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August 20, 2013

Report 3-Concepts of Color in Four Asian Countries - Automobiles & Cell Phones

Analysts:Kou Ri, INTAGE, Inc. Takashi Inaba, Nippon Color & Design Research Institute Inc.

Overview

  • "Black" is the most frequently seen color for automobiles and mobile phones in the four countries surveyed.
    The Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese want to buy automobiles and mobile phones in colors they frequently see. The Japanese tend to select a wider variation of colors and to choose new colors, compared to respondents in the other three countries.

Analysis

[Automobiles]

1. "Frequently seen colors for automobiles": Combined results in the four countries vs. results in Japan

The most popular color for automobiles in the combined results for the four countries is "Black." The top two colors in Japan are "White" and "Black," followed by "Silver."

Figure 1-1 shows the 10 "most frequently seen colors for automobiles" in the four countries surveyed (Japan, China, Thailand, and Vietnam) based on the responses in each country survey. As the figure shows, achromatic colors such as "Black," "White," and "Silver" rank high. "Black" is the most popular color for automobiles by far, accounting for 84.0%.
The high-ranking colors in the Japan survey (Figure 1-2) almost match those in the combined survey results from all four countries. The Japanese, however, chose "White" over black as the top-ranking color and ranked "Silver" more highly than respondents in the four countries in total.

[Figure 1-1] Frequently seen automobile colors in the four countries in total (MA)

[Figure 1-2] Frequently seen automobile colors in Japan (MA)

2. "Automobile colors people want to buy" and "Automobile colors people frequently see": By Country

Japanese tend to want cars in new colors. They are more attracted to dark colors like "dark Mineral Blue," "Wine," and "Midnight Blue."
In China, Thailand, and Vietnam, the "automobile colors people want to buy" are strongly correlated with the "automobile colors people frequently see."

from these countries tend to select orthodox colors for the cars they want to buy and to base their purchase preferences on the frequency at which the colors are seen.
In Japan, meanwhile, the "automobile colors people frequently see" often differ from the "automobile colors people want to buy." "Dark Mineral Blue," "Wine," "Ultra-Marine," and "Midnight blue" rank higher as "automobile colors people want to buy" than as "automobile colors people frequently see." Japanese consumers seem to seek new colors when they buy cars.

[Figure 2] "Automobile colors people want to buy" and "Automobile colors people frequently see" (MA)
(Automobile colors people want to buy = Colored bar; Automobile colors people frequently see = Gray bar)

Japan

China

Thailand

Vietnam

[Mobile Phones]

3. "Mobiles phone colors people want to buy" and "Mobile phone colors people frequently see": Results for four countries in total

The color of mobile phones people want to buy most in the four countries is "Black." It seems that the more often people see a color, the more they want to buy the products sold in that color.

The chart in Figure 3 shows the colors selected by 5% or more respondents as "mobile phone colors people want to buy" (colored bars in the chart) side by side with the corresponding percentage ratings for "mobile phone colors people frequently see" (gray bar). The percentages are extracted from the survey results for the four countries in total.
As "mobile phone colors people want to buy," "Black" and "White" are very popular (both were selected by more than 50% of the respondents). From 3rd place on, chromatic colors like "Red" and "Pink," metallic colors like "Silver" and "Gold," and the achromatic "Smoke Gray" all rank in the list (each is selected by about 10% of the respondents or less). The rankings for the "mobile phone colors people want to buy" almost match those for "mobile phone colors people frequently see." There seems to be a tendency for people to want to buy products in the colors they often see.

[Figure 3] "Mobile phone colors people want to buy" and "Mobile phone colors people frequently see" in the four countries (MA)
(Mobile phone colors people want to buy = Colored bar; Mobile phone colors people frequently see = Gray bar)

4. "Mobile phone colors people want to buy" and "Mobile phone colors people frequently see": By Country

People showed a strong desire to buy mobile phones in "Black" and "White" in every country. By country, the Chinese often selected "Dark Mineral Blue," the Thais often selected "Gold," and the Vietnamese often selected "Ultra-Marine." The Japanese chose various colors.

The charts in Figure 4 show the survey results by country. Japanese respondents tended to select a wider variety of "mobile phone colors people want to buy" (colors selected by 5% of respondents or more). In the responses from Japan, chromatic colors such as "Sax Blue," "Ultra-Marine," "Magenta," and "Rouge Coral" were more often selected as "mobile phone colors people want to buy" than as "mobile phone colors people frequently see." Japanese consumers may prefer colors that are seen less frequently in the market.
Respondents from China selected "White" much more often than respondents from the other countries, with a ranking surpassing 60%. Among the chromatic colors, many people in China selected reddish and pinkish tones.
The Chinese selected "Dark Mineral Blue" more for "mobile phone colors people want to buy" than for "mobile phone colors people frequently see." Respondents from Thailand selected the fewest colors as "mobile phone colors people want to buy" among the four countries (colors selected by 5% of respondents or more). Almost all of the selected colors in Thailand in both categories were achromatic. The one exception, "Gold," was selected more as a "mobile phone color people want to buy" than as a "mobile phone color people frequently see." In Vietnam, "Black" substantially exceeded "White" in percentage terms in both categories, while "Ultra-Marine" was the most commonly selected choice among the chromatic colors.

[Figure 4] "Mobile phone colors people want to buy" and "Mobile phone colors people frequently see" (MA)
(Mobile phone colors people want to buy = Colored bar; Mobile phone colors people frequently see = Gray bar)

Japan

China

Thailand

Vietnam

Survey Overview

Survey Method Self-administered questionnaire survey (with an accompanying panel of color samples)
Survey Area Japan, China, Thailand, and Vietnam
Respondents Males and females, aged 20 to 59
Survey Samples Japanese (Male 44: Female 43), Chinese (Male 40: Female 40), Thai (Male 42: Female 42) and Vietnamese (Male 40: Female 40)
Survey Period January 2013 to April 2013
Organizations Conducting the Survey INTAGE Inc. and its overseas subsidiaries
  • * The survey results were analyzed jointly by INTAGE Inc. and Nippon Color & Design Research Institute Inc.

Asia Insight Report

INTAGE Inc. publishes the "Asia Insight Report" based on spontaneous surveys conducted in the Asian region in collaboration with overseas INTAGE subsidiaries to identify trends in attitudes and behavior on various themes.
Part 3 of the Report, "Color Image Survey in Four Asian Countries - Automobiles and Mobile Phones," was analyzed jointly with Nippon Color & Design Research Institute Inc. The survey was conducted in Japan, China, Thailand, and Vietnam from January 2013 to April 2013. About 80 males and females (aged from 20 to 59) in each country were asked to fill out a self-administered survey questionnaire using a panel of color samples. The survey results follow below.

Nippon Color & Design Research Institute Inc.

Nippon Color & Design Research Institute Inc. (Head Office: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; Date of Establishment: January 20, 1967; President: Naoki Miyaoka) provides information based on psychological research on color designs and consumer tastes to many corporations and organizations in various industries (manufacturing, retail distribution, advertisement, construction, etc.), as well as the public sector. The company’s independently developed "Hue & Tone" system and "Color Image Scale" are widely used in various fields for color planning, marketing, and color design strategies.