“Think Pink!” or in red, orange, blue…

It’s springtime here in England and there’s a riot of colour everywhere from pink cherry blossoms to red tulips to seas of bluebells.

As a marketer I make it my personal mission to think in colour. What that means is I challenge myself every day to see beyond words and images and messages. I think about tone, texture, voice and colour. I delve into language. I bask in the possibility of where we can take our customer. I look at how elements mix and consider their uniqueness, their diversity, their authenticity. I bring in what I have learnt from other cultures, languages, peoples.

When I do this it’s like opening my laptop and seeing spring time… or Holi… or Carnival in Rio de Janeiro.

It’s easy to conform. And yet life is so full of richness that monotone is not always the best option or the only option. Sometimes pauses, white space, is important. And sometimes it’s not.

This piece doesn’t address inclusive marketing or how it can enhance brand, build trust, or attract a wider audience. This post is about business championing marketers – and the people that work with them – who see beyond monotones and connect to consumers who may want a little bit more; and willing to switch to a company that “gets” them. Companies and consumers who are interesting, bold, purposeful.

I’m reminded of the opening scene of the 1957 classic “Funny Face” starring Audrey Hepburn. The magazine editor (who could easily be me when I see a boring ad or pitch!) drapes herself dramatically on the bench inside her glorious, windowed office boldly declaring that the magazine needs to merit being in the homes (and hands) of women. We can’t just be “paper that lies around” we need to earn our place. And then the iconic opening of the movie takes hold. She says:

Banish the black, burn the blue and bury the beige. From now on girl, think pink…. So that’s the challenge. Be colourful. Cue the Rolling Stones “She’s a Rainbow” or Diego Torres “Color Esperanza” or Booker T & the MGs “Green Onions” for some musical inspiration…

Not everything has to be colourful all the time but it should be some of the time. If your marketing is missing colour, it’s missing life. Consumers will pick up on it and will begin to engage more with brands or companies that have more of what they want and yearn for.

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