This blog is being reposted.
I complimented a colleague the other day, who was looking sharp in a new pink dress shirt. "It's salmon," he corrected me.
It got me to wondering how pink got so strongly identified as the color of femininity (and to a much lesser extent, blue as the color of masculinity.)
I think most brand managers would kill to be able to have a brand association as strong as the association of females and pink (or light red as another male colleague always calls it.)
Bill, the company I work for, Hoffie Nursery, made pink their signature color many years ago. The very first plant they sold was a pink-flowered moss phlox. Many businesses in our industry use green as their color, so the pink really sets us apart. At trade shows, people will joke about "the pink company," but...they know who we are!
ReplyDeleteOne of my male colleagues does have an issue with wearing a pink polo shirt, but most of the guys just roll with it.
Our plant labels are pink, and it is nice when we see photos from our customers with benches full of our distinctive pink labels.
So don't be afraid to embrace the pink!
Marlene, I agree wholeheartedly! I think that color is too often overlooked as a powerful branding option. Hoffie sounds like they did things right in going against the industry norm. Look what a rather unexciting color has done for UPS.
ReplyDelete