Yesterday in our blog, we were discussing the importance of gauging an audience’s needs and how to target them. Within that was a fleeting reference to how marketers attract the attention of children using – quelle surprise – bright colours and goofy images.
But it’s not just kids you’ll want to think about – especially if you run a business that doesn’t traditionally target children as customers. Y’know, solicitors, butchers, tobacco firms, that sort of thing. Sure, nothing’s stopping you from doing so, but it might not make good business sense.
Ok, so how can you make colour work for you? Well, different colours say different things, so the message you’re looking to put out can be completely changed by the choice of colour on your direct marketing. Snap question: What colour are you likely to see the word ‘sale’ in? Red, right? Because red doesn’t just mean danger – danger of selling out of stock! – but also, more generally, says immediacy. It’s an urgent and aggressive colour that gets the adrenaline pumping. You know why ‘sale’ is rarely written in blue? Because it’s calming, soothing, and that’s no good for pushing products into customers’ hands. It doesn’t say ‘buy-buy-buy’. On that note, Black Friday should really be called Red Friday. Black, after all, speaks of glamour and sophistication.
Of course, you might not be in a business where selling is crucial. Instead, you might be looking to send a message about what your business stands for. Medical outlets choose white because it’s a clean, pure and sterile colour; browns and greens speak of nature, of course; and grey is neutral – it says literally nothing except a lack of imagination, so you’re unlikely to see this on any leaflet any time soon. Say you want to create trust, and display your honesty, on your marketing – which colour would you choose: violet or orange? Well, orange is, traditionally a fun and frivolous colour (Sunny D, anyone?) whereas violet has a sense of authenticity to it. On the other hand, choosing strong oranges may show a whole lot more confidence than a faded violet.
Of course it’s entirely up to you which colours you want for your direct marketing – sure, just splashing any old colour on won’t work, but knowing what you want to say, or the image you want to present will make it so much easier to choose the colours for your leaflet. Here at Direct Letterbox Marketing we’re experts at getting your message to the right people. From demographic profiling to design and leaflet distributors, we can help. For more information about our services, please contact us on 0800 028 6353 and our experienced team will be happy to assist with your enquiries.
