Animation–It's More Than a Sales Tool
Animation is everywhere. In fact, animation has grown so ubiquitous in the world of commercial design, entertainment and user experience, that you probably don’t even register every encounter.
In the marketing space, animation is widely recognizable in sales tools such as animated promo or explainer videos. But, while these tools are incredibly valuable (According to a report by Wyzowl, 97% of marketers say video has helped increase user understanding of their product/service), animation is more than a sales tool, it’s an engagement tool — a way for users to experience your brand.
Live events, internal tools and small-but-mighty uses, such as in-app animations, are a few of our favorite overlooked animation opportunities.
Convention & Tradeshow Graphics
Next time you’re at a live event, such as a convention or a tradeshow, take a look around you. What draws your eye in more? The big flat posters and branded tablecloths you see at every booth, or that exhibit with monitors or VR headsets? Yeah, we thought so.
Immediately stand out, capture your audience’s fleeting attention and show them what you’re all about. There are a myriad of different ways to leverage animation at a corporate or consumer-facing event.
Passive, looping product or service animations will set your booth apart from the rest.
An animated feature video or looping interstitials will add interest to your presentation or awards ceremony.
Projection mapping allows you to project video components on any surface, taking your brand even further outside of the figurative and literal box.
And VR, simple or complex, creates a more immersive, customized brand experience.
These are just a few of the ways animation can help bring your brand to life and captivate your audience in a drab hotel ballroom or noisy convention center.
Internal Engagement
There are two types of videos: videos people might want to watch and videos people need to watch. The former is entertaining, even if marketing oriented. The latter, are training videos or videos explaining your company’s healthcare benefits, etc. We say those can be entertaining too.
Using animation for internal training, tutorials or informative tools is an exciting and effective way to blend the line between content your team has to watch, and content they might actually want to watch. Not to mention video boosts retention of a message by 85% compared to reading text (Insivia).
Social Media, Titles and In-App Animations
And then there’s the small, mighty and often overlooked animations you run into daily.
The custom GIFs to complement and get more impressions on your social media strategy.
Professional-grade titles or lower-thirds on your live-action video pieces.
The in-app animations like an updating graph, syncing screen or logo animation that are so baked into the UX that you probably don’t even realize that someone animated that.
Saying animation is everywhere is not hyperbole.
Occasionally, when we tell people that The Banditry Co. is a full-service animated video production company, they ask “Why would my business need a cartoon?” They don’t realize how often they encounter animation. That animation goes far beyond cartoons (and frankly, in marketing, animation rarely involves anything cartoonish). That animation is how we experience so many brands and services on a daily basis – whether on TV, our computers, jumbotrons, or in the palm of our hand.
Any and every organization can use a video marketing tool. That’s a fact. But there are so many other ways to engage, educate and entertain your audience with animation and they’re all just as powerful.
Want to explore what potential animation avenues can benefit your organization? We’re happy to chat with you and help you determine the best strategy and story for your organization’s unique goals and audience.