In the world of souvenirs, particularly in the realm of sports, concerts, and major events, few items are as universally beloved as the souvenir shirt. These shirts capture the spirit of the occasion and act as tangible memories for fans to carry home. While the design, logos, and quality of these shirts are important, there’s an often-overlooked aspect that plays a huge role in their appeal: color. More specifically, fans’ favorite colors have become a key factor in the success of souvenir shirts.
The Psychology of Color
Color isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s a powerful psychological tool. Studies show that people have strong emotional reactions to different colors, which can influence their decisions, including purchases. Fans tend to gravitate toward certain colors based on their personal preferences, associations with their favorite teams, or even subconscious emotional connections.
For example, red is often linked to passion, energy, and excitement, making it a popular choice for sports fans. Blue, associated with calmness, loyalty, and trust, tends to appeal to fans who value tradition or have strong emotional ties to a team or artist. Yellow and green, symbolizing optimism and nature, often draw attention in outdoor and music festival settings. Black, a timeless favorite, speaks to a sense of simplicity and elegance, while white often conveys purity or celebration.
We have many different organizations that we sell official merchandise for, and they all have their own unique color scheme. IMSA for instance is Red, Black, and White, the Sebring International Raceway has a light blue, The Grand Prix of Long Beach uses a bright orange. Your color sets your tone.
How Fans’ Favorite Colors Influence Souvenir Shirts
1. Team and Event Identity: Many fans associate specific colors with their favorite teams, bands, or events. For instance, a soccer fan’s favorite color might be the same as their team’s iconic jersey color—whether it’s Manchester United’s deep red or Barcelona’s bold blue and red stripes. Souvenir shirts in these colors not only represent the team but also strengthen fans’ emotional connection to the experience. For concertgoers, band merchandise often reflects a signature color associated with the group’s brand or album.
2. Personal Connection: Beyond team or event identity, fans’ personal favorite colors play a big role in their attraction to souvenir shirts. Offering a range of colors in shirt options allows for a more personalized experience. A fan who loves purple might be drawn to a lavender souvenir shirt, even if it’s not the main event color. Offering variety acknowledges the diverse tastes of fans, giving them a sense of ownership and individuality in their purchase.
3. Nostalgia and Memorabilia: Fans often buy souvenirs to remember a specific moment or event, and color can be a huge trigger for memory. A fan may select a shirt in their favorite color because it reminds them of that concert, game, or festival every time they see or wear it. These colors become part of the memory, immortalizing the experience.
How do we decide the colors
Before the Craton Promotions team heads out to a live event, there are so many things to do and one of them is picking the colors of the shirts, hoodies, jackets, and hats. It’s a game of predicting what handful of colors will appeal the the majority of the fans attending each event. The events logo colors, the area of the country the event is in, the time of year the event takes place, the statistics from prior years at the same event, all of these things are taken into account before each color is picked by the professional office staff.
The formula will most likely never be perfect but with due diligence a good event promoter and merchandise company can get the maximum amount of satisfaction from the fans by picking the right colors for that event.
What is your go to color when you buy a souvenir shirt or hat? Is your pick based on one of the points brought up earlier in this article? Do you have your own personal reasons? Let us know the next time you are at a live event that we are set up at, we value your feedback.
Also if you are a business that needs souvenirs for your events or office, drop us an email and let our office team figure out what colors would be best for you.
We hope to see you At the Events
