Animation has seen a huge boost in recent months, and regardless of the shift in lifestyle and routine during current times, it’s been a growing marketing tool for a long time now.
In this piece we’ll be looking at how and why animation has grown, how it should form an integral part of your marketing strategy, and some of the benefits to using it long term as a business.
RAW Pictures is an animation company Oxford businesses and beyond have worked with closely for video production expertise. An established video production agency, we know a thing or two about animation, and we share our thoughts below.
Animation isn’t something which is just used in cartoons and films now. It’s an essential part of marketing for brands big and small across the world and its importance has grown as a result of its ability to offer a great ROI.
In a world where attention spans are minimal, it’s important to be able to grab people’s attention instantly. There’s not many better ways than a colourful and engaging animation to avert the eyes. Brands have started using this not only on social media, but on television adverts and website videos alike. Gone are the days of bland talking heads explaining a service, now it’s all about exciting and entertaining animations which give you all the information you need in no more than 30 seconds.
When was the last time you sat down and watched a full 2 or 3 minute video online? It probably doesn't happen very often. People want their information as quickly as possible and then they’ll move onto the next interesting thing they can find. This means it’s essential to capture their attention in the first few seconds.
As well as the speed of information, animation is perfect for getting across a lot of information in an engaging and easy to digest way. A picture is worth 1,000 words, right? Well, an animated video is made up of hundreds or thousands of pictures, so that’s a lot of information you can squeeze into a short video.
Add in a voiceover or some text captions, and you can say even more. The scope for creativity within animation is endless, which really helps in giving it a universal appeal. You don’t have to worry about picking someone on camera who will appeal to a certain customer base or a certain language, you can get your information across through imagery and then include some foreign language subtitles if necessary.
One advantage to animation from a purely marketing perspective is the boost in brand awareness you can achieve. If everything in the video is created digitally, make sure every single piece of the animation uses one of your brand colours! This means people will associate the video with your company and vice versa, building a strong link to all the rest of your content across the web.
Including your logos and certain key messages throughout the video only help to further bolster the brand recognition and ensure that your animated video is a powerful branded weapon for you. Every piece of animated content is completely tailored to your brand.
One important factor to bear in mind when using animation as part of a long term video marketing strategy is that it’s easy to update! You don’t have to worry about an employee leaving and needing to take them out of the video, or needing to reshoot your brand new offices. It’s just a case of redesigning and editing the frames, which is a simpler and less time consuming process than changing a live action video. This can help with costs further down the line.
Another obvious advantage to expand on is that they help to simplify even the most complex of topics. Whether you’re trying to explain a complex pharmaceutical product, a detailed cyber security product, or breakdown all of your accountancy services, animation can do it all. Using images and graphics to explain a product or service is far more effective for selling than just describing it to someone.
In a list put together by Hubspot of the 17 best explainer videos, only 5 are non-animated!
This also means that the number of different uses for animation within your marketing strategy is huge.
You’re not limited to a product explainer video for example. You could create an infographic breaking down the numbers behind your success, a release announcement for a new product or service, you could even do a customer testimonial video with animation! Just make sure to receive sign off on their character design first.
Animated videos can be a really effective way of connecting on an emotional level with your customers and clients. Taking them back to early childhood memories has a big psychological impact on buyers that not many other methods can achieve. This isn’t to suggest that all companies should suddenly make Mickey Mouse the face of your brand, but have a think about how to connect with your audience on an emotional level through this type of content. This really helps with building trust with your target audience as buyers feel a connection to your business.
Animation also allows you to create entirely original content for your business or brand. With zero limits on what can be created, you don’t have to worry about your video looking like someone else’s because it was shot in a generic office space. There’s no end to where you can go with animated videos, meaning anything you create (unless you intentionally choose to copy someone else) will be entirely original to your brand and your company.
Cost can also be a factor when considering what type of video content you want to use for your marketing. Sometimes it can be too expensive to hire a camera crew for the day to film a full scale video and then edit it together and all you want is a simple 30 second animated video to tell your message instead. Some styles of animation can end up much cheaper than other video formats and can be done in a shorter space of time. As with any marketing content, it’s all about choosing the right type of video for your business and your budget.
For a variety of different styles of animation that RAW Pictures has previously created, you can check out our animation case studies.
To find out more about how animation can help you promote your business or your services, get in touch with RAW Pictures to find out more and chat to one of our expert team.
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