Imagine a Coke in Green color? Couldn’t! Well that is exactly how it is surprising the entire marketing world. Brands which believed in Red as the color are all going green for the getting eco-friendly, socially responsible and other strategic perspectives.
You must know about the Ferrari in Verde (Green) which was unveiled as a newest creation at a recently held Motor Show in Geneva. I picked it from an article that, In the 1990s when the Maranello car maker’s F1 team and race car appeared in a colour that was not Rosso Corsa, Italian for ‘racing red’ the country’s national racing colour, it triggered a wave of sadness that engulfed all Ferrari fanatics.
Lot has been said & read about the Color Red. Studies show that people outperform in their respective fields if they wear color red. Be it Julia Roberts walking a red carpet at Oscars or Michael Jordan appearing on a glistening basketball court in a solid red jersey. Red is been associated with power, assertiveness and dominance. The details can be read on my previous post on Cymbolism.
Asked a specialist, what marketing has to do with a most common color used in sports, national flags and almost in maximum brands from various categories. The categories from BFSI, Telecom, Retail, Infra all have been using red. In brand conversations, we at 30TH FEB have been emphasizing on the specificity of colors. I have been telling my clients time & again – about ifs & whys of the colors I use in their Brands Creation. We explain on why a color is a strong character of their brand story.
Earlier too I have posted about Visualization and its importance for human psyche. Almost 80% of visual information is related to colour. Over the time, Brands have developed a legacy about their elements like logo, color etc. Think of brands like Johny Walker, Coca-Cola, Marlboro – they all take their colors very seriously. In fact, even Santa Claus wore green before Coke began to promote Santa in red garb in 1950s.
And now we see Videocon going green! Brands are talking about Green is in. Environment Concern is talking a place in marketing and it is shaping up big time. Have you noticed the Idea Ads – they fascinate me. The way they say ‘save paper’ is amazing. Not only do they leave the strong message they also get a place in the Customer minds as a socially & environmentally responsible brand. Nokia recycle TVC is another great way for going green.
Though red is popular and very close of human tendencies and may be that’s why all the brands scream red in their TVCs, Outdoors, Print & electronic media. Is the trend of red shifting?
Lets do it this way. Imagine the leading red brands – and you will hit right on – Vodafone, Airtel, Virgin, Mc Donalds, Big FM, Radio Mirchi etc. The design experts like Sujata Keshavan , MD, Ray & Keshavan. “Red is one of the most practically reliable and stable colours and no client rejects red. It is a mass colour and that’s a challenge. One can end up using the 134th shade of red.”
An article says, “Although nowadays colours in marketing mainstream are hues of eco green, purity blue and calm pink, red still boasts some serious power when it comes to brands. For one it’s the quickest way to get eyeballs.”
My question here is – Are we ready to go green?
You must know about the Ferrari in Verde (Green) which was unveiled as a newest creation at a recently held Motor Show in Geneva. I picked it from an article that, In the 1990s when the Maranello car maker’s F1 team and race car appeared in a colour that was not Rosso Corsa, Italian for ‘racing red’ the country’s national racing colour, it triggered a wave of sadness that engulfed all Ferrari fanatics.
Lot has been said & read about the Color Red. Studies show that people outperform in their respective fields if they wear color red. Be it Julia Roberts walking a red carpet at Oscars or Michael Jordan appearing on a glistening basketball court in a solid red jersey. Red is been associated with power, assertiveness and dominance. The details can be read on my previous post on Cymbolism.
Asked a specialist, what marketing has to do with a most common color used in sports, national flags and almost in maximum brands from various categories. The categories from BFSI, Telecom, Retail, Infra all have been using red. In brand conversations, we at 30TH FEB have been emphasizing on the specificity of colors. I have been telling my clients time & again – about ifs & whys of the colors I use in their Brands Creation. We explain on why a color is a strong character of their brand story.
Earlier too I have posted about Visualization and its importance for human psyche. Almost 80% of visual information is related to colour. Over the time, Brands have developed a legacy about their elements like logo, color etc. Think of brands like Johny Walker, Coca-Cola, Marlboro – they all take their colors very seriously. In fact, even Santa Claus wore green before Coke began to promote Santa in red garb in 1950s.
And now we see Videocon going green! Brands are talking about Green is in. Environment Concern is talking a place in marketing and it is shaping up big time. Have you noticed the Idea Ads – they fascinate me. The way they say ‘save paper’ is amazing. Not only do they leave the strong message they also get a place in the Customer minds as a socially & environmentally responsible brand. Nokia recycle TVC is another great way for going green.
Though red is popular and very close of human tendencies and may be that’s why all the brands scream red in their TVCs, Outdoors, Print & electronic media. Is the trend of red shifting?
Lets do it this way. Imagine the leading red brands – and you will hit right on – Vodafone, Airtel, Virgin, Mc Donalds, Big FM, Radio Mirchi etc. The design experts like Sujata Keshavan , MD, Ray & Keshavan. “Red is one of the most practically reliable and stable colours and no client rejects red. It is a mass colour and that’s a challenge. One can end up using the 134th shade of red.”
An article says, “Although nowadays colours in marketing mainstream are hues of eco green, purity blue and calm pink, red still boasts some serious power when it comes to brands. For one it’s the quickest way to get eyeballs.”
My question here is – Are we ready to go green?
10 comments:
Green is the way to survive...for a company and for mankind....the question is "are we prepared to Ignore the green?"
There is no doubt that we have to accept the importance of term "GREEN"...but as the marketers are trying to use it, i personally feel that the word will not be a differentiating factor for companies...
@ Naimesh
Yes, indeed Green is the way to survive. But I believe there is lot of acceptance about the same. Atleast the younger generation..! Yes, it will take a lot of time but then the subscription for e-bills is increasing so does the sales of eco-friendly products and very soon re-cycling the products will also be a fad.
Currently, there is lack of awareness. And effective communication seems like the only way out...which is visible. So, I guess we are prepared NOT to ignore the green.
@ Mayank
Yes, I agree. As of now- Go Green is the only message which is popular. The word is a diiferentiating factor for companies...the challenge is How & What to communicate?
Consider, Videocon-going Green but no relevant message and then we have IDEA - going strong with there Go Green message with their trademark yellow.
Marketer must look for truth & its relevance with the customer then just painting the brand- green.
GREEN is IN !!
Not just in branding but internal operations of a company ... u can call it Internal Green marketing ..
Many companies while potraying a green image outside through advertising are also advocating a green image inside by initiating several small and big projects to save electricity and paper .. even reducing air travel ..
GREEN is surely the way to go .. inside as well as outside ...
maybe not for individuals yet ... definately for corporates
Jigyasa,
Merely changing colour does not mean that one has gone eco-friendly. It is the production process and end product outputs which should count. You make make green coloured ciggerates or green coloured diesel car emitting fumes from exhaust, that does not mean that these are eco-friendly. The spirit behind the campaign and results are more important than colour.
Take care
Check out two contrasting 'green' companies. BP did a complete change of logo and a high profile 100 million $ campaign to show their 'green' colors. However, none of the campaigns or even their PR ever highlighted what things they are doing differently as per their initiative to go green. See what happened in Gulf of Mexico.
On the other hand, Nike doesn't flash it's green credentials, but is fairly green. Even their shoes are made from recycled tyres!! For them, green is being socially responsible without showing that they are doing everyone a favor.
I liked the Idea ads cos they show a problem and a solution. Even the PJ at the end of this ad - Aap pre-ped hain ya post ped hain (with obvious pun on the hindi word for tree) is pretty cute!
-Manu
@ Jack
Totally Agreed......thats where I have mentioned Idea....they are green but still brand as yellow.
@ Kapman
Yeah Nike is good. Even Nokia is promoting recycling of mobile handsets.
And yes....Idea rocks!
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