Coloring the destination: The role of color psychology on Instagram

C.-E. Yu; S.Y. Xie; J. Wen

doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104110

Coloring the destination: The role of color psychology on Instagram

C.-E. Yu
, S.Y. Xie
, J. Wen

Business and Tourism

Applied Translation Studies, University of Leeds
School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Color psychology plays important roles in product packaging, the retail environment, and online marketing. This study analyzed current practices related to color composition in tourism-related photographs on Instagram. Data mining and pictorial content analysis were adopted to investigate how lightness, chroma, and hue may influence Instagram posts' popularity. Generally, individuals appeared more likely to respond to brighter and more saturated destination pictures. Orange, yellow, blue, and violet contributed significantly to post popularity based on different photographic typologies. Overall, color is a complex construct that functions within diverse dimensions and can enrich tourists’ destination-related perceptions. Based on brand post popularity and color theories, the study findings provide valuable implications for effective and efficient destination promotion via Instagram. Relevant limitations and future directions are also discussed. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd

Original language	English
Journal	Tourism Management
Volume	80
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104110
Publication status	Published - 2020

Keywords

Color
Content analysis
Data mining
Destination branding
Instagram
Online marketing
Post popularity
color
data mining
psychology
tourism development
tourism management
tourist destination

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10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104110

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85082194638&doi=10.1016%2fj.tourman.2020.104110&partnerID=40&md5=df9954e8607c945c2ca2e6f2a79442b6

Cite this

@article{f5a511b5586b4d1da31c9d7008dffb73,

title = "Coloring the destination: The role of color psychology on Instagram",

abstract = "Color psychology plays important roles in product packaging, the retail environment, and online marketing. This study analyzed current practices related to color composition in tourism-related photographs on Instagram. Data mining and pictorial content analysis were adopted to investigate how lightness, chroma, and hue may influence Instagram posts' popularity. Generally, individuals appeared more likely to respond to brighter and more saturated destination pictures. Orange, yellow, blue, and violet contributed significantly to post popularity based on different photographic typologies. Overall, color is a complex construct that functions within diverse dimensions and can enrich tourists{\textquoteright} destination-related perceptions. Based on brand post popularity and color theories, the study findings provide valuable implications for effective and efficient destination promotion via Instagram. Relevant limitations and future directions are also discussed. {\textcopyright} 2020 Elsevier Ltd",

keywords = "Color, Content analysis, Data mining, Destination branding, Instagram, Online marketing, Post popularity, color, data mining, psychology, tourism development, tourism management, tourist destination",

author = "C.-E. Yu and S.Y. Xie and J. Wen",

note = "Cited By :70 Export Date: 14 December 2023 Correspondence Address: Wen, J.; School of Business and Law, Australia; email: [email protected] Funding text 1: The authors would like to express their deepest appreciation to FH-Prof. Dr. Roman Egger at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences. Advices from Roman particularly during the data collection process has been extremely helpful. References: Amsteus, M., Al-Shaaban, S., Wallin, E., Sj{\"o}qvist, S., Colors in marketing: A study of color associations and context (in) dependence (2015) International Journal of Business and Social Science, 6 (3), pp. 32-45; Andersson, T.D., Getz, D., Vujicic, S., Robinson, R.N., Cavicchi, A., Preferred travel experiences of foodies: An application of photo elicitation (2015) Journal of Vacation Marketing, 22 (1), pp. 55-67; Aslam, M.M., Are you selling the right colour? A cross‐cultural review of colour as a marketing cue (2006) Journal of Marketing Communications, 12 (1), pp. 15-30; Ayeh, J.K., Au, N., Law, R., {\textquotedblleft}Do we believe in TripAdvisor?{\textquotedblright} Examining credibility perceptions and online travelers' attitude toward using user-generated content (2013) Journal of Travel Research, 52 (4), pp. 437-452; Bakhshi, S., Gilbert, E., Red, purple and pink: The colors of diffusion on pinterest (2015) PloS One, 10 (2); Bernini, F., Gonz{\'a}lez, J., Hallak, J.C., Vicondoa, A., The micro-D classification: A new approach to identifying differentiated exports (2018) Economia, 18 (2), pp. 59-85; Block, L., Kramer, T., The effect of superstitious beliefs on performance expectations (2009) Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 37 (2), pp. 161-169; Bogicevic, V., Seo, S., Kandampully, J.A., Liu, S.Q., Rudd, N.A., Virtual reality presence as a preamble of tourism experience: The role of mental imagery (2019) Tourism Management, 74, pp. 55-64; Bonn, M.A., Joseph-Mathews, S.M., Dai, M., Hayes, S., Cave, J., Heritage/cultural attraction atmospherics: Creating the right environment for the heritage/cultural visitor (2007) Journal of Travel Research, 45 (3), pp. 345-354; Bottomley, P.A., Doyle, J.R., The interactive effects of colors and products on perceptions of brand logo appropriateness (2006) Marketing Theory, 6 (1), pp. 63-83; Bozhko, L., Business research of bali and malang promoting instagram accounts: A detailed but incomplete study (2019) J. Accounting and Business Res., 1 (1), pp. 8-10; Brookes, E.J., The anatomy of a Facebook post: Study on post performance by type, day of the week, and time of day (2010), Vitrue Inc; Browning, V., So, K.K.F., Sparks, B., The Influence of online reviews on consumers' attributions of service quality and control for service standards in hotels (2013) Journal of Travel \& Tourism Marketing, 30 (1-2), pp. 23-40; Buhalis, D., Tourism and information technologies: Past, present and future (2000) Tourism Recreation Research, 25 (1), pp. 41-58; Buonincontri, P., Morvillo, A., Okumus, F., van Niekerk, M., Managing the experience co-creation process in tourism destinations: Empirical findings from Naples (2017) Tourism Management, 62, pp. 264-277; Cai, L.A., Cooperative branding for rural destinations (2002) Annals of Tourism Research, 29 (3), pp. 720-742; Celebi, M.E., Improving the performance of k-means for color quantization (2011) Image and Vision Computing, 29 (4), pp. 260-271; Chen, T., Chen, Y., Chien, S.Y., Fast image segmentation based on k-means clustering with histograms in HSV color space (2008) 2008 IEEE 10th workshop on multimedia signal processing, pp. 322-325. , IEEE Piscataway, NJ; Welcome to the era of the greater bay area (2018), http://www.ctaweb.org/html/2018-10/2018-10-23-14-47-03286.html, Retrieved from; Clarke, H., Hassanien, A., An evaluation of toronto's destination image through tourist generated content on twitter (2020) International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management, 11 (2), pp. 1-16; Constitutional, Affairs Bureau, M., Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao greater bay area - about the greater bay area - overview (2019), https://www.bayarea.gov.hk/en/about/overview.html, Retrieved from; Cyr, D., Head, M., Larios, H., Colour appeal in website design within and across cultures: A multi-method evaluation (2010) International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 68 (1-2), pp. 1-21; 2019 Guangdong tourism Spring Festival Big data Report (2019), http://whly.gd.gov.cn/open\_newsjfb/content/post\_2799608.html, Retrieved from; Tourism statistics (2019), https://dataplus.macaotourism.gov.mo/Publication/document/ENG/Other/TUR/E\_TUR\_PUB\_2018\_Y.pdf, Retrieved from; Fatanti, M.N., Suyadnya, I.W., Beyond user gaze: How Instagram creates tourism destination brand? 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year = "2020",

doi = "10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104110",

language = "English",

volume = "80",

journal = "Tourism Management",

issn = "0261-5177",

publisher = "Elsevier Ltd",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Coloring the destination: The role of color psychology on Instagram

AU - Yu, C.-E.

AU - Xie, S.Y.

AU - Wen, J.

N1 - Cited By :70 Export Date: 14 December 2023 Correspondence Address: Wen, J.; School of Business and Law, Australia; email: [email protected] Funding text 1: The authors would like to express their deepest appreciation to FH-Prof. Dr. Roman Egger at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences. Advices from Roman particularly during the data collection process has been extremely helpful. References: Amsteus, M., Al-Shaaban, S., Wallin, E., Sjöqvist, S., Colors in marketing: A study of color associations and context (in) dependence (2015) International Journal of Business and Social Science, 6 (3), pp. 32-45; Andersson, T.D., Getz, D., Vujicic, S., Robinson, R.N., Cavicchi, A., Preferred travel experiences of foodies: An application of photo elicitation (2015) Journal of Vacation Marketing, 22 (1), pp. 55-67; Aslam, M.M., Are you selling the right colour? A cross‐cultural review of colour as a marketing cue (2006) Journal of Marketing Communications, 12 (1), pp. 15-30; Ayeh, J.K., Au, N., Law, R., “Do we believe in TripAdvisor?” Examining credibility perceptions and online travelers' attitude toward using user-generated content (2013) Journal of Travel Research, 52 (4), pp. 437-452; Bakhshi, S., Gilbert, E., Red, purple and pink: The colors of diffusion on pinterest (2015) PloS One, 10 (2); Bernini, F., González, J., Hallak, J.C., Vicondoa, A., The micro-D classification: A new approach to identifying differentiated exports (2018) Economia, 18 (2), pp. 59-85; Block, L., Kramer, T., The effect of superstitious beliefs on performance expectations (2009) Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 37 (2), pp. 161-169; Bogicevic, V., Seo, S., Kandampully, J.A., Liu, S.Q., Rudd, N.A., Virtual reality presence as a preamble of tourism experience: The role of mental imagery (2019) Tourism Management, 74, pp. 55-64; Bonn, M.A., Joseph-Mathews, S.M., Dai, M., Hayes, S., Cave, J., Heritage/cultural attraction atmospherics: Creating the right environment for the heritage/cultural visitor (2007) Journal of Travel Research, 45 (3), pp. 345-354; Bottomley, P.A., Doyle, J.R., The interactive effects of colors and products on perceptions of brand logo appropriateness (2006) Marketing Theory, 6 (1), pp. 63-83; Bozhko, L., Business research of bali and malang promoting instagram accounts: A detailed but incomplete study (2019) J. 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PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - Color psychology plays important roles in product packaging, the retail environment, and online marketing. This study analyzed current practices related to color composition in tourism-related photographs on Instagram. Data mining and pictorial content analysis were adopted to investigate how lightness, chroma, and hue may influence Instagram posts' popularity. Generally, individuals appeared more likely to respond to brighter and more saturated destination pictures. Orange, yellow, blue, and violet contributed significantly to post popularity based on different photographic typologies. Overall, color is a complex construct that functions within diverse dimensions and can enrich tourists’ destination-related perceptions. Based on brand post popularity and color theories, the study findings provide valuable implications for effective and efficient destination promotion via Instagram. Relevant limitations and future directions are also discussed. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd

AB - Color psychology plays important roles in product packaging, the retail environment, and online marketing. This study analyzed current practices related to color composition in tourism-related photographs on Instagram. Data mining and pictorial content analysis were adopted to investigate how lightness, chroma, and hue may influence Instagram posts' popularity. Generally, individuals appeared more likely to respond to brighter and more saturated destination pictures. Orange, yellow, blue, and violet contributed significantly to post popularity based on different photographic typologies. Overall, color is a complex construct that functions within diverse dimensions and can enrich tourists’ destination-related perceptions. Based on brand post popularity and color theories, the study findings provide valuable implications for effective and efficient destination promotion via Instagram. Relevant limitations and future directions are also discussed. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd

KW - Color

KW - Content analysis

KW - Data mining

KW - Destination branding

KW - Instagram

KW - Online marketing

KW - Post popularity

KW - color

KW - data mining

KW - psychology

KW - tourism development

KW - tourism management

KW - tourist destination

U2 - 10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104110

DO - 10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104110

M3 - Article

SN - 0261-5177

VL - 80

JO - Tourism Management

JF - Tourism Management

ER -

Coloring the destination: The role of color psychology on Instagram

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