Videyah! Online Video Marketing Blog: Animated Video – What you need to know before you start production

By Videyah!

"Animation offers a medium of story telling and visual entertainment which can bring pleasure and information to people of all ages everywhere in the world. Animation can explain whatever the mind of man can conceive.”

--Walt Disney

Animations are created by recording a series of still images such as drawings, objects or people in various positions of movement. When played as one continuous image the still images create an illusion of a movement.

The most common type of animation for a long time was two-dimensional (2D animation) but technological advances in digital media have allowed animators to utilize tree-dimensional (3D animation) computer generated animation.

These new technologies reduced production time and cost, making animated video more common in multiple advertising mediums such as TV, Internet and mobile. The use of animation in commercials and web video is continuing to increase. Marketing professionals have recognized animation as a creative advertising tool for the number of advantages it has to offer.

Benefits of animated advertising:

1. Grabs attention

Animation became very appealing to advertisers because graphic design it made possible to create unimaginable places and extraordinary characters that would otherwise be difficult to achieve with live action. The combination of copy, graphics and music brings products to life in ways that are unattainable through other mediums. Advertising research confirms that animation can increase brand recognition, recall and motivate consumers to take action. Animated characters and motion in commercials can captivate viewer’s attention and positively influence consumer attitudes toward the advertised brand.

2. Helps visualize

Explaining new ideas is difficult. Have you ever found yourself drawing on a whiteboard trying to explain an idea to a coworker? That’s exactly what animation can do. It effectively explains new concepts to people who are new to them. Especially areas of high tech industry that are hard to verbally explain and need to be visually shown. Visualization influences consumer cognitive processing and persuades.

Animated video helps visualize better

3. Improves memorization

Better visualization leads to better memorization. Memory is improved when one visualizes the materials and then encodes the animated images into memory. Animated imagery stored in memory helps to recall specific objects or components of the ad and evokes positive emotions.

4. Makes advertising more affordable

Live video production can be costly. It requires extensive equipment such as cameras, lighting, microphones, onscreen talent, and then postproduction editing. Therefore many businesses hesitate to add video to their marketing mix due to a high video production cost, which remains an obstacle to greater video adaptation. Animated video production can be an effective and even preferable low cost substitute.

Who should use animated video?

Research shows that animation works well for low involvement products when prospects don’t know much about the service or product. Individuals who are highly involved with the product are less likely to respond to animation. For those who have already done a lot of research or know a lot about the products, live video is more effective. Therefore, you should use motion graphics video for marketing channels that target new customers.

Additionally, advertising research concludes that animation as a promotional strategy works better for hedonic products (pleasure/fun/excitement products) versus utilitarian (practical). The consumption of hedonic products is associated with sensual pleasure, fantasy and fun. Therefore, motion graphics video video is a good fit for hedonic product and services.

Wondering which category your products or services fall into? Here are some examples of both categories: Hedonic goods: flowers, designer clothes, music, sports cars, luxury watches, and chocolate. Utilitarian goods: microwaves, detergents, minivans, home security systems, or personal computers.

Here is how we combined animation with live video and used for a music video: