Shape Ads for Future Use Purchases

In your advertising, use relatively pale hues to depict what you’re selling for customers’ future or long-term use. The ultimate pale hues are black and white. Researchers at San Jose State University, The Ohio State University, and University of California-Davis say that color scheme might be the best of all for the situation.
     The rationale actually has as much to do with shapes as with colors. People considering purchase of an item are influenced by the shape and the color of depictions of the item in ads. The shape and color of illustrations of the product or of the box containing the product, of before-and-after pictures showing the benefits of product use, of text boxes in which the benefits of the service are described. When the people are thinking about use of the item in the future, the influence of shape is greater than the influence of color. Here, vibrant colors can interfere with the brain’s processing of shape, so it’s best to keep down the vibrancy.
     Once you’ve muted the hues, recognize how different shapes deliver different messages. For example, researchers at University of Miami and University of St. Gallen report that bold, solid, angular, and sharp characteristics enhance brand masculinity while airy, delicate, round, and smooth characteristics enhance brand femininity.
     In the ad itself, shoppers like balance, with elements of matching size on the left and right. But there also should be a few contrasting asymmetries with ratios which intrigue the shopper. University of British Columbia studies found that consumers in a culture that reads from left to right evaluated an antique more favorably when pictured on the left side of an ad than on the right side. With a modern art item, placement on the right side of the ad garnered more favorable ratings.
     Top and bottom matter, too. Research at University of Cincinnati and York University suggests that shoppers will prefer a brand or store they see as powerful in the marketplace when the logo is placed high rather than low in the ad, while a placement low in the ad is better received when the brand or store is seen as an underdog.
     The different shapes in the ad should be seen as fitting together to constitute a group. Shoppers find visual pleasure in the repetition of themes. And there’s bonus appeal when the group of shapes represent to the consumer a familiar story. The familiarity may come from a principle of design common in the consumers’ culture.

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

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