Owen Jones
If you have yet to integrate animation into your business, there has never been a better time than now. Animation marketing is a quick and easy concept, that can skyrocket your businesses’ performance – with examples of animation marketing reaching far and wide…
Smart marketers who are willing to experiment with new mediums and take advantage of ever-increasing connection speeds can utilize animation marketing to engage prospects and generate leads.
Animation marketing allows you to create engaging content with a hefty dose of creativity in the process. As you know, anything you can do to capture, engage, and hold an audience will pay off for your business.
With that in mind, which businesses have done it best? Let’s look closer at 7 top examples of animation marketing.
Note: If you’re looking to hire animators with the skills and experience to work on your project, you can find them right here on Twine.
#1 – Get Your Idea Across in Seconds: Nespresso
With a good animation, you can tell your business story in a matter of seconds. A compelling piece of animation will gain a viewer’s attention immediately.
Then, it will work to hold it there, engaging them to continue watching to the very end. Better still, captivating animation evokes emotion in an audience, making the viewer invested in your marketing.
Don’t believe me? Check out this brilliant example of animation marketing from Nespresso.
In this 2017 animated ad, Nespresso managed to get its message across in just 30 seconds. The message? Nespresso on ice helps you relax.
The brand didn’t even have to do a voice-over to make the audience understand what it was trying to say. The animation used a combination of soothing background music, cool colors, and holiday imagery to convey the idea that a cold Nespresso coffee is delicious.
In this case, it’s proof that images, or animated images, speak louder than words.
When it comes to text, the notion of flat black and white words on a page is enough to put many people off. After all, people rarely want to read a long, often boring, article from a company advertising various products or services.
Animation immediately captures the viewers’ attention. That is because you can do so much more than you can ever do with real-life filming scenarios. Animation creates life through the power of storytelling.
As a result, viewers are more likely to remember your message even when they’ve finished watching your content.
#2 – Be Budget-Friendly: Limited Animation
When it comes to quality examples of animation marketing, there are plenty of cheap visual marketing options. It does not necessarily need a large team, unlike film and video which need location, actors, and schedules.
Creating an engaging animation is all about skill. Although it may seem like it’s just an expert and their PC, a lot of animation, albeit varying in costs, is an incredibly skilled art form, that can take years of practice. If you want your animation to be stellar – you simply hire a show-stopping, animation expert.
D’source India has made a great video on using limited frames to create a lower budget animation – giving a clear indicator that you don’t always need tons of disposable income in order to create media that converts. It’s all about creativity! Check out the video here:
Whatever the choice of design or format, you can tailor your animation to fit your budget, not the other way round.
Plus, time spent on production reduces drastically, further saving money – simply put, animation is more clear-cut to produce. You can save time and money even further, by using a work schedule maker, helping you put the right person on the project to fit your schedule.
#3 – Make a Lasting Impression: Cadbury
There will have been plenty of brands that will have used animation to get your attention and keep it. Let’s take the (arguably) best chocolatiers in the world – Cadbury.
When Cadbury created their very own animated Martians, customers instantly fell in love with their cuteness! It wasn’t just animation that got the audience – Cadbury also engaged physical shoppers by adding unique codes to their chocolate wrappers. Lucky customers who got the right code could own the very same martian they saw on the big screen!
Consumers love a freebie – and don’t you forget it.
Complement animation with giveaways and discount codes, and you’ll have your audience in the bag. When a business uses animation, the result is ongoing recognition through widespread appeal. The process allows you to build a memorable brand identity, and separate you from the competition by winning not only conversions but also hearts!
#4 – Engage with Familiarity: McDonalds
Animation brings to life your brand by making your business seem relatable and reachable. When your brand is relatable, your audience can easily engage with your brand.
Adding a personal touch, through the use of animation and video, can make your business come alive on-screen. It adds an element of individuality, more so than print could ever do.
A popular way to do this is through the creation of an animated character – a type of mascot for your brand. Thanks to motion and audio, animated characters bring the same kind of engagement as a feature-length film. The trick being, that the audience won’t easily differentiate the two – meaning they’re more likely to follow your journey from start to finish.
Businesses need to engage an audience with interactive posts – as a society, our attention spans are dropping rapidly, so it’s no use sticking to traditional marketing styles. The future is to engage the consumer!
But, what’s just as important as building engagement, is building trust and likability for your brand. If your audience can relate to your brand, through the likes of fun/animated characters, they will reward you with their attention.
Here’s one of the more classic examples of animation marketing. Back in 2014, McDonald’s used their instantly recognizable Happy Meal boxes in their animation content. The Happy Meal boxes are something of a legend, and instantly recognizable to the western audience – so, bringing them to life on-screen was a very clever marketing choice.
Animated characters are excellent for long-term campaigns, as it’s a chance to keep your audience hooked in on a storyline, and waiting for more. Other great marketing teams who have done this well have been Duracell, Fox’s, and many more!
#5 – Appeal To The Masses: Taco Bell
Specific actors appeal to specific audience members, right? You may be a massive fan of George Clooney, but your best friend may think he’s the worst thing to walk into Hollywood… that’s just the way it goes!
So, let’s say you film with George Clooney (you lucky thing!), you could risk losing customers (a.k.a your best friend) who don’t resonate with the actor, and therefore choose not to engage with your product.
With animation, you don’t have to worry about any of this.
Animation characters aren’t real, so, people can’t have actual biases for or against them. Using an animated character, instead of George Clooney, means that you probably won’t get anti-Clooney fans clicking off of your content!
Using animation means you can appeal to a wider range of audience members – no one is left out. On the contrary, animation allows you to expand your audience base as you get creative with your characters. You end up appealing to more people in different wavelengths. Creativity with a strong mass appeal could lead to a viral brand moment for your business.
Check out this example from Taco Bell. They’ve cleverly used anime (one of the most popular animation styles), and combined it with the advertising for their ‘nacho fries‘. The result? A rather witty, and well-received commercial that leaves the audience wanting Taco Bell.
When you’re forming your own animation marketing ideas, take a look at what other businesses have succeeded at. You don’t necessarily need to reinvent the wheel…
#6 Boost Conversion Rate: Coca-Cola
Like we mentioned previously, it’s hard to keep hold of a modern-day attention span. Many of us are tired of the traditional marketing format – we’re used to it, it’s over-used, we subconsciously block it out.
As a result, if you’re using the traditional format, you can expect fewer conversion rates.
Data, however, suggests those who watch animation are more likely to act. Why? Well, there are a large number of reasons that we’ve explored in this here article, but to summarise – it’s because animation marketing content is engaging.
Check out this example from Coca-Cola – although this brand doesn’t exactly need any more brand awareness – being one of the most recognizable brands in the world – the aim of this advert is to draw attention to unity with the upcoming Super Bowl.
It worked!
Like Coca-Cola, you can use 3D animation to explain your product/service/belief that highlights what your product can do. In this instance, Coca-Cola appears as a universally liked drink, bringing together many individuals who all have one thing in common: their love for a good soda!
#7 – Content That Stands the Test of Time: M&Ms
To stay ahead of the game in the digital world, your content will need continual updates. Your audience’s tastes are changing. You need to adapt to create content that fits those interests. Sure, you can create new content all the time. But that can be time-consuming, not to mention expensive.
Here’s where animation marketing plays its ace card. Once you have your first animation sorted, you already have a solid template for the future.
Check out M&Ms, who have been using their trademark candy characters since 1962! Talk about ahead of the curve…
One of the more classic examples of animation marketing, right? A well-placed, fun-loving animation can do wonders for a business. If you want your brand to be instantly recognizable, potentially for generations to come, animation is a great choice!
So, isn’t it about time you encorporated Animation Marketing?
Animation marketing can help you communicate the right information to the right people. The very nature of animation allows you to do so many things that can help your business. With these examples of animation marketing under your belt, you are already set up for success.
For one, animation can tell your story in a few seconds. It also doesn’t cost much, so it’s accessible to all companies. It leaves a mark on audiences and reaches those that other types of marketing cannot. You can also easily update a piece of animated content. Finally, it can boost conversion rates if done right, and, if you take the right approach, animation can even be used to improve customer relationships. There really is almost no limit to what you can do.
In other words, as a business, you can reap many benefits if you use this type of content. All you need is a great concept and a great product. You’ll be on your way to reaching your marketing, and by extension, your business goals, too!
Ready to hire? Our marketplace of over 410,000 freelancers has the skills and expertise needed to skyrocket your business to the next level. From marketers to designers, copywriters to SEO experts – browse the talented bunch here!
Stuart Logan
Wondershare
