Hochschule Harz -
University of Applied Studies and Research (FH)
Department of Business Administration
International Business Studies

Bachelor’s Thesis

Impact of the Color Red
on the Marketing of Consumer Goods

Presented by: Julia Bölke

Abstract

This thesis aims at examining the impact of red on the marketing of consumer goods. It explains the way color vision is created in the human brain and emphasizes the relevance it has for individuals to help orientate in everyday surroundings. The thesis focuses on the color red as it causes strong body reactions such as the increase of blood pressure, eyelid movement and breathing frequency as well as the production of adrenaline. Furthermore, people’s different associations with red, e.g. blood, fire, love, hate, life and death are examined.

The major part discusses the suitability of using red in the different sections of the marketing mix (Product, Price, Place and Promotion). Practical examples back up literature findings and show that red can be a very helpful tool, for example, to attract customers’ attention for a shopping window or advertisement. Following, marketers need to consider that influencing factors such as gender, age, social status, cultural background or product-involvement affect the successful use of red.

The case study of Xerox Inc. shows the applicability and popularity of red as a corporate color. At the same time, it reveals limitations to the color choice as the red logo does not differentiate Xerox from its competitors’ logos. Besides summarizing the different ideas of this thesis, the last chapter highlights that, even though a lot of research has been done, marketers need to decide for each case specifically whether or not to use red in their marketing strategy.

Table of Contents

List of Figures ... v
List of Abbreviations ... v

1. Introduction ... 1

2. Principles of Color Vision ... 3

2.1. Definition of Color ... 3
2.2. Physiological Process of Color Vision ... 4

3. Perception of Red ... 7

3.1. Introduction to Red ... 7

3.2. Physical Reactions to Red ... 8

3.3. Associations with Red ... 11
3.3.1. Generic Associations with Red ... 12
3.3.2. Associations with Specific Tones of Red ... 13
3.3.3. Ambivalent Associations ... 14

3.4. Influencing Factors ... 15

4. The Use of Red in the Marketing Mix ... 16

4.1. Marketing Mix and the 4 P’s ... 16

4.2. Product ... 18
4.2.1. Basic Considerations ... 18
4.2.2. Branding ... 20
4.2.3. Packaging ... 22

4.3. Price ... 24

4.4. Place ... 25

4.5. Promotion ... 28

5. Use of Red with Regard to Different Factors ... 30

5.1. Product-Related Factors ... 30

5.2. Personal Factors ... 32
5.2.1. Age ... 32
5.2.2. Gender ... 33
5.2.3. Socioeconomic Status ... 34

5.3. Cultural Factors ... 35

6. Red: The Corporate Color of Xerox - A Case Study ... 38

7. Implications and Further Research ... 41

Bibliography ... XLIV

1. Introduction

‘king of all colors’¹

‘color of kings’²

Both citations describe the same object: the color red. Goethe, the famous German poet and writer was the first to define red in his work “Zur Farbenlehre”. To him, red exerts a unique effect of grace and esteem.³ Red is also referred to as the ‘color of kings’2, which results from historical meanings and the fact that it used to be a very precious and scarce color. Only kings, their families and aris-tocratic citizens could afford the dye of which one gram was produced by killing approximately 10,000 special purple snails.⁴

In today’s world, Red can be seen almost everywhere: there are red road signs, fruits, alarm signals, roofs, flowers and backlights. Stars walk on the red carpet, soccer players see red cards for fouling and the Red Cross helps people in need. People “jump red lights”, “paint the town red” or “make somebody see red”. Thieves are “caught red-handed” while others “are a stickler for red tape”. And a company “in the red” needs to improve performance. Red is also popular in marketing and advertisement: Coca- Cola, Masterfoods, Henkel, Hennes & Mauritz, Toyota, Oracle, Marlboro, Pentax, Air Berlin and a lot of other com-panies use the color red in their logo. No wonder, as red has a signaling effect and does not fade in the background. Tests showed that red and orange draw the attention to an object more quickly than other colors. Marketing experts recognize this special attribute, which makes it worthwhile considering for marketing and advertising purposes.⁵

This thesis aims at examining the relevance of the color red as a tool in the marketing of consumer goods. It is subdivided into five chapters, of which the first two sections deal with the basics of color vision and the perception of red. Chapter two starts with a discussion of the nature of color and color vision as well as the relevant functions in the color vision process of the human brain. The following chapter addresses the topic of the perception of red by human beings. In this regard, physical reactions to as well as associations with red are of main interest.

The following three chapters analyze the effect that red has on marketing: in the forth chapter, the use of red in the marketing mix is examined by analyzing the application of red for each of the 4 P’s. Respectively, chapter four falls into four subheadings - namely Product, Price, Place and Promotion. In a more detailed way, chapter five deals with different factors which should be considered when applying red as a marketing tool. In fact, hardly any cases exist in which red can be used regardless of context or target group. As an example, the perception of red differs due to personal factors such as gender, age or cultural background. Among others, those factors affect the success of using red, which is why they need to be taken into account. The theoretical findings of this thesis set a basis for a case study provided in chapter six. It deals with the Xerox Corporation and its decision to exchange the corporate color blue with red in 1994. This part of the thesis aims at applying the theory on red to practical matters. Concluding, the last chapter summarizes the findings and gives further prospects on applying red in marketing.

2. Principles of Color Vision

2.1. Definition of Color

As it is the case with most abstract words, there is not just one universal defini-tion for color. Instead, it can be described and defined in different respects. In the context of this thesis, both a physical and psychological definition are espe-cially important: physically, color is defined as a ‘limited spectrum of wave-lengths of light’, ranging from 380 to 720 nanometers (nm)⁶. Psychologists define color as a ‘special sense’.⁶

[...]

1 Heller, E.: Wie Farben wirken; 2000, 61, cit. Goethe, J. W.: Zur Farbenlehre; (’König aller Farben’).

2 Metzmacher, D.: Wirkung der Farben; (’Farbe der Könige’), see also: Heller, E.: Wie Farben wirken; 2000, 57.

3 Goethe, J.: Farbenlehre, Art. 796.

4 Braem, H.: Macht der Farben, 2004, 36.

5 Braem, H.: Macht der Farben, 2004, 41.

6 Linxweiler, R.: Marken-Design, 2004, 280; (’begrenztes Spektrum der Wellenlänge des Lichts definiert’; ’spezielle Sinnesempfindung’).