Why the colors you choose for your brand are important to your pet business.

The science of color in marketing has always been fascinating to me. As I help a wide variety of pet businesses, small and large, with their marketing and branding, I often find a long conversation ensues with my clients about the issue of color in their marketing planning and strategy.

Did you know that according to the Institute for Color Research, "...people make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment, or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing and that between 62% and 90% of that assessment is based on color alone."

The first and primary consideration when selecting a color for your pet business branding is your target market. Women, between the ages of 25-55, with a slightly higher income level are the primary purchasers of pet products in the US, currently.

Women have preferences, and matching those preferences to achieve a higher level of engagement in your marketing is of utmost importance. Secondary target audiences for pet businesses, including GenX, Millenials and men should also be considered when planning your pet business branding.

Before coming to any branding conclusions it's important to understand the emotions and impressions that a variety of colors provide psychologically. Let's take a look...

According to The Logo Company, various colors exude various emotions, and fit better with specific industries and product purposes. For example:

• Black is a credible, strong and powerful color that's best for financial, construction and corporate entities.
• Red is an exciting, urgent, sexy and romantic color that's best used for food, fashion, sports, and emergency services.
• Green is a natural, organic and calming color best utilized in tourism, eco-friendly, science and medical industries.
• Blue is a credible, calming, clean and focused color best used with high-tech, legal, corporate and medical/scientific communities.
• Orange exudes credibility, creativity, energy and is used widely with the child, sports, entertain and food/drink industries.
• Yellow is an encouraging, energetic, youthful and positive color that is used frequently in food/drink, entertainment and child related industries.
• Purple is a sensual, mysterious and loving color that is used widely within spiritual industries, and industries relating to the body and health.
• Brown is an earthy color, traditional, conservative and is used widely within the pet industry, construction and ecology related industries.
• White (yes, white is a color) is very clean, pure and clinical in nature; as it's used frequently within the medial and dental community.

Did you ever wonder why when you see the word 'sale' on a sign, on a website, on in a store, it's usually red?

There's a reason for that; as red creates a perception of urgency. According to KISSMetrics, other colors create psychological responses and actions for purchase including: red for urgency, blue for security, orange for call to action and more.

Some colors work well together, some don't. And some color combinations can leave a 'bad taste' with your customers and prospective customers. Color wheels can help in providing you with information about how colors work together and make a more informed decision.

While each of these colors provides a perception individually, it's the combination of well integrated colors in your pet business marketing that will tell a full story of your brand and your positioning.

What specific colors appeal to specific genders according to KISSMetrics?

• Women - blues, greens and purples
• Men - blues, greens and blacks

When thinking about your brand, your positioning, your marketing materials; think first about your customer and prospective customer. What do they like, what makes them feel comfortable, what perceptions can you convey that will appeal to them and create sales for you. It's not about what you like, it's about what they like.

If you'd like more information about how Pawsible Marketing can help with your branding, positioning and marketing, feel free to contact us for a free 30 minute consult to explore ideas.

Photo courtesy of John Baer.