“The move spearheaded under the current leadership of Chris Dehring, newly appointed regional Chief Marketing Officer, is the first visible bold move by the new marketing head.”

It would seem, if reports reaching Businessuite are correct, that LIME (www.time4lime.com) has finally decided to do what almost everybody knew had to be done. Drop the dominant black from their creative. Following what is reported to be an extensive consumer and market study around the region the company, which for many years has been trying to get their branding and image right, is now into another makeover.

The move spearheaded under the current leadership of Chris Dehring, newly appointed regional Chief Marketing Officer, is the first visible bold move by the new marketing head. Lime is presently using Black as its dominant banding colour having shifted from Blue. In most Western countries, black is the colour of mourning. Among young people, black is often seen as a colour of rebellion. Black can be either positive or negative, but always mysterious. In the first Western movies, the good guys wore white and the bad guy wore black. But in later works, the good guys wore black to portray that air of mystery, as in Men in Black or the James Bond films. This shows how colour meanings can change over time.

According to at least one branding consultant Businessuite spoke to, LIME should have used the fonts as the brand reference and make them translucent, so that they can fit into almost any environment, fashion, taste and style. This would offer far more flexibility in terms of design, especially in print. For those in the advertising industry it is well know and accepted that newsprint for example has a tendency to suck up or absorb the black ink, resulting in a dull print finish. Black in print tends to work best in glossy publications where the color is known to jump of the page.

But what’s in a colour and why does it matter? Well colour Psychologists who study the psychological effects of colour suggest that while perceptions of colour are somewhat subjective, there are some colour effects that have universal meaning. Colours in the red area of the colour spectrum are known as warm colours and include red, orange, and yellow. These warm colours evoke emotions ranging from feelings of warmth and comfort, to feelings of anger and hostility. It is noted that LIME principal competitors in the region, Digicel and Claro are heavy users of red in their communication material.

Colours on the blue side of the spectrum are known as cool colours and include blue, purple, and green. These colours are often described as calm, but can also call to mind feelings of sadness or indifference.

In essence marketers have tapped into colour as a means of influencing how consumers view and respond to their brands. Their reaction to colour is almost instantaneous and has a profound impact on the choices they make every day.

Experienced creative directors and graphic designers know that colour triggers an emotional response in people, and will thus use colour to convey meaning in their designs, as effectively communicating concepts to customers can be difficult at times.

Blue for example conveys importance and confidence, without being somber or sinister, hence the blue power suit of the corporate world and the blue uniforms of police officers. Long considered a corporate colour, blue, especially darker blue is associated with intelligence, stability, unity, and conservatism.

Colours have both negative and positive meanings, but it’s how they are used in graphic designs that will elicit a particular response. For instance, black can be perceived as either sinister or sophisticated depending on its use. Culture must be taken into consideration, for instance in the U.S., white is for weddings; while in some Eastern cultures white is the colour for mourning and funerals.

Colour is very important in designs and can be used to add spice to advertisements, relay the mood of the campaign, as well as emphasize sections of the advertisement. As soon as consumers look at an advertisement, they can usually guess within seconds what that advertisement is all about and which company it comes from with just a glance.

Just as we are quick to judge other people by their appearance, and surroundings by the way they smell, look, and feel, consumers also judge an advertisement or branding design by its colour scheme and style of design. Consumers can also tell almost immediately, whether an advertisement is corporate, personal, whether it is for kids, teens, or just for adults, etc. Most of this information is perceived solely by taking in colour and design elements.

But LIME is not alone in the quest to find a clear and distinctive brand identity in what is now a very hostile and competitive telecommunication market. It was recently reported in AdAge.com that AT&T is undertaking an ambitious rebranding effort under the banner “Rethink Possible” that includes a redesign that updates its trademark logo.

According to the AdAge release “The new theme attempts to position AT&T as a lifestyle company and elevate it from the recent ad sniping with rival Verizon. “Rethink Possible” will inform all advertising from the country’s fourth-largest spender going forward. “It’s not going to be the old model that there’s brand work, and then there’s consumer work or enterprise work; it’s all ‘Rethink Possible,’” said Senior VP-Brand Marketing and Advertising Esther Lee. “All of our communications across all of these channels is ‘Rethink Possible’ and this integration of design.”

for more on the ATT rebranding check this link http://www.creativefeed.net/blog/rethink-possible-atts-new-slogan/

So we await the new look LIME logo, who knows maybe they will go back to blue. BM

See related stories at

http://businessuitemagazine.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/painting-the-town-red-corporate-jamaica%E2%80%99s-fascination-with-the-colour-red/

http://amkcomm.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/after-bruising-ad-battle-att-looks-to-rebrand-as-lifestyle-company/

http://businessuitemagazine.wordpress.com/2008/10/27/will-the-move-to-lime-help-cable-wireless-repositioning-company-from-13-different-businesses-to-one-caribbean-business/