What Is the Most Popular Color for Logos?

A recent study shows that a few colors tend to be most popular for particular types of brand and company logos.

Here's a hint: At left, the retailer Uniqlo's bold logo. In a sea of mall stores or downtown storefronts, the logo is designed to stand out. Think of Target's red-and-white bull's-eye logo, easily identifiable from the far distance of a highway or across a crowded city street. Or look at Macy's red star, a simple and quick identifier. That's why the most popular color for retailer logos is red.

For companies in the fields of marketing, public relations, healthcare, and technology, blue tends to be the most popular color, according to the study, because of associations with "knowledge, tranquility, security, and trust."

The Cigna Health Insurance logo is mainly blue. So is the logo of Anthem. So is Progressive. And Geico (yes, the gecko is green, but the logo is blue).

Next time you see a retailer's or company's logo, think about why it chose its color(s) and how color contributes to positive marketing associations.

Bucking the Trend of a Shrinking Retail Presence

Even as so many retailers contract their physical presence, TJX is expanding with new stores in many of its retail brands. It owns TJ Maxx, Home Goods, Sierra Trading Post, Marshalls, and HomeSense (all in the US). Its Canadian brands include Winners, HomeSense, and Marshalls. These are off-price retailing brands, with a "treasure hunt" sensibility and lower-than-traditional-stores pricing.

Home Goods is opening stores from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Above, the grand opening day of one store, where the line to check out reached from front to back of the store for the first three hours. Before the opening, inventory was stocked neatly on shelves and attractive display platforms. Even as shoppers poured in, stock was neatened and replenished.

Wisely, Home Goods had lots of extra employees on hand to answer questions, direct shoppers to the right aisle, and direct cart traffic to keep lines moving quickly and efficiently all day. With a TJMaxx just down the road from this new store, local shoppers were already familiar with the kinds of discounts and merchandise they would find.

Another wise move: Leveraging brand synergy by putting two retail names together under one roof. Home Goods is going in with Marshalls in several sites, capturing more shoppers and, hopefully, more wallet share. This makes sense because all of the TJX brands are known for discount pricing.

The bottom line is, apparently, consumers' bottom line: Lower prices, and the opportunity to grab a bargain, will attract shoppers and keep them coming back periodically.

Are Competitors Really Stakeholders? Yes!

By far the most popular posts on my marketing blog are those about competitors as stakeholders. Definition of stakeholders: "People or organizations that are affected by or that can affect an organization's performance."

So for the record, let's say it again: Competitors are definitely stakeholders. One academic paper gave six good reasons why this is so--starting with the fact that competitors' interests are not in direct opposition to the interests of a particular marketing organization. In many instances, a rival's goals and situation will be so close to yours that you absolutely must take its actions into consideration. Not to copy that rival but to anticipate and defend against competitive challenges--that's the real reason to look at competitors as stakeholders.

When a competitor introduces a new product that directly competes with your existing product, it's going to have some influence on what happens to your product. When a competitor changes a price (either up or down), that will likely change industry demand and therefore have an impact on your organization. When a competitor trumpets its sustainability initiatives, it could very well have some impact on how customers and other stakeholders compare what you're doing to what that rival is doing. More than ever, consumers care about the ethics and social responsibility of the brands they see. They also have changing preferences that competitors may detect or influence, adding to pressure on you and your industry.

A great example is Amazon vs. Walmart. Each watches the other closely, you can be sure. Walmart is playing catchup in e-commerce but doing a very credible job, even as Amazon encroaches on traditional retailing. Don't forget that this rivalry is having an impact on the rest of the retail industry, as well. The giants make moves, and even other giants must be ready to defend or deflect or initiate something new and different to influence consumer behavior.

As you scan the marketing environment, be sure that rivals are on your stakeholder list. NOT because you want to coordinate price changes--collusion is illegal in most countries--but because your strategy is necessarily influenced by the strategy and tactics of competitors. Be ready.

Most Reputable Brands in 2018

Which brands came out on top in the recent Harris Poll consumer survey about reputation? Harris asks about six dimensions affecting reputation, including products, social responsibility, emotional appeal, workplace environment, financial results, and vision/leadership.

Hint: The same company has topped the list for three consecutive years. In other words, this company's reputation has remained the highest among surveyed consumers.

Here's the list of top 10 most reputable brands in 2018:

10. Aldi (deep-discount grocery retailer)
9. Patagonia (retailer of outdoor apparel and equipment)
8. Publix Super Markets (major grocery retailer)
7. UPS (package delivery service)
6. HEB Grocery (Texas-based grocery retailer)
5. Walt Disney (entertainment company)
4. Chick-fil-A (fast-food restaurant chain)
3. Tesla (automotive and solar energy firm)
2. Wegmans (grocery retailer)

and the top firm in this year's poll is . . . . . .

1. Amazon (pioneering online retailer)

Marketing the Experience of the Brand

It's not enough to market a good product or a brand. Today, more firms are marketing the experience of the brand. This is a positive way to make the brand tangible and memorable through a specific experience. It's also a way to generate word of mouth and social media mentions as visitors post selfies or comments about their experience of the brand.

Hershey, known for its Kisses and other chocolate treats, already operates the Hershey's Chocolate World theme park in Pennsylvania, offering the "sweetest feeling of pure happiness." It also has a new store, Hershey's Chocolate World, just opening in New York City's touristy Times Square. The company planned three distinct candy aromas for those who step inside. According to an executive, "we wanted it to be highly experiential so it becomes part of the family's narrative and storytelling when they talk about their adventure in New York."

At the retail level, brands are upping their game by adding to the atmospherics and offering unique experiences to encourage engagement and, well, sales. Brands that do this particularly well in retailing are LEGO and Disney, among others.

LEGO House recently opened in the company's HQ city of Billund, Denmark, attracting fans of the iconic plastic building block. Some exhibits in this sprawling building require paid admission, other areas are free. "All activities in the house are related to our LEGO philosophy that learning through play promotes innovation and creativity," states LEGO House's CEO. It's a unique way to enhance the experience of the brand beyond a typical retail environment.

Shopper Marketing: In-store Displays Cue Consumers to Buy

Marketers are increasingly interested in targeted shopper marketing (marketing to shoppers at the point of purchase). For example, now that the cold and flu season is approaching, marketers are reminding consumers about appropriate products.

At top, a shelf display in the paper-goods aisle, where Puffs tissues are stocked. Attached to the shelf is a small display tray holding a handful of Vicks NyQuil cold/cough products. Complementary marketing, wouldn't you say? Once you notice that both NyQuil and Puffs are made by Procter & Gamble, it makes even more sense to stock these products next to each other during this season. Sell from the shelf!

Another example of shopper marketing is this stand-alone display of BodyArmor sports drinks, positioned near other sports drinks and fruit beverages. The target audience is clearly "switchers" who might be interested in trying a different sports drink (other than Gatorade or PowerAde or other competitors). Not only does BodyArmor attract attention in the aisle where shoppers look for sports drinks, it explicitly invites consumers to "switch" to its brand.

New Marketing for Plus Size Fashions

Some sponsors of CurvyCon 2017

At CurvyCon, a recent fashion-week event featuring plus-size women's fashions, the CEO of plus-size fashion subscription firm Dia & Co observed: "We are so far away from true size inclusivity when it comes to fashion." In the words of entrepreneur CeCe Olisa, "if every brand carried every size, then we wouldn’t have to specify plus-size or not." CurvyCon attracted a lot of sponsors eager to reach this target market, estimated at $21 billion--and growing quickly.

It's a new marketing era for "plus size" amid rebranding to avoid negative connotations and signal a better understanding of consumer behavior in this target market. For example, after listening to customer feedback, women's clothing in larger sizes at Kmart will now be marketed as "fabulously sized."


More fashions for this market are on the way. PVH, which counts Calvin Klein among its brands, has recognized the profit potential in plus, and is marketing a new line of plus-sized lingerie. PVH recently acquired True & Co, which is established in the plus lingerie business.

A growing number of online marketers are targeting plus women, from ModCloth to EShakti and Eloquii. ModCloth's CEO notes: "There’s this belief that plus-size customers simply don’t spend as much — but that is only because of a lack of choice." His firm's research found that this target market would spend more if fashions in their sizes were available. And they tend to shop more frequently, another plus for plus size marketing.

Browse Marketing History via the Wayback Machine

What did some major marketing brands look like on the web 5, 10, or even 20 years ago? You can find out by checking the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.

Not only is this a good way to see the evolution of web design, you can also follow along as logos change, brand ownership changes, and offerings change.

At top, how the Wayback Machine shows the number and timing of Sears.com web pages captured and saved since January, 1997 to today.

At right, the Sears "about us" page in 1997. This is obviously before the acquisition by Kmart was announced in 2004 and completed in 2005. The brand's logo is prominent along the header and navigation is along the bottom as well as via links embedded in the body copy.

At left, the "overview" page from the corporate page of Sears Holdings, which owns Sears and Kmart today.  Navigation is along the side and along the bottom (not shown in this capture).

There is a link to the Sears Archives, where the distinctive blue-and-white logo is prominent at top left of web page. Check this page for the history of the venerable Sears, Roeback & Company, a true pioneer of legacy retailing.

Geolocation and Target Marketing

Geolocation is a fascinating tool to consider for your marketing plan. Remember Pokemon Go, and all the marketing hoopla associated with firms that leveraged it? That brief craze brought geolocation into the public eye. Even though the fad has faded, there are many marketing possibilities for geolocation, as smartphone-toting customers go to work, go to school, go on vacation, go shopping, or are simply on the go.

Privacy concerns need to be addressed, of course. Still, by defining the audience, the offer, and the objective, marketers can test and refine their use of geolocation to attract new customers and encourage repeat purchasing.

• Target customers in or near your location. Through geofencing, you can define an area within which you will communicate incentives to visit your venue or buy a particular offering. Coca-Cola sends messages to shoppers' phones while customers are inside Albertsons supermarkets, for instance, directing them to promotional deals in the soft-drink aisle. 
• Have something to say. This is sales promotion territory--meaning the marketing should convey a sense of urgency, such as a limited-time offer. American Eagle Outfitters identifies shoppers entering the mall parking lot and communicates about new products and other news, boosting foot traffic.
• Make location count. Starbucks uses geolocation to transmit the customer's mobile order to the nearest convenient location via the ordering app. Customers like the speed and convenience. Starbucks likes the efficiency. Win-win all the way around.