In the highly competitive business landscape of the 21st century, intangible assets such as brand equity are deemed as increasingly vital to the long-term success of organisations. Brand loyalty, which is the primary driver of brand equity, germinates from consumers' brand identification, trust in the superiority of the brand and their perceptions of the social esteem that use of the brand signals The mobile phone industry is one of the most dynamic and competitive industries of this century, with new smartphones boasting breakthrough features appearing on the market in rapid succession. As the first generation to

This study reports on the colour preferences of 409 Generation Y students from two higher education institution campuses located in South Africa's Gauteng province for certain consumer products. The preferences were indicated using a selfadministered questionnaire. These respondents aged 18 -24 years claimed that blue as their favourite colour. In addition, the respondents indicated having a strong preference for consumer products coloured black. These findings, the first of their kind to be reported on in South Africa, offer important insights for marketers targeting this cohort and may be used as a guideline to incorporate colour into the design of products in such a way as to appeal to Generation Y students.