The devil is in the details: The influence of brightness and saturation on consumers‘ perception and behaviour

Abstract

Brand’s signature color can be used to create specific mental associations among consumers and trigger specific behaviors. Most research on colors has focused on the effects of different colors, but few have focused on different versions of the same basic color. The study contributes to the lack of studies on the subject. Given that previous studies have shown rather consistent results that blue enhances perceptions of credibility, the effects of different versions of blue were tested. The aim was to investigate whether color’s brightness and saturation affect consumers’ perception of the credibility of a company that uses blue as its signature color and whether brightness and saturation affect consumers’ willingness to do business with a company.

A between-subject experimental design was used in which participants (n=528) were randomly assigned to one of five stimuli. The five stimuli were a picture from a company’s office, where a blue wall with a logo was prominent. What differentiated the stimuli was the variation of the blue color on the wall, which consisted of different interactions between brightness and saturation. Following the stimulus, participants were presented with questions on the company’s credibility, where three dimensions of credibility were measured with a total of fifteen items, and a question about intentions to do business with the company.

The results showed that perceived credibility was higher when the brightness was low, both when the color saturation was high and when it was low. The version of blue most likely to drive intention to do business was with low brightness and low saturation. Based on the results, it can be concluded that it is not enough to consider the basic color to be used as the signature color of a brand, but it is necessary to choose the correct implementation of the color, regarding brightness and saturation. That is both likely to support the intended image, but at the same time it can have a direct financial impact on a company, as the right choice of implementation can increase the likelihood of business.