THE IMPACT OF COLOURS ON CUSTOMERS’ BRAND PREFERENCE

(Dr.C.Anandan, Mr.Medapatti satish, Ms.Matangi Sri and Ms.L.dhanya)

1. INTRODUCTION

Getting people to do what we want isn't always as easy as we would like it to be—
especially when we are trying to sell a product or service and the ears of our skeptical
audience automatically tune out when they sense we are "pitching." The art of persuasion
and influence is a tricky area for entrepreneurs, but it's not as mysterious as you think.
Jack Trout recently wrote a book called Differentiate or Die, and what he simply says is
there's so much for people to choose between, we just can't make up our minds.

If one wanders into a supermarket and ha has to choose between—literally—150 items

in very narrow product category, he really gets confused. So people need some ability to
narrow their choices. If companies or individuals don't differentiate themselves, they
don't give the person being influenced any way to make a choice. So differentiation, or
the unique selling proposition, is an old idea, but it's back and it's more important than
ever. A marketer can influence people in two ways: through their head and their heart.
People buy emotionally first and then justify the decision with reasons afterwards. The
fact that colour of the product and its package attracts people necessitates the need for a
study on “The impact of colour on the selection of specific brands of products.”

1.1 The Marketing research Process

Marketing research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the
marketer through information - information used to identify and define marketing
opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor
marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process. Marketing
research specifies the information required to address these issues, designs the methods
for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process, analyzes,
and communicates the findings and their implications.

The following are the product categories considered for the focus group discussion

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 Product Category
Bar Chocolates
Water
Potato
Health Drinks
Soap
Hair Oil
Deodorant
Mobile Phones
Suitcases
Bikes

1.1.1 Sources of Data - Primary and Secondary

There are two main sources of data - primary and secondary. Primary research is
conducted from scratch. It is original and collected to solve the problem in hand..
Secondary research, also known as desk research, already exists since it has been
collected for other purposes.

Primary Research.

There are many was to conduct primary research. We consider some of them:

1. Interviews
2. Mystery shopping
3. Focus groups
4. Projective techniques
5. Product tests
6. Diaries
7. Omnibus Studies

2 METHODOLOGY

2.1 Focused Group Discussion

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A focus group is an interview conducted by a trained moderator among a small group of
respondents in an unstructured and natural manner. The moderator leads the discussion
and the main purpose of such a sort of discussion as a part of qualitative research process
is to gain insights by listening to a group of people from the appropriate target market
talk about issues of interest to the researcher. Because of the scope for the unexpected
findings alone a focus group discussion was carried out to find ‘The influence of colours
on the customer’s selection of specific brands of products’. The questionnaire is given in
appendix 8.

Focus groups are made up from a number of selected respondents based together in the
same room. Highly experienced researchers work with the focus group to gather in depth
qualitative feedback. Groups tend to be made up from 10 to 18 participants. Discussion,
opinion, and beliefs are encouraged, and the research will probe into specific areas that
are of interest to the company commissioning the research.

Advantages of focus groups

• Commissioning marketers often observe the group from behind a one-way screen

• Visual aids and tangible products can be circulated and opinions taken

• All participants and the research interact

• Areas of specific interest can be covered in greater depth

Disadvantages of focus groups

• Highly experienced researchers are needed. The are rare.

• Complex to organize

• Can be very expensive in comparison to other methods

2.1.1 Characteristics of focus group discussion

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The group size of the group selected for this study was 13. It was a homogeneous group
with prescreened respondents based on our requirements. The group discussion was
conducted in a class room, in a more relaxed and informal atmosphere. The time duration
of the discussion was 2 hours. The recoding was done with audio cassettes. There were
three observers for the discussion.

Planning and conducting of focus group

The following steps were followed in the focus group discussion conducted for the study.

ƒ The objectives of the study were designed to define the problem

Objectives:
i) To determine the influence of colour of the product on the product choice of customers
ii) To evaluate the impact of colour of packaging on the selection of a particular brand of
product
iii) To find out the influence of demographic factors on the preference of specific colours
among the customers

ƒ Specify the objectives of qualitative research

ƒ State the questions to be answered by the focus group
ƒ Write a screening questionnaire
ƒ Develop a moderator’s outline
ƒ Conduct the group interviews
ƒ Review tapes and analyze the data
ƒ Summarize the findings and plan follow-up research or action

3. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

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Distinct colors are identified with distinct categories.

S.No Product Dominant

Category Colors
1 Bar Chocolates Blue
2 Water Blue
3 Potato Yellow
4 Health Drinks Brown
5 Soap White
6 Hair Oil Colorless
7 Deodrant Blue
8 Mobile Phones Grey
9 Suitcases Grey
10 Bikes Black
Source: Primary Data

There are 3 distinct clusters. The characteristics of the clusters can be observed
from the table below. Cluster 1 has a distinct preference towards color blue. Blue and
green are predominant colors of cluster 2. Cluster also has a preference of blue and green

Cluster analysis test was carried out for rating of the basic human nature expected of the
prospects. The attributes attached to customers, like, sincerity, excitement, competence,
sophistication and ruggedness were rated.

In the first cluster, Time C1 was given total agreement, followed by time C2 whereas,
excitement and ruggedness, were given total disagreement rating. Competence and
sophistication were opined to have medium ratings. In the second cluster, excitement was
reported to have maximum agreement rating, with income and time C1 being given
medium ratings and the highest rankings for disagreement were given to ruggedness.
Cluster analysis test results for the rating of basic human nature of customers

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 Cluster

1 2 3

INCOME 3.50 2.17 3.40

TIMEC1 1.00 2.17 2.20

TIMEC2 1.50 2.67 2.20

SINCERE 2.00 1.83 2.60

EXCITEME 4.50 1.67 1.00

COMPETEN 2.00 2.50 1.40

SOPHISTI 2.00 3.00 2.00

RUGGED 4.50 4.67 3.00

Source: Primary Data

More number of people belongs to the second cluster, followed by third and first clusters.

1 2.000

Cluster 2 6.000

3 5.000

Valid 13.000

Missing .000

Source: Primary Data

4. FINDINGS

The most common attitude of people is that of getting attracted to the colours they prefer.
But the focus group discussion conducted based on the influence of colour on the product
selection of customers revealed the following crucial findings:

ƒ Red Colour was perceived as an indicator of technical. The price, usage, and
colour were opined to be dependent on target customer group’s age. The colour of
packages or for that matter the product itself was found to be an indicator of the
type of product.

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ƒ Another key observation from the group was that regarding refrigerators, various
brands will be perceived as having different unique colours for which that
particular brand is famous for.
ƒ For herbal products, people perceive green colour as predominant, since green
signifies nature.
ƒ When it comes to chocolates, the product colour of brown, or white or even green
type of chocolate-whether it is ordinary, pure milk chocolate or pista-based. No
one will accept a chocolate that comes in red, blue or black colour. This signifies
the fact that colour is a crucial deciding factor influencing customers’ minds.
ƒ For the services industry, especially hotels, when it comes to the customer’s
perception of the physical evidence, some customers will accept only cool
colours, while some others will look for electric colours or more commonly, pale
and light colours.
ƒ Durables like bikes, cars, or any automobiles are marketed as different models
based on the colour differences and some small variations in the design of the
vehicles. Bikes meant for adolescents come in trendy colours like electric blue,
silver, fluorescent and other metallic colours, black, and other trendy and
fashionable colours which will appeal most to the new generation youth.
ƒ For repeated purchase goods, especially low involvement ones colours were
perceived to have less or no influence. This may be a wrong perception since for
most of the low involvement products the promotion revolves around playing
with the packaging appearance or colours, or whatever to make them more
appealing.
ƒ When we consider bathing soaps, Margo comes only in green colour, we cannot
think of Margo soap in black colour. In the case of lemon based soaps, especially
Liril and the like, the predominant colour of the package is lemon yellow which
signifies the freshness aspect of the soap.
ƒ Face packs and fairness creams for that matter are expected to be of
predominantly white, pink, cream or any light colours only. Colour hence can be
perceived as a clear indicator of the functionality of the product.

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 ƒ The colour of any product should appeal to the customers and it should be a feel
good component in the purchase.
ƒ When we take the case of bottled water, the package will be predominantly blue
or green. This signifies purity, freshness and we will have a feel that the water is
collected directly from nature.
ƒ Another notable product, which has witnessed a play of colours, is potato chips.
The shiny and bright coloured packages render much to the freshness, crispness
and quality of the potato chips.
ƒ In most cases the colour associated with a product will reflect its ingredients. In
most of the health drinks and other such nutritive products, the colours are used to
highlight the nutritive aspect of the products.
ƒ In the case of deodorants, usually the packages will be dominated by feminine
colours like pink, white, cream, or even pale blue or lavender.
ƒ Mobiles and suitcases are usually perceived to have sober colours like grey, black
silver or white.

5. RECOMMENDATIONS

The learning that can be driven home from the study is that the customers prefer specific
and particular colours for different products based on the functionality of the product, the
occasions of its usage, the frequency of buying, the situation for buying, the priority
attributed to that product when compared to other products, etc. As an outcome of the
study the following strategies may be followed by the manufacturers and marketers to
bring about a better fortune for their business:

ƒ New developments in packaging: There should be innovations in the packaging of

products since; the choice of a particular product is usually influenced by its
external attractiveness. This study and the subsequent research revealed
tremendous influence of packaging colour over product choice by customers.

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 ƒ The colour of a product should depend on the following factors:
o Preferable quality of the product
o Functionality of the product
o Price of the product
o Occasion of usage of the item

5.1 Customer preference in terms of specific target customers:

5.1.1 Kids as decision makers:

"Kids are king in India, with 42 per cent of respondents agreeing that their choice of car
is entirely dependent on their childrens' and grandchildrens' needs - and a further 46 per
cent stating that their kids' needs influenced their choice of car. In Mumbai (at 51 per
cent), the influence of children and grandchildren is much higher than in Delhi (42 per
cent). It was found that the place where kids had the greatest involvement was India,
where 92 per cent of the respondents said that they get their children/grandchildren
involved to some degree. In India, 77.9 per cent of the respondents said that the kids
influenced the choice of colour of a car while 62.4 per cent said that kids had an influence
on the choice of styling/size in car.

The place where the kids have the least involvement in the decision-making process of
buying a vehicle is the US, where six out of 10 respondents say their kids are not
involved. Meanwhile, cosmetic aspects of the product were the biggest target for `pester
power'. Studies reveal that a global average of 54 per cent of respondents said kids held
sway over colour, closely followed by size and styling of the vehicle, with an average of
52 per cent .
5.1.2 Women and their purchase priorities
The colour of cosmetic products and other accessories is a crucial deciding factor
involved in the purchase. Colour has a bearing on the brand loyalty to the shampoos, hair
coloring products and hair styling aids ladies use. Consumers chose Clairol as their

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favorite brand, followed by L'Oreal. Store managers mirrored consumers' hair color brand
preferences in these selected markets. Among brand attributes, 20 percent of the total
consumer sample said they chose their favorite brand because they liked its hair color
shade and the packaging.
As the leading hair color brand, Clairol has built its image by spending over $100 million
each year on promotions, advertising efforts and educational programs. With the
installation of Clairol's Shade Selector Computer in certain retail outlets, women can
enter basic information and get a personalized brand and shade "prescription" to meet
individual needs. This computerized aid to shoppers helps Clairol reinforce its category
leadership.
Shampoo buyers are also concerened with the colour of the bottles or the shampoo for
that matter since colour of shampoo is a direct indicator of the functionality of the
product be it Suave by Helene Curtis, Head & Shoulders and Pert, both by Procter &
Gamble, Sunsilk or Chik. Women today are willing to pay for quality in their hair
products, and a vast majority of them perceive the quality of this premium segment
consistent with professional salon brands.

In the nail color/nail polish category, colour of the product is highly indispensable. This
is clearly evident from the success of the foreign brand of nail polish- Revlon, which
comes with a wide variety of wild colours. Among color and polish users, Revlon is a
strong favorite, named as the preferred brand by 22 percent of our respondents. In
addition to its extensive advertising in this category, Revlon has a name that most
consumers respect, and polish users obviously have a high degree of trust in that name.
Consumers also respect Revlon for its innovation and break-through formulas, many of
which have recently been in the treatment categories. Color was also extremely
important here. If a line can't deliver the right selections, it won't stay a favorite for long.
A good majority of users buy a brand because they liked the color.

In mascara brands colour helps in condition, lengthen, thicken, separate, define and even
magnify lashes. The most popular mass brands come in washable waterproof formulas.
There are extra gentle formulas for sensitive eyes, formulas enriched with vitamins and
protein moisturizers to deep condition, formulas that curl straight lashes, formulas that

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never smudge, and there are innovative formulas like No Color and 2000 Calorie
Mascara as well as innovative brushes that are soft and flexible, and easy to work with.

In the lipstick category, the stiffest competition is for the variety of shades beiong
offered by different companies. As a category, lipstick are very susceptible to impulse
sales and that, of course, helps the mass brands. However, retailers in mass stores may be
losing more lipstick sales than they realize, because many women prefer to buy an
uncarded lipstick that they can test on their skin.

With the constant proliferation of new products across these segments, marketers
areconstantly on the look out for a differentiating factor for their products, and colour of
the product is one which is always economically feasible.

6. CONCLUSION

With the inclination of the customers towards the colours connected to the products and
their packages, it is imperative for the firms to go in for a scientific selection of colours to
appeal to the mass customers. Since the information evolved from the study, was
collected from the actual users, the outcome will help all the manufacturers and marketers
to fine tune their marketing strategies for better profitability and customer loyalty. The
study revealed a lot of information regarding product and package colours and its
relevance as far as the marketing of the products are concerned. The product and package
colours are found to influence the brand selection of customers across the various
income, age and gender groups. Most of the customers are not willing to accept a product
if it does not come in their preferred or perceived colour combination. This in itself
explains how significant colours can be, when it comes to the matter of any product
category of packaging as the case may be.

7. FUTURE DIRECTION

The packaging of any consumer goods as a rule should attract people, and the key
strategy that can be easily resorted is playing with the colours. For that matter, package
designers and brand marketers of personal care products are highly creative. They can
take a glimmer of an idea, coax it through development hurdles, gain brand approvals and

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conquer budget battles until the product arrives as a breakthrough on store shelves. In this
chain of actions, finding an apt colour to the package is something which should be given
due importance. As a result, what follows this, will be a basic primer on how to achieve
just the right color or visual effect for your plastic bottle, closure or container
successfully and efficiently.

REFERENCES:

1. Kotler Philip, ‘Marketing Management’, Millennium Edition, 2003, Prentice Hall

India, New Delhi

2. Naresh K. Malhotra, ‘Marketing Research’, 2004, 4th edition, Second Indian

Reprint, published by Pearson Education Pte Ltd.

3. David L. Loudon, and Albert J. Della Bitta, ‘Consumer Behaviour – Concepts and
Applications’, 4th edition, Tata Mc Graw Hill edition, 2002

4. http://www.exchange4media.com/kids
5. http://www.entrepreneur.com/
6. http://search.looksmart.com/

APPENDIX

QUESTIONNAIRE 1

Gender : Male/Female

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Native State :

Household income <10000 per month

10000-20000 per month
20000-30000 per month
>30000 per month

1. If you are late for an appointment, do you hesitate to spend money to reach on time?
(Often/Sometimes/Rare)

2. Do you prefer to do two or more tasks at a time?(eg: Chatting with your friends & at
the same time doing your assignments) (Often/Sometimes/Rare)

3. Assume that you are standing in along queue in a telephone booth. You have two
options : One you can stand in the queue for long and make the call or you can use
mobile phone which would cost you 50% extra . Which would you choose mostly?
(Option 1\Option 2)

4. Please rank the following statements in the order that describes you the most

ƒ I am very a materialistic & professional person ________

ƒ I am very traditional _________
ƒ I am very interested in social welfare __________
ƒ I am fun loving __________
ƒ I am interested to gain more knowledge I technology/seek higher
education _______

5. Rate yourself on the following statements:

1 : total agreement and 5 : total disagreement(Try to avoid giving similar scores to all
statements. The first answer that comes to your mind is the best answer)

ƒ I am very sincere in whatever I do _________

ƒ I love excitement in life ________
ƒ I think I am very competent ________
ƒ I think I am mature and could handle things easily _______
ƒ I want people to think as being nery rough and tough _______

6. Please rate the colour that strikes your mind at the first instant when you see the
following type of products :

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 Sl no. Product category Colour
1 Bar chocolates
2 Water
3 Potato Wafers/Chips
4 Health drinks
5 Soap
6 Hair oil
7 Deodorant
8 Mobile phones
9 Suitcases
10 Bikes

QUESTIONNAIRE 2

Write your preferred brand against each product category in the box given below:

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Sl no. Product category Brand
1 Bar chocolates
2 Water
3 Potato Wafers/Chips
4 Health drinks
5 Soap
6 Hair oil
7 Deodorant
8 Mobile phones
9 Suitcases
10 Bikes

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