Imagine a Coke in Green color? Couldn’t! Well that is exactly how it is surprising the entire marketing world. Brands which believed in Red as the color are all going green for the getting eco-friendly, socially responsible and other strategic perspectives.You must know about the Ferrari in Verde (Green) which was unveiled as a newest creation at a recently held Motor Show in Geneva. I picked it from an article that, In the 1990s when the Maranello car maker’s F1 team and race car appeared in a colour that was not Rosso Corsa, Italian for ‘racing red’ the country’s national racing colour, it triggered a wave of sadness that engulfed all Ferrari fanatics.

Lot has been said & read about the Color Red. Studies show that people outperform in their respective fields if they wear color red. Be it Julia Roberts walking a red carpet at Oscars or Michael Jordan appearing on a glistening basketball court in a solid red jersey. Red is been associated with power, assertiveness and dominance. The details can be read on my previous post on Cymbolism.

Asked a specialist, what marketing has to do with a most common color used in sports, national flags and almost in maximum brands from various categories. The categories from BFSI, Telecom, Retail, Infra all have been using red. In brand conversations, we at 30TH FEB have been emphasizing on the specificity of colors. I have been telling my clients time & again – about ifs & whys of the colors I use in their Brands Creation. We explain on why a color is a strong character of their brand story.

Earlier too I have posted about Visualization and its importance for human psyche. Almost 80% of visual information is related to colour. Over the time, Brands have developed a legacy about their elements like logo, color etc. Think of brands like Johny Walker, Coca-Cola, Marlboro – they all take their colors very seriously. In fact, even Santa Claus wore green before Coke began to promote Santa in red garb in 1950s.

And now we see Videocon going green! Brands are talking about Green is in. Environment Concern is talking a place in marketing and it is shaping up big time. Have you noticed the Idea Ads – they fascinate me. The way they say ‘save paper’ is amazing. Not only do they leave the strong message they also get a place in the Customer minds as a socially & environmentally responsible brand. Nokia recycle TVC is another great way for going green.

Though red is popular and very close of human tendencies and may be that’s why all the brands scream red in their TVCs, Outdoors, Print & electronic media. Is the trend of red shifting?

Lets do it this way. Imagine the leading red brands – and you will hit right on – Vodafone, Airtel, Virgin, Mc Donalds, Big FM, Radio Mirchi etc. The design experts like Sujata Keshavan , MD, Ray & Keshavan. “Red is one of the most practically reliable and stable colours and no client rejects red. It is a mass colour and that’s a challenge. One can end up using the 134th shade of red.”

An article says, “Although nowadays colours in marketing mainstream are hues of eco green, purity blue and calm pink, red still boasts some serious power when it comes to brands. For one it’s the quickest way to get eyeballs.”

My question here is – Are we ready to go green?

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