How to Do Startup Branding With an Animated Explainer Video: 4 Best Examples You Can Learn
Let’s say you just started your small business. Great!
Now, what’s next? The brand-building might be the most challenging part you have to do to keep your business running.
In this competitive market, your competitors seem very well put together with their powerful marketing strategies. And here’s you, with a deep pocket and still a noob in marketing, what are you going to do?
Don’t worry; these four companies have gone through it all. Now, they successfully increase their brand awareness and sell more of their products or services. The answer is that they use animated explainer videos.
We all know that videos have now become a powerful marketing tool, but animated explainer videos are taking the advertising into the next level.
How Animated Explainer Video Build Your Brand Awareness?
The answer is simple. It’s short, entertaining, and easy to grasp.
An animated explainer video can convey your brand information in less than 2 minutes. It can straightforwardly address a problem, offer a solution, and go for a strong call to action.
With captivating animated characters and riveting storyline, it quickly captures your audiences’ attention from the first few seconds. It attracts and evokes their emotions so they can relate to it.
That’s how the animated explainer video engages your audience more than a live-action. Since it’s entertaining, it sticks to your audience’s mind for a longer time. Any other way, they remember your video and recall your brand.
Why Use Animated Explainer Video?
An animated explainer video is an enchanting marketing tool for startups. It’s inexpensive and effective to boost your brand’s online visibility.
These four used-to-be startups have just proven that an animated video is a must-have marketing tool for your business. Take notes about what you should learn from their stunning animated explainer video.
1: ClassDojo
ClassDojo is an app that connects parents and teachers to share their children’s school reports. It was established in 2011 and started using an animated explainer video since 2016. In this animated explainer video, ClassDojo introduces its service in the most fun and captivating way. Using fascinating monster characters is a smart way to grab audiences’ attention in a matter of seconds.
Three years since it’s uploaded, this video has more than 1,421,309 viewers on YouTube. This number of viewers surely helps to increase greater public awareness of ClassDojo, including teachers and parents. Now, ClassDojo has become one of the most successful educational technologies.
Key learning points: Creating captivating and unique characters can be an effective way to hook your potential customers from the get-go. It can entice them to watch the video all the way through!
2: DigitalOcean
DigitalOcean is a simple cloud hosting, built by developers for developers. It’s founded in 2011, and two years later, it launched its animated explainer video on YouTube.
DigitalOcean’s animated explainer video captures your attention in the first few seconds. Isn’t it? With a fine-tuned script, it addresses a real problem using a natural and easy-going way of talking. It also emphasizes certain words to make the information easy to understand. No wonder if this animated explainer video has been watched more than 1,283,072 times.
This well-picked 2D style with motion graphics animation successfully increases audience awareness of DigitalOcean. In early 2013, DigitalOcean had just over 100 web-facing computers; and now it’s more than 560,000 and the number of its users is still counting.
Key learning points: Speaking directly to your audience is essential in an animated explainer video to engage your potential customers. Also, the wisely-picked sounds effects or short soundbites make your videos much more lively and relate more to your potential customers.
3: Instacart
Instacart is a same-day grocery delivery and pick-up service based in the USA and Canada. It was founded in 2012 and launched its animated explainer video in 2018.
In less than a minute, Instacart captivatingly introduces its brand to you. It’s concise and to the point. With colorful 2D animation, this brand-fit animated explainer video is informative and relatable. This video has over 5,171,070 views on YouTube. Unsurprisingly, now Instacart has the widest footprint of the services whenever it comes to delivery.
Key learning points: Keeping your storyline concise and straightforward is the backbone for an animated explainer video. It makes your audience understand better about your product without shunning them away.
4: Acrons
Acorn is a financial technology and services company. It was founded in 2012 and started to use animated explainer videos as its marketing strategy in 2015.
Within a minute, Acorns introduces its services using a simple yet eye-catching animated explainer video. The background music is inviting, and the use of motion graphics animation makes it intriguing to watch.
Previously, Acorns has launched two short real-live ads for their marketing. But, those videos are shabby and stuck under 30,000 viewers. However, this animated explainer video has over 17,274,481 views on YouTube.
Key learning points: Don’t be afraid to use a simple animated explainer video. If you do it right like Acorn, it can make your animated explainer video much more elegant and easy to grasp. Also, put some essential messages or numbers, so your potential customers easily remember it.
What Can We Learn Here?
An animated explainer video is a powerful tool for startups to build brand awareness if you do it right. It’s much more cost-effective and entertaining to engage your potential customers. Got some notes? Now, kickstart your marketing strategy with your animated explainer video!
Author
Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).
Twitter: @breadnbeyond
Email: andre@breadnbeyond.com