“IT’S CHRISTMAAAAAS!!”
Whether you like Christmas or not, be prepared to see RED everywhere at the moment (along with green and gold)! It is the obvious colour to talk about at this festive time, and whether or not Santa’s red costume really was influenced by Coca Cola, it is now fixed in our imaginations.
Some think that the red and green of the holly berries and leaves were inspirational in pre-Christian times, to give hope in the dark days of winter, of brighter times ahead.
Red would be a great subject in a word association test! What might come up? Well how about Danger? Stop? Passion? Blood? Love? Anger? Rubies? Revolution? Cardinals? Whatever you think about red, it isn’t generally for the faint hearted.
Did you know that red is the first colour a baby sees? (after black and white).
A 2012 study showed that waitresses wearing red would see their tips (from male punters) increase by up to 26%.
The Devil is pictured in red, and when angry, some people see the ‘red mist’ descend. A red sky at night usually presages fine weather, but you don’t want to see it the next morning! A red carpet favours the celebrated, but a red face indicates embarrassment and possible guilt if caught red-handed. And while we like red letter days, ‘being in the red’ – not so much.
Red, whether the colour or its historic and cultural meanings, literally impinges on all aspects of our lives.
The term ‘seeing red’ means being stirred emotionally, and while we can associate something that is red, with the examples shown above, the way the eye sees the wavelength means that in a real, physical sense, red appears to come closer (as blue will seem to recede in our vision). We are hard wired for red to stand out. That is probably the reason why it features in over 70% of the flags of the countries of the World.
Therefore, a bit of red in a photograph will always give it a lift (and I don’t mean the infamous ‘red eye’ caused by flash photography!) A distant red sign or a red hat or umbrella in the foreground can easily become the focal point – so be careful how you use it.
Think of the World famous companies that use red in their logos – Coca Cola, Red Bull, Nintendo, Virgin, CNN, Lego, Nintendo, Pinterest, Xerox, Levis, Heinz and Vodaphone. They all like being seen!
How can you use the colour red in your promotional marketing?
First of all, since it is a primary colour there will be a huge choice, although the devil (red, again) is in the detail, and although there will be the popular reds on offer, if your logo is a more unusual red, coming up with something in the right shade will be slightly more of a challenge.
But also, don’t forget the Chinese tradition of giving red gift envelopes, ‘hongbao’ at times of celebration. They are filled with money and represent good luck.
Maybe a red gift, in the shape of a notebook, or thermal bottle, umbrella or power bank, might just carry the same excitement, which will allow it to stand out from the rest.
I am always happy to give free advice about how colour can work with your marketing, whether it is bright red, or something else from the rainbow.
