Cadbury has recently discovered that trademarking its signature purple is no walk in the park. And not just any hue of purple – Pantone 2685C, to be exact. Attempts to trademark this iconic purple shade in Britain have been challenged by all-time rival Nestle. While the court rulings have yet to be finalized, we are given a precursor for Cadbury’s impending challenge of trademarking Pantone 2685C; in October, a three-judge panel concluded Cadbury’s “vaguely worded trademark” provided an “unfair advantage” over other competitors.

In light of Cadbury’s uphill struggle with trademarking its iconic purple colour – the very shade that has been imprinted on all Dairy Milk wrappers since 1914 – it is worth noting a paramount marketing strategy that is often foregone by the pursuit of companies attempting to develop the most innovative, ingenious branding techniques. That is, the importance of colour. In essence, there is a simple yet effective beauty of using a memorable colour to establish and cement brand image. After all, consumers today commonly (and subliminally) associate brand with colour (e.g. red with Coca-Cola).

A word to the marketing-wise: colour is your friend.

Photo credit & source can be found here: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/companies-and-industries/who-owns-the-colour-purple/