| A rose by any other name may smell as
sweet, but if it's not red or yellow, it doesn't sell. According to James Crowe,
chief executive of the Worcester -- based research company, Scintilla, the color
of a product can dictate the strength of its sales. His company has pioneered a method of testing consumer response to color which he claims can predict, with 90% accuracy, sales of a new product for up to 18 months after the launch. The method, "Chromtest", has been used to test everything from ladies' dresses to sunglasses. Clients include Parsifal Lager, Amir Fashions, Coloroll Wallpaper and Meadowcourt China. Color, says Mr. Crowe, is critical in ensuring product acceptance. It is not merely a case of choosing an acceptable primary color -- shades, tones and texture can all have a bearing on the consumer's final choice. "We could take 10 colors, each with six shades and virtually guarantee that two of the shades would be most popular with 80% of the people interviewed," he said. "Products are associated with lifestyle: most kitchens are now in wood so if you make toasters you don't want a color that is unsuitable." Mr. Crowe, a former lecturer at the Institute of Marketing, formed Scintilla in 1992 with the help of a $ 5,000 second mortgage. First year turnover was $100,000. This year with 30 staff it will be ten times that. Chromtest, which was developed with the help of Crowe's artist wife, Susanne, now accounts for around 70% of turnover and provides most of the profits. Crowe admits that British companies still have their doubts, though he says a few retailers now insist that products are color screened before they are allowed on their shelves. He contrasts this with European manufacturers who commission over half the company's works. European tests do vary dramatically, however, and Crowe argues that, as with branding, color and design for pan-European products carry numerous pitfalls. For example, a recent test of a brown dinner service in Britain, Germany and France shows that while consumers in the first two countries like the product, Parisians will not eat off brown plates. |