Colour My World: The Effect of Colour and Context on Brand Personality

Abstract

Colour has inherent meaning that evokes strong associations and is used by brand managers to capture the consumers attention and convey the brand's personality. Despite the importance of colour as a communication cue for brand identity, empirical studies of colour are still needed to consider how the meaning of colour changes in the context of specific product categories. An experiment was conducted with 1078 participants to test the effect on both brand logo colour and product category context on brand personality perceptions, as well as attitude towards the brand and purchase intention. The results of this study indicate that the effect of brand logo colour on brand personality judgments, attitude towards a brand and purchase intension is dependent upon product category context. For example, while fashion brand may be viewed as dynamic when adopting a green logo, the use of green logo in the context of technology was found to reduce perceptions that the brand was dynamic. This research contributes to marketing literature through providing initial evidence of context effects. Further, it provides marketing managers with insight into the role of brand colour, within specific industry context.