yellow is the colour in Bournemouth

I was down in Bournemouth over the recent half-term holidays, and whilst driving the kids about only seemed to notice the fleet of one bus operator.

I'm sure there were others flying around the town but they didn't seem to register on my subconscious. All I could see were the yellow buses. And when I'd seen the colour once, it was instantly recognisable from then on.

Yes, I understand they are the dominant operator in the area, but many years ago they were savvy enough to name the company after a colour, and execute their livery accordingly. People use colour as a way of remembering/reference all the time - ours is the house with the green door, mine is the red car etc - so the Yellow Bus name makes perfect sense.

There's no question that colour has a major impact on the branding world and done consistently, enables a brand to be immediately recognised without using any words or even showing its logo.

Name me an orange airline, a purple chocolate bar, a yellow car breakdown service, a red sugared water or pink newspaper and only one brand in each of those crowded marketplaces, immediately springs to mind.

The power comes from the consistency of using a single colour throughout years and years of consumer marketing.

So simple, so effective.