October 2020

The New Normal

In these extraordinary times, content creation is currently taking a back seat as businesses adjust to the new normal. But adjust they will, and before too long we can expect campaigns and comms plans to spring back into life – albeit carrying a slightly different tone.

When that happens, it is likely that we will still find ourselves working under restrictions. And this will pose a particular problem for the most popular (among customers) and relied-upon (among clients) B2B content format – video.

In the creative industry, collaboration is our way of working, and filming is built on collaboration. But what happens when you want to get your message across through video, but you can’t get out of the house?

For me, animation is the obvious answer. Video can still make a huge impact without having people in front of the camera. And now, with budgets perhaps freed up after the cancellation of live shoots, businesses can commit to allocating the kind of resources that will ensure real engagement with their animated videos.

Here are a few reasons why I believe businesses should embrace animation:

Shoot in any location

Whatever you need to show – a sunny day on a beach in Rio, or a busy office in the middle of London, with animation you can go anywhere.

Explore the storytelling possibilities

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of animation is that your narrative needn’t be limited by what actors can do. Animated characters can do anything, and can get in and out of any situation. Since straying from the ordinary is key to engagement, why not let them?

Bring stats to life

Want to show your customers a pie chart or graph? Why limit yourself. With animation, you can show it moving, add characters and on top of that have a voiceover telling a story. Animation can make even the driest stats engaging.

Revitalise your product demos

Instead of just describing the product in a PDF, why not show it in action, present it’s features and showcase its full capabilities? Audiences need to be a long way down the funnel to allow you to simply tell them about a product in a PDF, but watching it come to life in a video requires far less goodwill.

Simplify!

Animation is very effective in turning complexity into simplicity. Have you ever noticed how many tech companies use animation to showcase their products? A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a moving picture is worth a thousand more.

With businesses now facing huge communication challenges, animation can be a vital tool in bridging the distances – both psychological and physical – that have suddenly sprung up between themselves and their customers.

And perhaps, once we get back to true business as usual (whenever that may be), you may even find that animation has won a regular place in your content plans.