If a picture is worth a thousand words, a picture may be worth a million, memory-wise. Psychologists have shown that color does more than appeal to the senses. It also boosts memory for our scenes. Color is a meaningful constant and a powerful psychological tool. By using color in your marketing materials you can send a positive or negative message, encourage sales, calm a crowd, or draw attention directly to you.

Right here in the good ole American mainstream culture, the following colors are associated with certain qualities or emotions:

Red --excitement, strength, sex, passion, speed, danger.
Blue --(listed as the most popular color) trust, reliability, belonging, coolness.
Yellow --warmth, sunshine, cheer, happiness
Orange -- playfulness, warmth, vibrant
Green -- nature, fresh, cool, growth, abundance
Purple --royal, spirituality, dignity
Pink -- soft, sweet, nurture, security
White --pure, virginal, clean, youthful, mild.
Black --sophistication, elegant, seductive, mystery
Gold -- prestige, expensive
Silver -- prestige, cold, scientific

So how important is color? Consider these powerful facts from various marketing studies:

•·         Color increases brand recognition by up to 80 percent.

•·         Color improves readership as much as 40 percent.

•·         Color accelerates learning from 55 to 78 percent.

•·         Color increases comprehension by 73 percent.

•·         Color ads are read up to 42 percent more than similar ads in black and white.

•·         Color can be up to 85 percent of the reason people decide to buy.

It's very important to know which emotions will trigger your target audience to buy your product or service. To accomplish this goal takes a combination of attributes. Images and colors are the quickest way to draw a consumer in. In our quick paced society, you have three seconds max to make people pause and notice you. Seldom is that accomplished with words only. Another study found these interesting facts:

92%  Believe color presents an image of impressive quality
90%  Feel color can assist in attracting new customers
90%  Believe customers remember presentations and documents better when color is used
83%  Believe color makes them appear more successful
81%  Think color gives them a competitive edge
76% Believe that the use of color makes their business appear larger to clients

Whether a person knows it or not, a certain color will trigger a certain response. If you want their response to reach out to you, know your colors and their related response. Display your brand color to all members of your community. There is no future for your brand unless it has support, and that means getting your brand recognized by everyone. Try it with Postcards!

Lastly, you need emotionally responsive words. They are important, but should never stand alone. There are words that generate an emotional response. Applying emotionally responsive words to your marketing products will increase your sales, but should never be taken out of content.  Keep in mind industry specific information that applies to your products/services, and make sure your offerings fall in line with your industry. Failure to do that will destroy your credibility and reduce the trust you are trying to build. 

Many of you know QuickImpress and they just updated their look and incorporated the science of color. They will soon add a beautiful art gallery to indulge your senses. Your marketing efforts are the first or last that a consumer knows of you. Make it good and make it memorable. Here's to your success.