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| Ryanair upgrading from 'Chelsea blue' to 'Spurs blue' colour scheme in rebrand push | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The airline has already dropped its hard-line cabin baggage allowance, reduced penalties for failing to print out boarding passes and introduced allocated seating. | The airline has already dropped its hard-line cabin baggage allowance, reduced penalties for failing to print out boarding passes and introduced allocated seating. |
| But Ryanair’s quest to move away from its low-cost, high-hassle reputation and win a “posher” class of customer has now entered a new phase - with a small but revealing colour rebrand. | But Ryanair’s quest to move away from its low-cost, high-hassle reputation and win a “posher” class of customer has now entered a new phase - with a small but revealing colour rebrand. |
| The brash “Chelsea blue” and aggressive yellow that have for years have defined the airline’s cheap and cheerful approach are to be toned down, it was announced this week. By making the blue in its uniforms and livery darker (it will now be a calmer “Spurs blue”) and reducing the quantity of bright yellow in its branding, Easyjet hopes to project a more serious and upmarket image. | The brash “Chelsea blue” and aggressive yellow that have for years have defined the airline’s cheap and cheerful approach are to be toned down, it was announced this week. By making the blue in its uniforms and livery darker (it will now be a calmer “Spurs blue”) and reducing the quantity of bright yellow in its branding, Easyjet hopes to project a more serious and upmarket image. |
| The decision highlights the crucial role played by colour choice in the branding and packaging of products. | The decision highlights the crucial role played by colour choice in the branding and packaging of products. |
| “Ryanair have had issues with their brand – though they are still a very successful company. These changes are part of them shifting their brand image.” (Getty) The bright, cheerful colours that used to represent Ryanair are used in much the same way by cutprice supermarkets such as Asda and Lidl, and by rival – and virulently orange – airline rival Easyjet to reinforce expectations of low prices. | “Ryanair have had issues with their brand – though they are still a very successful company. These changes are part of them shifting their brand image.” (Getty) The bright, cheerful colours that used to represent Ryanair are used in much the same way by cutprice supermarkets such as Asda and Lidl, and by rival – and virulently orange – airline rival Easyjet to reinforce expectations of low prices. |
| “There’s a softening and modernising with the Ryanair brand. It was cheap and cheerful, no frills and ‘don’t talk to us about customer service’,” said Dr Chris Chapleo, a branding expert at Bournemouth University. “They have put their hands up and said ‘We’ve got some of it wrong’. | “There’s a softening and modernising with the Ryanair brand. It was cheap and cheerful, no frills and ‘don’t talk to us about customer service’,” said Dr Chris Chapleo, a branding expert at Bournemouth University. “They have put their hands up and said ‘We’ve got some of it wrong’. |
| “Ryanair have had issues with their brand – though they are still a very successful company. These changes are part of them shifting their brand image.” | “Ryanair have had issues with their brand – though they are still a very successful company. These changes are part of them shifting their brand image.” |
| Colour in logos, liveries and packaging enable companies to win instant recognition by customers and to project emotive messages to them that enhance a reputation. | Colour in logos, liveries and packaging enable companies to win instant recognition by customers and to project emotive messages to them that enhance a reputation. |
| Colour branding can be so important that companies seek to protect the use of particular shades associated with their brand. (Getty) “Branding is how you are talked about when you aren’t in the room,” said Dr Chapleo. “Colour is part of the whole brand thing. Colour speaks volumes about the positioning and image.” | Colour branding can be so important that companies seek to protect the use of particular shades associated with their brand. (Getty) “Branding is how you are talked about when you aren’t in the room,” said Dr Chapleo. “Colour is part of the whole brand thing. Colour speaks volumes about the positioning and image.” |
| Colour branding can be so important that companies seek to protect the use of particular shades associated with their brand. Barclays and Boots have each copyrighted the shade of blue that makes them recognisable in high streets. Cadbury’s and Nestle have repeatedly locked horns over the use of purple that can indicate a luxury and indulgence. | Colour branding can be so important that companies seek to protect the use of particular shades associated with their brand. Barclays and Boots have each copyrighted the shade of blue that makes them recognisable in high streets. Cadbury’s and Nestle have repeatedly locked horns over the use of purple that can indicate a luxury and indulgence. |
| He suspects, however, that the garish colours used by Ryanair and other businesses to indicate low cost value, could be on the way out of common usage. “Maybe it’s a sign they are modernising as a company,” he added. | He suspects, however, that the garish colours used by Ryanair and other businesses to indicate low cost value, could be on the way out of common usage. “Maybe it’s a sign they are modernising as a company,” he added. |
| Stefan Drew, a marketing consultant who presents himself as “the marketing magician”, said that supermarkets used colours to indicate their place in the market. While cut-price chains like Aldi tend to use brash colours (“They are very strong. They are eye-catching and they are meant to say ‘cheap’”), Waitrose and Marks & Spencer both use greens to indicate “tradition, prosperity, establishment – no one ever slates you for being green”. | Stefan Drew, a marketing consultant who presents himself as “the marketing magician”, said that supermarkets used colours to indicate their place in the market. While cut-price chains like Aldi tend to use brash colours (“They are very strong. They are eye-catching and they are meant to say ‘cheap’”), Waitrose and Marks & Spencer both use greens to indicate “tradition, prosperity, establishment – no one ever slates you for being green”. |
| Whether a change of colours can ever directly affect sales figures, however, is hard to quantify. “A lot of brand managers would say that if the numbers are going up it’s down to the brand recolouring,” Mr Drew said. “But it’s never that simple. There are always other things being done at the same time so you are never actually going to be able to measure whether it’s down to colours.” | Whether a change of colours can ever directly affect sales figures, however, is hard to quantify. “A lot of brand managers would say that if the numbers are going up it’s down to the brand recolouring,” Mr Drew said. “But it’s never that simple. There are always other things being done at the same time so you are never actually going to be able to measure whether it’s down to colours.” |
| Karen Haller, colour psychology expert, said: “Every brand should be thinking about the colours they use. Colour is the first thing you see – even before shape – in a logo and the first thing you have an emotional connection with. When companies change their brand colours, quite often it can mean that they are changing their values and they want a new look. If a company has negative press or can’t seem to shake off a bad image what can happen is they come up with a fresh look.” | Karen Haller, colour psychology expert, said: “Every brand should be thinking about the colours they use. Colour is the first thing you see – even before shape – in a logo and the first thing you have an emotional connection with. When companies change their brand colours, quite often it can mean that they are changing their values and they want a new look. If a company has negative press or can’t seem to shake off a bad image what can happen is they come up with a fresh look.” |
| Harrods | |
| The dark green used by Harrods as a background to its gold script is a sign of assurance to its customers that it represents quality, tradition and good service. There are thousands of greens and many, especially darker ones, are commonly used by businesses to suggest maturity, responsibility and quality. Purple is another colour that expresses quality and has been used, with green and dark blues, by the department store Liberty to indicate tradition and good service. | |
| The famous dark green of Harrods | |
| Marlboro | |
| The cigarette packets make heavy use of red which projects a macho, alpha male image. “It suggests masculinity, strength, power, stamina and energy,” said colour psychology expert Karen Haller. The context – the cowboy smoking in the wilderness – is crucial. In other brands, such as Coca-Cola, red is used to great effect as an indication of youth, life, vividness and energy. Pepsi uses red but in the 1960s introduced a cheerful blue that helped to differentiate it from its rival. | |
| A packet of Marlboro Red cigarettes (AP) | |
| Tesco Finest | |
| The black background used on Tesco’s Finest range, and the silver or white lettering accompanying many of the products, identifies a top-of-the-range product to shoppers. It suggests sophistication, innovation and aspiration. It is intended – “like Chanel’s black and white”, said Karen Haller – to assure good quality. In 2012, Tesco stripped its own brand red, white and blue from its Value range because the packaging had become associated with low-quality products. | |
| Tesco Finest packaging is designed to promote 'good quality' | |
| EasyJet | |
| The vivid orange used by Ryanair’s rival is not only highly visible but serves to indicate low prices. “That suggests volumes about them,” said Dr Chris Chapleo. “Bright, garish colours are fun but they are also cheap.” The use of shrill colours is a tactic well-known to the supermarket chains which can, much like the cut-price airlines, be used as a strong indication of the section of the market they appeal to. Lidl, for example, uses bright red and yellow alongside blue in its branding. | |
| An Airbus in British airline EasyJet livery |