand. It is the oldest and largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. The crown included in the logo hints towards royalty treatment. This calligraphic letters make this design even more interesting. 

Cadbury

The Cadbury logo has both gold and purple. These colours are complementary colours and look really good together. Both these colour represent royalty. The gold might have been added to hint towards the quality of the drink, that it is so good! This colour was allegedly used as a tribute to Queen Victoria in 1914. Ever since, this colour was their signature colour also known as the shade Pantone. After 100 years, the court has trademarked this colour which prevents companies such as Nestle and other chocolates to use this colour on their products.

This shows how important colour is to some brands and that they want to own a shade of colour in order for the users to associate that colour with their brand only. 

Yahoo 

“Whimsical, yet sophisticated. Modern and fresh, with a nod to our history. Having a human touch, personal. Proud.” (Yahoo, 2013). 

Purple is also associated with loyalty so these brands might use it as a means of representing brand loyalty. They want their consumers to be loyal to them.

Even though I was aware that different shades of purple showcased different emotions, this made me clearly understand how. Looking at the statistics was very insightful and informative as I now have factual evidence to see how I can develop my project. I will be exploring different colour shades in the next blog post. I am happy I completed this research in depth before the colour swatches as I am now more aware of the shades I need to try out. I am very happy with this research and I feel like I learned a lot.

I need to be very cautious with the shades I use in my own designs and make sure that it represents positive emotions. It was also helpful looking at existing logos and how they use the colour purple. This was undoubtable a valuable piece of research.  

References:

Miller, J. (2012) What Brand colour say about your business- Marketo. Available at: https://blog.marketo.com/2012/06/true-colors-what-your-brand-colors-say-about-your-business.html#:~:text=Marketo%20choose%20to%20use%20the,associations%20to%20leadership%20and%20revenue.  [Accessed: 13/02/21]

La Belle, K. (2020) Brand colour psychology: Men vs Women. Available at: https://blog.vmgstudios.com/brand-color-psychology-men-vs.-women  [Accessed: 13/02/21]

6 Colours that are proven to boost sales (2020) Available at: https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/colors-proven-to-boost-sales/#:~:text=The%20emotional%20effects%20of%20different%20colors%20are%20well%20documented.&text=For%20instance%2C%2085%25%20of%20shoppers,comes%20in%20their%20preferred%20color. [Accessed: 13/02/21]

Urban Decay Logo (2020) Available at: https://1000logos.net/urban-decay-logo/#:~:text=The%20Urban%20Decay%20logo%20is,a%20brand's%20signifier%2C%20above%20it.&text=The%20purple%20on%20the%20white,with%20a%20touch%20of%20mystery.  [Accessed: 13/02/21] 

Twitch (2019) Nice to meet you again, for the first time. Available at: https://blog.twitch.tv/en/2019/09/26/nice-to-meet-you-again-for-the-first-time/#:~:text=Purple%20is%20the%20only%20color,creativity%2C%20mischievousness%2C%20and%20energy.&text=To%20bring%20this%20to%20life,express%20themselves%20and%20their%20brand. [Accessed: 13/02/21]