Whether it’s what is actually in that blend of herbs and spices, the password to your neighbour’s wifi or where your young child has hidden the car keys, there can be few things more closely guarded than secrets. Trade secrets may be part of business, but video creation and storytelling are our passion and we want everyone to get the most from them.
One thing that is no secret is the popularity and effectiveness of video. Wzyowl have found that 96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service. This popularity is backed up by research commissioned by Google, who found that as far back as 2016 in the US, YouTube was reaching more adults 18+ during prime time than any cable network does in an average week - on mobile alone!
There is more to using video than stats however. Video is a great choice for brand building thanks to its versatility across devices and its combination of visuals, movement and audio. This is a winning combination when it comes to informing, entertaining and holding viewer attention. When it comes to your brand, video (and whiteboard animation in particular) to establish your brand identity.
1 - Clarifying Your Brand Message
One of the primary functions of an explainer video is to distill complex ideas into simple, easy-to-understand narratives. Whether you’re introducing a new product, explaining a service, or sharing your brand story, a well-crafted explainer video can clarify your brand message. This clarity helps potential customers quickly understand what your brand stands for and what it offers, making it easier for them to connect with and remember your brand.
Example: Dropbox’s iconic explainer video used simple whiteboard animation to explain their cloud storage service, making it accessible to a wide audience and solidifying their brand as user-friendly and innovative.
2 - Showcasing Brand Personality
Explainer videos provide an excellent opportunity to infuse your brand’s personality into the content. Through the use of specific colours, animation styles, music, and voiceovers, you can convey your brand's unique vibe, whether it’s professional, playful, innovative, or trustworthy. This consistent portrayal of your brand's personality helps build a stronger, more relatable brand identity.
Example: Dollar Shave Club's viral explainer video used humour and a casual tone to reflect their no-nonsense, fun-loving brand personality, resonating well with their target audience and setting them apart from traditional razor companies.
3 - Building Emotional Connections
Stories have the power to evoke emotions, and explainer videos can leverage this by telling compelling stories that resonate with your audience. By highlighting customer pain points and showing how your brand can solve them, explainer videos create an emotional connection with viewers. This emotional engagement is crucial for building a loyal customer base and enhancing your brand identity.
Example: Apple’s explainer videos often focus on how their products improve users' lives, creating an emotional connection that goes beyond the product’s technical specifications.
4 - Increasing Brand Visibility
In the age of social media, video content is king. Explainer videos, especially whiteboard animations, are highly shareable, making them an effective tool for increasing your brand’s visibility. A captivating explainer video can go viral, reaching a broader audience than traditional marketing methods. As more people see and share your video, your brand becomes more recognisable, helping to strengthen your brand identity.
Example: The animated explainer video for Slack, a collaboration tool, was widely shared across social media, significantly boosting its visibility and establishing its brand as essential for team communication.Secret 5 - Show the bigger picture
5 - Demonstrating Brand Credibility
High-quality explainer videos can demonstrate your brand’s professionalism and expertise. When you invest in producing well-crafted videos, it shows that you are serious about your brand and its message. This perceived credibility and professionalism can enhance your brand’s reputation, making potential customers more likely to trust and engage with your brand.
Example: HubSpot’s explainer videos are polished and informative, showcasing their expertise in marketing automation and reinforcing their brand as a leader in the industry.
Live Action Talking Head Videos Vs Whiteboard Animations
While creating the RSA Animates series, a series of animations based on live footage of lectures, we saw a massive increase in views and engagements on the whiteboard animations compared with the live footage version. We wanted to find out what was happening and asked Professor Richard Wiseman, Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, to help us conduct some whiteboard animation research.
We were very happy when he said yes and together, we compared a ‘talking head’ video with a whiteboard animation that used the same soundtrack and voiceover. Our research found that the whiteboard animation was:
66% more likely to be shared
Resulted in a 15% increase in information retention
Was rated 33% more entertaining
This explained the increased views and showed that whiteboard animation was a great medium for making information memorable and engaging audiences.
The best brand videos give you the opportunity to celebrate who you are, what you do and why you stand out from the crowd. There is a lot to think about though as you create them. From the types of brand videos you choose to the way they tell your story and deliver your message, videos offer plenty of options and approaches.
We have been making explainer, brand and marketing videos since 2004 (developing our whiteboard animation approach as we made the RSA Animates) and over the years we've picked up some tips and tricks, sometimes through experience and sometimes through experiments. We hope the secrets we have written about here will help you create your own high quality videos that share your message far and wide!
We are passionate about storytelling and using whiteboard animation to share the messages and ideas of our clients. We have been honoured to work with organisations and businesses like the BBC, Deloitte, Coca Cola, Google, The Royal Society and the UN. We’d love to talk to you about how we could immortalise your brand in a whiteboard video, contact us today!
When done well, the ingredients in an explainer video combine to create powerful animations that inform, entertain, inspire and stay with viewers. In this post, we look at how they are made.