How Pantone Made It?
- Here's the thing, Pantone wasn't the first to come up with a colour-standards language but they managed to become the global standard for colours and it's all credited to Pantone's ambitious and enduring marketing scheme
- Instead of going the conventional route of running TV commercials and paying for pages in magazines, Pantone announces the "Colour of The Year" every December
- Nobody knows exactly how Pantone decides on the colour but one thing for sure is that it is based on relevant cultural events. Classic Blue was the colour of the year for 2020. Ultra Violet (2019), Greenery (2017)
- This marketing stunt worked and it solidified Pantone's identity as the global authority on colour
However, this yearly reveal of Pantone isn't exactly original. There are tons of companies out there that do this. Forbes 30 under 30 is created by Forbes, the business magazine, Fortune 500 list of companies is created by Fortune, also a business magazine, Michelin Guide is created by Michelin, the tyre company.
Are these lists legit? Questionable. But do they work? HELL YES!
I call this Kingmaking. What you're inherently doing is just arbitrarily deciding who'll be on the list and because you decide who'll be the King, you're the actual King. Even if they think that the list is bogus at first, they will eventually buy in because nobody wants to be on the bottom of the list. Plus the people on the list will 100% share it, giving you free publicity.
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