A B S T R A C TGreen is commonly used in marketing to evoke utilitarian and environmental cues, whereas red is regularly found on food logos to induce arousal and excitement. This paper investigates how these colors may contribute to consumer evaluations of premiumness through congruence and incongruence between the marketing message and color on product packages. The literature suggests that, although congruence between product elements and the marketing message often is evaluated as more appropriate, a "moderate incongruence effect" may result in consumer preferences for a moderate incongruence between design elements. Two between-subject experiments suggest that the premise of congruity or incongruity applies to explaining how colors may evoke higher premium evaluations. Study 1 demonstrates that for a product of hedonic nature, consumers will evaluate the product as more premium when the color and product framing are congruent (e.g., red on a package framed as "tasting delicious" or green on a package sold as "healthy"). Study 2 demonstrates the opposite effect by suggesting that when a product is primarily utilitarian, it will be perceived as more premium when the framing of the product and the color are incongruent (e.g., green on the package marketed for its "delicious taste" or red on the package sold as "healthy"). The study adds a novel understanding of how the mechanism of congruence and incongruence between color and a hedonic versus utilitarian marketing message can lead to premium associations. It also has practical implications for marketing managers as to how one can enhance the premium evaluations through color and marketing message.

Purpose -The aim of this study was to investigate how a consumer's aim of purchasing a premium versus luxury product will influence the anticipated regret and guilt.Design/methodology/ approach: A 2×2×2 between-subjects design (label: premium versus luxury × prior event: success versus failure × product type: hedonic versus utilitarian) on guilt and regret was implemented.Findings -Following a successful event, the anticipated regret and guilt are lower for a hedonic product compared to a primarily utilitarian one. The effect was valid when the consumers were looking to buying luxury, as well as premium. In a situation following a failure, the anticipated levels of regret and guilt were lower for a product that was primarily utilitarian in nature; however, this effect only appeared when the participants were looking to buying luxury and not premium.Research implications-People may feel more licensed to indulge with a hedonic premium or luxury product after a success and more licensed to indulge with a utilitarian luxury product after a failure. Practical implications -The can be used to understand how to optimize a marketing message of indulgence when deserving it or not.Originality/value -The study provides novel insight into how anticipated guilt and regret may be evoked by the goal of buying a premium versus luxury product in combination with the product type and a consumer's experience of a prior event.