Special K Special for Women?
When walking down the cereal aisle consumers must make a choice of breakfast cereal based on the packaging alone. Companies spend thousands to research and implement marketing techniques in order to target a specific market. By using subtle and manipulative marketing techniques such as colors and images, Kellogg’s successfully markets the Special K brand of cereal to an audience of heath conscious women.
First impressions are lasting; colors and fonts draw attention and lure consumers into a sale. When consumers first look at the box of Special K, they will notice the main colors on the packaging are soothing shades of blue and bold red. Artists and graphic designers call colors like red and blue compliments- meaning they go well together and are across from each other on the color wheel. Many marketers take advantage of complimentary colors to effectively create packaging that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but suits the target audience as well. Kellogg’s uses these two complimentary colors to imply a balance that a woman seeks in her life. The colors on the front of the box combine to create purple, which is used on the back of the box. Purple creates a soft, inviting, and warm feeling. Women use their feelings to communicate thoughts, and Kellogg’s has used the colors on this box to appeal specifically to women’s feelings.
Immediately beneath the Kellogg’s logo, a spotlight highlights the signature cursive red K amidst the soothing blue background color. Blue is especially well received by women because it is a pleasing and relaxing shade; a soothing color that reminds many of a mental state that they long for. The shading of blue on the box can also be recognized as a connection to nature as seen in the shade of blue in the sky, or blue in a lake. Women can relate to this because they enjoy what nature abides them to also represent optimism, or happiness.
Red is an active, assertive color that empowers an individual. Its use on the box empowers women to take charge of ones health and well being. A contemporary example of the effective use of red is the Join (RED) program, which is focused to eliminate AIDS in Africa. This color is a motivation for action, thus influencing customers like women to help support a good cause, (“ The (RED) Idea”). On the box layout, the bold red is used as a call to action: to promote a healthy lifestyle. For instance, the woman on the back of the box is young, healthy, Caucasian, smiling, and wearing a red shirt as she eats a bowl of Special K Blueberry cereal (see figure one).
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| Figure 1- Woman on back of box |
This image can have a bold impact on women because of the fact that most women are concerned with not just weight, but also with how they look. This can imply that most people will choose Special K Blueberry so that it will help them to achieve a healthy weight and thus achieving and maintaining their desired weight goals while projecting a positive body image. This notion can greatly affect woman browsing for cereal in that if they see someone that is fit, and fits in with society’s ideal woman then they too can strive to be like her. Women want to identify with something that will make them feel accepted by society. Society tells women that in order to be accepted, they need to be pretty and thin. So, a woman wants to belong, so she will choose to eat Kellogg’s Special K thinking she will become thinner and prettier just like the woman in the picture.
Red cursive script is used on the front with the K as well as on the back of the box with the “weigh less”. The large bold cursive K on the front can have a special meaning for women due to the fact that it emulates a woman’s curvy figure. After seeing this, a woman would be attracted to this box because it suggests that she can be as curvy as that K. The "weigh less" statement is in a different font and places an emphasis on these words and thus provides a flowing, soothing connotation. Women interpret the red flowing script as being lighter so that they too can weigh less. Likewise the statement “exercise and a healthy lifestyle are important parts of any diet” is red beneath the young woman. In this case, the change in font and color indicates an emphasis on these words and thus provides a flowing, soothing, connotation. One might infer that the overall common theme of red suggests a bold message that the woman wants a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
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| Figure 2 - Violet Flower |
To appeal to a woman's feminity, the final major aspect of the cereal box is using soft images to appeal to a women’s femininity. Kellogg’s demonstrates this by using a shadowed violet underneath the cereal bowl. The image of the flower and violet color catch the consumer’s eye because society attaches floral patterns and violet colors to a more feminine side (see figure 2).
Moreover, the placement of the coffee cup with the fruit behind it compliments the center of the cereal box that suggests a feminist touch. The product is staged so that all of the cereal is floating above the milk, implying that the cereal floats from the decreased amount of calories in it. A woman is more apt to eat this cereal if there are less calories in it because she is conscious of her weight and body image. On the physical flakes of cereal there are speckles of blueberries that appear to be a shade of violet. The specks on the flakes allude to the real color of blueberries, which can be inferred as a violet shade, thus corresponding to the color scheme of the box. The brown flakes with the violet speckles appear more appealing than hunks of blueberries because they are light and give the allusion of weighing less than a whole blueberry. The flakes also sparkle like diamonds, which always catch a woman's eye. The use of the color violet helps convince the woman consumer that Special K with blueberries is a cereal that is made specifically for woman.
Briefly, the targeted audience of Special K is modern, health conscious women. This is apparent through the coloring as well as the images of the Special K box. One can see these ideas in the cursive red K, various violet shades used, and the placement of cereal. More specifically, the signature bold red K makes this cereal more appealing to women because it speaks to her femininity while suggesting that she take action to be slim, active, and healthy. As one can see, this cereal box incorporates many aspects and advertising techniques to catch the eye of a health conscious woman.
Images were scanned in.
Works Cited
“ The (RED) Idea.” Join (RED)
(RED) 09 October 2010 Web. 09 October 2010
Wonderful post, Pete! I completely agree.
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