Why Red or Blue might matter to marketing researchers

Now there is a research finding reported today on NPR, soon to appear in Nature, which says that it matters whether the color is red or blue when you are working, or for that matter watching an ad or shopping. Apparently, quantitative marketing researchers, who presumably are engaged in logic and other mind bending details, should work with computer screens that are red. I know most of my colleagues will see red just at this thought. At the other end, the color blue is associated with improvement in tasks that can only be termed creative. All this begs the question why IBM has for so long been Big Blue and Coke, you know, Coke Red. I recall reading back in July that Coke went about decking Beijing in red just before the Olympics. Like the Chinese really appreciate the Red times.

Anyway, it occurs to me that these new findings, if they are really new, might open up lots of opportunities for research in marketing. I imagine there'll be several experiments although it would be important to screen the undergraduates for color blindness. In the meantime, you might want to look at some of the nay saying comments that are already streaming in based on the news report. Good luck with finding out whether the next new product should be packaged in red or blue or possibly red, blue and white!