Five of the most important dos and dont’s when commissioning an animated explainer video!

1. Do use animation to make things easier to understand

“If something is wrong with a product or service, 68% of users prefer to watch an explainer video.” – Epipheo

A complex subject can be made simpler to explain and understand with the help of animated explainer videos; so if you’ve been thinking about utilising the power of animation to make your product or service easier to understand, you are on the right track. 

They have helped us simplify some of the most complex products and solutions, from the circular economy to how bumblebees nest, but one of our favourite examples is for Tate & Lyle, about their efforts to use produce, produced through sustainable agriculture. 

Don’t make it too long

According to Wistia’s analysis of 564,710 videos, an explainer video should be no longer than 2 minutes. In other words, you should aim to keep your videos at around that length. It’s also crucial to try and make the first five seconds of your animated video as attention-grabbing as you can. 

2. Do give your marketing manager their time back

Even though it might sound like a lot of hard work, commissioning an animated explainer video should give your marketing manager some time back; time, they can use to build campaigns to run alongside your animation.

Don’t think about trying to do animation in-house.

If you’ve got a full animation team in-house, then go for it; but if you’re hoping your graphic designer can also produce a full-blown animation and keep up with their regular work, then you’re in for a shock! 

Find out here, about how many Wizards it takes to create an animated explainer!

3. Do think about lead generation. 

86% of marketers have said animation helped them generate leads

Your animated explainer is a lead generation tool, and you should be using it as such! Sending it to clients that have played hard to get can be a great way of opening up a new line of communication, and can give a new perspective on your business. 

We have seen some powerful stats from businesses that have utilised our animated videos, not just to explain their product or service but also to generate leads. 

Dairypower, a worldwide agricultural company, had huge success with their animated explainer video, generating 10 leads in 48 hours. Once the campaign had finished, they had racked up 140k views and 250 leads. 

But that’s not the best news; Dairypower actually achieved a huge 26% return on their AD spend.

4. Do make sure you have a realistic deadline. 

Before starting an animation project, first, make sure you have a realistic deadline; animations are rarely a last-minute job, which is why we are always banging on about our animation process.

We also believe that to get the most out of your animation, there should be a full campaign to support it, and suggest that as soon as you start building your campaign, give us a call; this is the perfect time to get the Wizards involved! 

It gives us time to work as a team to produce the perfect piece of content without having to cut any corners. 

Don’t expect animation to happen overnight. 

Tighter deadlines lead to less animation and simpler design. We try to make miracles a reality, but sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

We’ve got a super handy blog that could help shed some light on how long it takes to produce an animated explainer from beginning to end – Click here to read all about it!

5. Do have an open mind 

It’s best to expect the unexpected when commissioning an animated explainer, especially if you have a complex topic that needs translation. 

When scripting an animated explainer video, we will give you all of the voiceover and visuals so that you can see how the animation will sound and give you an initial idea of what will be going on. 

We know it can be difficult to visualise the animation at this stage, especially when you’re not sure what style it will be. However, if you keep an open mind and stick with the process, it will all become clear in the end. 

Don’t be afraid to ask questions! 

If you are feeling really unsure, you can ask us anything (we don’t bite)!

Becky, our time Wizard, will be here to support you all the way through and will make sure to pass any messages on to our animation team.

Even right now, if you have any questions about the animation process, book a call and talk to a Wizard today.