You’ve made the decision to invest in video to promote your business – great. But now you’re wondering how to go about it as your ideas don’t really lend themselves to live action (filmed) video.
Don’t worry. You’re not alone. There are quite a few scenarios where live action video isn’t the right option, or it just doesn’t work.
The solution is often animated video.
Here are 9 scenarios when creating an animated video is the better option.
1. Your office or premises isn’t particularly attractive
If you feel that your premises, either on the inside or the outside, wouldn’t look that fantastic on camera and wouldn’t present the image you desire, you may wish to use different visuals to introduce your company and explain how you help your customers.
This is exactly how we got around this problem for Element Twenty.
2. You’re uncomfortable in front of the camera
Perhaps you want to introduce your company or explain a specific service area, but you don’t have naturally gifted presenters in the company, or for you, the thought of sitting in front of the camera brings you out in a cold sweat. In this case an animated video can work really well.
A carefully crafted script, read by a professional voiceover artist, highlights the key points succinctly and in an interesting and visual way.
This was the option chosen by Memset.
3. Your product isn’t tangible
Software is notoriously hard to present using live action, largely because the camera often ends up with screen flicker. Using a screencast of actual screen shots tends to show too much detail and doesn’t look professional. Sub menus and options are distractions, which only dilute the impact of the message you’re trying to get across.
Software lends itself nicely to animated videos. A successful approach is to present the context for the software in terms of the issues it solves.
Wordshark Online animated explainer does this extremely well.
4. Your process or product is extremely complicated
You may have a complex process or product that needs some explanation. Even if you were to attempt to strip the ‘product or component’ down, it can still be hard to demonstrate how it interacts with the environment.
Animated product explainer videos can really help to overcome these complexities. The viewer finds it quick and easy to understand the purpose and the technology.
Imagine how complicated it would be to explain how a valveless ventilator provides a constant flow of fresh gas at 8 l/min to a patient.
That was the challenge for SLE. The solution – create an animated process explainer.
5. You want to explain a service process
Perhaps, like Square Daisy, the service you offer is conducted via a carefully thought out, tried and tested process. The way you take your clients through this process could be what makes you stand head and shoulders above your competitors. If that’s the case, you need to explain the process succinctly and an animated explainer video does this well.
We created this animated video for Portaltech Reply to explain their professional and methodical approach.
You can do this for your business too if there is a process that you need to follow to get the best results.
6. You want to show empathy
Telling a story with a human touch always grabs and holds attention.
Animated characters can show all kinds of feelings. Through your characters emotions you can demonstrate how you really understand and empathise with the situation your customers find themselves in. It can be a powerful mechanism to engage with viewers and highlight the benefit of what you are selling.
Through an animated character animation, Pegasus demonstrated they understand their customers problems. Creating empathy makes viewers more inclined to find out more on their journey to make the final purchase decision.
7. When live action video is too expensive
In some scenarios, visiting and filming at multiple locations would blow the budget.
This was the case for City Hire, a tool hire company, that wanted to promote their app. If we were to create a live action video, we’d need visit their depots, client sites, their head office as well as filming the app in use. This could take two or three days of filming, and that’s before any editing is done. Never mind getting health and safety approval and briefing time to be active on site. All inflating the budget making it very inefficient from a cost perspective.
An animation video was the perfect solution. It removed any unneccessary cost and allowed us to be far more flexible in the messaging.
8. Your video is for an exhibition or online
A large proportion of online videos are watched without the sound, either because of environment or because sound can be irritating to others. This is also the case for videos that are on a loop at exhibitions or in a reception area.
An animated video which has on screen typography to deliver the messaging overcomes the need to listen. That way none of the message is lost if volume is down or background noise makes it difficult to hear.
This animated video uses only text to relay Go Reply’s messages.
9. You want to show size and scale
Imagine a city that wants to attract tourists or a theme park that wants to promote family holidays. Rather than going to every location and filming we could create a ‘map of the landscape’. To this we can add library video or imagery so that, as the viewer is guided around the landscape, it gives a sense of the size and scale.
We created an animated video to promote the Shangri-La Dialogue, which is an annual security summit hosted by the International Institute of Strategic Studies in Singapore. The video uses the Singapore Mass Rapid Transport System map to navigate through the facts and figures, travelling from Changi Airport to the Shangri-La hotel where the event was held. We think it’s pretty cool.
Next steps…
If you’re still reading you clearly understand the value that video brings to your business. But sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start. Do you choose live action video? Do you choose animated video? Or perhaps combining animation and live action footage is the best option. That will be the subject of another blog!
The best place to start is getting in touch with us for a an initial chat.
Square Daisy is an animated video production agency in Surrey. This means we deliver everything internally so we keep control of the whole process. We only outsource voiceovers and have regular professionals we work with and can recommend.
We also have a stringent process, which we mentioned in point five. And of course, we have an animated video to explain this.
