单选题
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 beating 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.