Luke Vu's Blog

In line with our current topic of packaging and branding, I thought I would talk about what really matters when making purchase decisions (especially for food products): Colors.

According to the Seoul International Color Expo 2004, 92.6% said color was the most important factor in their purchasing decisions. Only 5.6% attributed this importance to physical feel from the sense of touch, and 0.9% each from hearing and smelling. In addition, the Institute for Color Research (CCICOLOR) found that people make a subconscious judgment about a person, environment, or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing and that between 62% and 90% of that assessment is based on color alone. Indeed colors are pretty powerful, I would say. So exactly, how do colors speak to you? For me:

White signifies wisdom, purity, cleanliness, powerful yet serene.

Black signifies strength, solid, stability, seriousness.

Red signifies war, power, energy, excitement, feelings.

Green signifies nature, freshness, money, liveliness.

Blue signifies calm, trust, dependable, peaceful.

Yellow signifies happiness, laughter, cheerfulness, freshness.

Grey signifies business, dullness, seriousness, practical.

Here is an interesting and practical color chart I found. Looks like I was not too far off… or is it the other way around? They got me figured out!

If you’re like me, you’re probably tired of  being bombarded by constant in-your-face ad campaigns that always yearn for your attention. Seriously, have you ever wondered how much advertising we are exposed to on a daily basis? I dare not to count for sanity purposes. Personally, I prefer the “less is more” approach. This is where I think product placement works well. It’s not consciously overwhelming yet subconsciously efficient. You’re being exposed to things you’re not aware off, hence you can’t consciously complain about it. How perfect!

Wonder why you suddenly crave for Taco Bell or an ice cold Pepsi? Perhaps that Back to the Future movie you saw three days ago is sticking with you more than you think. Pay close attention next time you see a movie; try to count all the product placements you can come up with. You might be amazed at how many there are. After all we are surrounded by products in our life, and movies only tries to emulate the real world, so why not squeezed in a few to make it more realistic… and make a few hundred thousand dollars at the same time? Product placement and movies, perfect like popcorn and butter.