what color should you choose?

24 years since it began claiming sole rights to the colour purple (Pantone 2685C), early this year Cadbury’s has lost the long battle to own the right to trademark the signature purple, which has been used for the packaging since 1905.  The fact that the proceedings lasted for over two decades and the extensive money spent by Cadbury’s closest competitor Nestle to oppose this claim brings to light the power of owning a specific color in building a brand. With 80% of our human experience filtered through our eyes, visual experience is the very first perception customers will have with your brand. Thought through, researched and meticulously chosen colors define a brand’s value, strengthen and support brand positioning, enable greater awareness and distinguish the brand amongst its alternatives. 

Color registrations are notoriously difficult to obtain but brands like Tifannys that enjoy a rare and enviable position where consumers recognize the brand simply by seeing the color—even without any other brand identity prove that it is worth it. In 1998, Tiffany & Co. finally trademarked its color and packaging. Three years later, the brand partnered with Pantone to establish its hue: “1837 Blue,” commemorating its founding year. The company can paint anything, with its trademark color, the Tiffanys blue and it will always resonate with the brand, even in the absence of the logo or the brand name. While Tiffany has turned this distinctive shade into an international icon of elegance and sophistication, it is important to acknowledge that brand color is not essentially the color of the logo as the Tiffany logo is black.

Changing the color of the logo to match shifting trends could be a strategy for some brands. At the recent launch of the revamped social platform, Mark Zuckerberg the CEO of Facebook said the company’s “F” icon was refreshed “to make it a bit more lively and modern”. Brighter colors tend to look more modern because they don’t appear to be restricted by darker, earthier print pigments. McDonald’s a brand synchronized with its famous kiddie meal stated it would shed its trademark red-and-yellow colors for a more mature look with muted colors in order to attract an increasing number of adults. Be it seasoned companies paying a huge expense, to claim ownership of something as simple as a tint or agile brands undergoing a color refresh to reflect a change in their strategy, color holds its place of importance at the core of every brand strategy. Color is a complex and emotional decision that is best explored with ethnography. Putting aside personal preferences to prioritize what you want your customers to feel. Is the first step towards a successful color strategy.