Colour Psychology and The Yellow Car Wash!

The street botanist in me has observed a subtle brand strategy happening right under our noses. Those little back street car washes have been having marketing meetings and they have employed a global brand strategist! Or have they? If they haven't then who is policing the brand and ensuring such great consistency across yellow car washes up and down the land?

Have a look here or when you next pop out for lunch or at the weekend.

You may or may not have used a yellow car wash, but they are here to stay. Especially with more space becoming available on the high street and the fact we are all too lazy to wash our cars (sadly another great British past time that I enjoyed with my dad as great father son mentoring bites the dust!).

But why yellow? Yellow has it's merits as a colour. Color psychologists tell us yellow is; warming, uplifting, positive and spring-like. Yellow Pages has for decades stood up and represented local traders. Taxi's have associations with yellow and they share the car washers passion for using it to promote their services.

I find it fascinating that yellow car washes have united independently behind this colour. It says something about what's going on in our heads. It speaks of belonging to a tribe – the tribe of yellow car washers (now that sounds quite cool). It speaks about how simple business brand principles are at work even in the most modest of services.

It goes to show that often the answer is out there. Creativity sometimes holds a mirror up to business problems and reflects back the obvious that hadn't been noticed before. So here's to the yellow car wash businesses up and down the UK, their bright yellow signage, each the same from town to town, helping us wherever we are identify the great service of British car washing!