Was Bedeuten Eigentlich Langlauffarben?

Rhea Freeman, PR- und Marketingberaterin für Pferdesport, erklärt, was die Farben eines Reiters bedeuten – und wie sie ihm helfen können, eine unverwechselbare Marke aufzubauen

Woran denkst du, wenn du an eine Marke denkst? Die Schriftart, die sie verwenden? Das Farbe ihres Logos und ihrer Verpackung? Es gibt eine ganze Welt der Farbpsychologie, die es zu entdecken gilt, und darauf legen Marken viel Wert. Aber machen Reiter das Gleiche? Und was ist mit Fahrern, die eine eigene Marke sind? Wie sehen sie ihre Langlauffarben und was es über sie aussagt?

Marken und Farben werden verlinkt; Tatsächlich geben einige viel Geld aus, um die Verwendung „ihrer Farbe“zu verteidigen, da dies ein Teil ihrer DNA ist. Farben bedeuten im Allgemeinen für verschiedene Menschen unterschiedliche Dinge, aber sie haben auch Bedeutungen, wenn Sie die Farbpsychologie erforschen. Blau kann also zum Beispiel Ruhe und gelber Optimismus bedeuten. Aber spielt einer der oben genannten Faktoren bei der Entscheidung, welche Farbe verwendet werden soll?

Mary King: grün und weiß

Maria König (Bild oben) ist bekannt für die smaragdgrünen und weißen Farben, in denen sie reitet, aber diese wurden vor vielen Jahren von einem Sponsor ausgewählt. „Mein zweiter Sponsor überhaupt war Besitzer von The Classic Horsepower Company, und sie fragten mich, ob ich in ihren Farben Grün und Weiß laufen würde“, sagt sie.

„Da das Unternehmen im Besitz von Gill Robinsons Ehemann war, einem meiner treuen Eigentümer, sagte ich ja. Und es blieb hängen. Die Farbe Grün hat mir schon immer gefallen, also machte es Sinn. Ich wurde für ein paar Saisons von Hiscox gesponsert und lief diese Saisons in Rot und Schwarz, aber es fühlte sich nicht wie ich an, also wechselte ich so schnell wie möglich zurück!“

Wie jeder Mary-Fan wissen wird, ist Grün nicht auf Marys Cross-Country-Farben beschränkt – das Grün ist zu einem großen Teil ihrer Marke geworden, da ihr Grün auch auf ihrem LKW verwendet wird. Als Mary mit Joules zusammenarbeitete, um eine Bekleidungskollektion zu kreieren, wurde Marys Grün in einer Reihe von Linien verwendet.

Paul Tapner: rot

paul tapner has ridden in red for many years, but only after he forgot to pack his original navy and light blue colours for an event.

“as an avid aussie pony clubber, my zone, zone 23, had red and white as their colours. i was in a lot of zone teams, so i had a lot of red kit,” he says. “when i forgot to take my blue colours to an event, i wore my pony club red kit and had lots of comments on how much easier i was to see out on cross-country. when i decided to go pro, i realised the value of having a really recognisable colour.”

tapner eventing is a brand that’s known as red, and this is something that although challenging at in the early days, has really helped paul to attract sponsors latterly.

“some sponsors want you to ride in their colours, and depending on what the offer is, sometimes it’s the right decision, but for me i was set on red, even when sponsors said it clashed with their branding,” he says.

“it did make it difficult with sponsors when i was relatively unknown, but when you decide to treat yourself as a business, and understand all the marketing and branding that goes along with that, it becomes really important. any global brand has a colour scheme that is associated with them. logos change over time, but the main colours stay. it’s important to create a brand image and it’s been valuable for me as a business. it also give sponsors the opportunity to come to me with promotional ideas - they know i’m willing to take things to the extreme and i’m passionate about my brand colours.”

david doel: red

david doel, like paul tapner, also rides in red, but he started riding in this rather bold shade for different reasons. “i started off riding in red so my granny knew which one was me going cross country,” he says. “the colour stuck and now most of our things are red, from rugs to buckets, but that’s a good thing. having such a bold colour has made our team much more recognisable.”

nicki strong runs headstrong equestrian and has a background in pr and marketing. when she designed her cross-country colours, her brand identity was at the forefront of her mind, and is something she’s maintain through her logo, website and social media. “everything should be consistent and recognisable as my brand in tone and visually. i use navy, dark red and white on everything. i worked in communications for macmillan cancer support for many years, who are famous for their green; they are a brilliant example of how to us a colour palette as a key feature for a brand.”

a personal choice

where do you go to get some customised kit and design your own cross-country colours? and what if you want to stray beyond one colour and incorporate a number into your colours? there are companies set up with this sole goal in mind, one being super x country.

“so many people are obsessed with getting the right colour and design,” says becci harrold from super x country. “the choice of colour(s) and the design is so personal to them and it’s really interesting.

“it’s not so much about building brands for a lot of people, or even building up recognition for people watching, it’s got a lot more to do with good luck and fortune, or just because people like the colour and it’s special to them in some way. of course, riding in strong colours can be big for building a brand, and keeping that consistency is a big deal and something i think we’ll continue to see more of now that getting personalised cross country colours and accessories is easier.”

cross-country colours are only one part of your brand, but if it’s something you want to carry through to your website and more, it can be a great way to start to build that brand recognition that you as a business and sponsors want.