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For 2013, It's Emerald City

Emerald-Color

Get ready for a little more and balance and harmony in your life: Pantone has named emerald the color of 2013, describing the jewel tone as “lively, radiant, and lush.”

While last year’s color, tangerine tango, was selected for the energy boost we all needed, emerald is both richer and mellower, and “enhances our sense of well-being further by inspiring insight, as well as promoting balance and harmony,” the color guru says in its announcement. While it suggests affluence and sophistication, Pantone adds in its release, “it’s also the color of growth, renewal and prosperity -- no other color conveys regeneration more than green. For centuries, many countries have chosen green to represent healing and unity.”

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And while it’s easy to dismiss Pantone’s annual color choice as inside baseball for the fashion crowd, it’s actually a big deal to marketers, says Scott Drummond, a partner at strategic brand and marketing consultancy Prophet. “There's a strong correlation between the choice of an 'it' color and the momentum that is building already in the marketplace, and marketers need to be attuned to that,” he tells Marketing Daily.

“To some degree the formalizing of the observation in turn creates a self-fulfilling prophesy, and behavior follows. Designers of products, environments and packaging follow suit and consumers make choices in line with the trend. The difference today is that all the cycles are compressed. This kind of forecasting used to be done pretty far out, but in the digital age changes can be made practically in real time."

What’s more, he says, this year’s choice even speaks to consumers’ desire to kick off a sense of persistent economic malaise. “Even just the name, "Emerald" conjures up gemstones and wealth,” he says. “Pantone's selection of this color reflects what I feel is a growing desire to return to a time of prosperity.”

Pantone also says it will partner with Sephora, the beauty retailer, to sell an emerald-based package, including eye shadow, nail color and accessories, beginning in March. And it also plans to sell Pantone emerald-hued linens and towels at JC Penney.

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