To celebrate Video Igniter’s 100th blog post, we brainstormed a list of 100 ways animation can improve the world. Here, you’ll find creative new ways animation can be used to improve education, entertain people, make life a little easier, more delightful and even a few ways to help save the environment. Other ideas presented in here are tried and true use cases for companies to create and use custom animated videos to grow their businesses.  After seeing all these examples of animations being used in our every day lives, it makes us think we’re only scratching the surface of what’s possible with animation.

1). Illustrate and animate an inside joke between your friends to share and remember the memory.

2). Animated video wedding invitations are more memorable, less expensive to produce and ship, and it’s environmentally friendly.

3). Animated instructions could show how to assemble IKEA furniture. It would make it easier for people to visually see and understand how the pieces are assembled, it would reduce support calls and it would eliminate the need to cut down trees to print paper booklets of instructions in multiple languages.

4). Animated street signs can communicate directions to all people including people who are illiterate people and who don’t speak the local language.

5). A shooting range with animated targets to shoot at would save the range from having to buy and replace physical moving targets that get destroyed after use.

6). An animated overview of your day or week ahead can show you your schedule of activities so that you know what to anticipate in your life. Animated visual reminders aid in recall and establishing a memory for the upcoming events of the day/week.

7). Instead of receiving a paper bill in the mail, you can receive a custom animated video that shows and explains all the costs associated with your bill. Animated infographics help visualize how your monthly usage changes over time and could even include tips to help save on utilities.

8). Animation is the fastest and easiest way to learn, understand and remember new information. Seems like the top search result for many questions on Google could eventually be various animated videos.

9). Instead of using static image posts, animated concert, tour, event and festival posters are becoming the norm because their subtle eye-catching animations are a new extension of the event’s personality, energy and excitement.

 

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10). Animated screensavers for TVs, desktop computers and projectors have extended the usable life of the devices by helping to avoid burning pixels in the display. Of course, the best option is to just the devices off when you’re not using them.

11). During the peak of COVID, many people wanted to understand exactly what the virus did inside the body to make it so dangerous and contagious. People also wanted to understand how the new vaccines worked to protect people. If you were to have a scientist speak directly to people on camera and explain what was happening, most people would be lost. You can’t film what’s going on because it’s too small to see with a normal camera. But animation can be used to show exactly what’s happening in the body while the scientist narrates what is happening in simple, user-friendly science terms.

12). Instead of answering the same customer support questions again and again, create animated videos that explain the answers to your most commonly asked questions to help reduce your customer support costs. This video we helped produce for Bridjit helps customers understand how to set the product up at home.

13). Children’s ebooks designed for colorful tablets can make use of the powerful screen to add subtle motion design to the illustrations on each page to enhance the viewer’s perception of the world they’re reading about.

14). If you run a medical practice, creating animated videos that explain procedures and your clinic’s policies will help your patients be better informed about what their procedure entails. Your team will also have their time freed up from having to explain things like payment details again and again.

15). Animation can show the history of countries and cultures around the world.

16). Animation can be used to tell visual stories during DJ sets.

17). Watching animated visuals can help you pace your breathing and induce a state of relaxation.

18). Create a short animated intro for your video podcast or YouTube series to heighten the production value of your content.

19). Concert sized animated holograms. By displaying animations on massive transparent screens, you create the effect of a larger than life hologram.

20). Looping animations can give users of your app something to watch while they are forced to be patient for content to load or for a process to complete. This helps placate users and keeps more of them in your app while the process completes instead of losing their attention to another app on their phone.

21). Projecting animations onto buildings can make the buildings look like they are moving and changing form.

22). Animated diagrams can be posted as animated GIFs or videos to help people understand processes. Anticipate seeing more of these in educational textbooks within the coming years.

23). Animated e-learning courses teach content fast and efficiently while making it easier for people to remember the content (compared to watching a lecturer drone on).

24). Use animation to run interactive scenarios. Animated scenarios in VR enable people to have a more immersive experience when getting exposure to new or dangerous experiences.

25). Modern robots use a digital screen to display fake eyes that can animate and express emotion and information. What’s more, the full screen can be overtaken to display full screen animations to help the user understand information like recipes or what the weather is going to be.

26). Animations of 3D models can be used to show the inner workings of a product in a way that a camera couldn’t possibly film.

27). 3D animation enables real estate developers and investors to see the building designs they’re developing. This makes it easier feel and explore what the places would be like so that changes can be made before the project begins. It also gives them the ability to visualize what kind of impact those changes will have before committing them to the official design.

28). Instead of hiring extra sales people to travel and pitch your business, develop an animated sales video to act as a virtual demo presenter. Send your video to eligible prospects, follow up with all of them and use your experienced sales people to close the deal.

29). Animation can be used to show users of your website or app what to do next. Animation guides their attention to the next step and shows them what to do.

30). Projecting animations on your dinner creates a fun, memorable interactive experience.

31). Motion graphics animations are used to bring attention to details you want to highlight while keeping your video content engaging.

32). Animation costs used to be out of reach for most companies. Now, it’s possible to afford to produce your own animated video series for your brand.

33). Animated light up shirts that react to music.

34). Augmented reality enables you to see something through your phone or tablet’s screen that doesn’t exist in reality. Some new tech-forward fashion companies are creating clever ways to integrate augmented reality features into your clothing.

35). Spinning LED fans can give the appearance of 3D animated objects floating in the air.

36). While you are standing in an elevator, an animated screen can display upcoming events in the building, nearby and what the weather and traffic are like for the day.

37). Animated diagrams display health tracking stats on phones, tablets and smart watches to show you how your health stats change over time.

38). Lightform animated murals.

39). When AR hits the masses, we’ll have animated navigation instructions projected in front of us.

40). Thousands of drones flying together can produce 3D animated visuals in the sky.

41). Animated maps in malls and subways can help visually direct people in the right direction and show when trains are entering and leaving the station in real time.

42). Comic books for ebook readers can now include animated panels!

43). The jury is still out on this one but we think we’ll still some interesting things happen in the world of animated NFTs.

44). Museums use animated videos to enhance museum displays by helping to explain the historic, artistic or scientific contribution each piece delivered to the world.

45). Meow Wolf.

46). Short animated motion graphics can be used to explain the pros and cons of each side of an argument on a voting ballot. A lot of people don’t take the time to read and understand both sides of the things they vote for. Using animated visuals to quickly explain the change that would happen on either side of the voting initiative would increase the number of well informed voters.

47). Animated infographics can help people understand data, information and trends because visualizing that content helps people become able appreciate something they couldn’t fathom without some sort of visual context.

48). Animated marketing videos can help drive awareness for your business. Using proper video marketing and video promotion techniques, you can get millions of people to visit your website in a short amount of time. Better still, when you work with a team like Video Igniter, we have the technical skills to see which videos and audiences are driving the most sales so you can optimize your promotion budget to rapidly grow your sales. Get in touch if you’re interested in video promotion for your company.

49). Animated cartoon mascots are now easier to develop and include across your various media assets. Bring a consistent personality to your content and make your brand instantly recognizable when people see your character.

50). Animated sheet music can automatically progress so that the right notes are always displayed directly in front of the musician. No more need for your eyes to keep track of the music across different lines or pages. Best part is: no more turning pages in the middle of playing a song.

51). Creating an animated corporate video is a cost-effective, high impact to explain what your business does, what your values are and how you can help your customers.

52). Animated product videos can help you show off what your product looks like and how it functions. Adding one to your sales page helps to educate customers and ultimately leads to more sales.

53). Creating an app explainer video helps people quickly evaluate if your app is right for them – or at least if worth downloading it and giving it a try.

54). This glass keyboard displays interactive animations beneath the keys that can respond your touch when you type.

55). Animated lyric videos enable people to understand the words of their favorite songs. It’s an artistic animated sing along.

56). Improve the conversion rate of your landing pages and sales page with an animated video. Here’s how.

57). Animated lights on runways enable pilots to see where they’re supposed to land – even when visibility is poor.

58). Animation is great for adding eye catching content to your sizzle reel to quickly attract people’s interest and motivate them to want to learn more about your agency, video production company, event production company, etc.

59). The Metaverse is 100% powered by animation. Fully immersive VR interactive worlds are created entirely through animation!

60). Services like Bitable enable to create video resumes with eye-catching animated infographics and statistics about he individual to help them stand out.

61). In the ocean of live action social media content filmed on smartphone camera, animated content stands out from the rest. Eye-candy thumbnails encourage more people to tap on your video to see what it’s all about.

62). Created an animated Christmas or holiday card to show what your family has been up to over the last year.

63). Animated trail maps can show different hiking routes and dynamically display images of plants, animals and scenic lookouts to anticipate on each route.

64). Instead of bugging your clients by sending them marketing emails once a week, contact them less often and send them higher quality content when you do reach out. Consider sending a short educational animated video to your clients once a month or once each quarter to share value with them and provide a soft reminder that your company exists.

65). It’s possible to help speed up long lines at T.S.A. security checkpoints, voting booths, theme parks, baseball stadiums etc, by displaying messages to people on animated screens by informing people to have their tickets and ID ready for scanning. Displaying a list of prohibited items can also help speed up lines and save security teams from having to explain policies to each individual that comes through the line.

66). New Years Eve countdowns around the world are powered by custom animated videos projected on large buildings or displayed on gigantic screens.

67). What if the graphic design on your shirt could move? Maybe it’s an angel with wings that flap. Or a cyborg whose eye blinks at you. But how does it work? A specially designed shirt contains a special pocket to hold your phone. Your phone’s screen animates through a hole in the front of the shirt making it look like the shirt’s printed design is actually animated and moving!

68). LaserCubes can animate designs and patterns on buildings far away.

69). Pixel sticks are LED bars that produce animations when you move them. Beautiful for live performances and time lapse photography.

70). Specially designed mechanical lightbulbs can make it look like snowflakes are animating down the face of your home during the holiday season.

71). Projectors can be used to project animated shadow puppet shows.

72). Send a personalized animated video to your clients to thank them for all the business they did with you over the previous year. It’s possible to create an animated video template and provide custom data to render out an individual video for each person so that it includes their name in the presentation of the video. Here are some examples:

73). Decorative water fountains and pulsed light can be animated together to display animated images falling through the air.

74). Your bank could send you an animated infographic instead of a paper statement. The animated infographic could show trends in your spending habits to help you understand where your money is going, where you can save money, and how much your money could earn if you invested $X/month.

75). Projectors can beam animated guidance in real time onto a pool table to help you see how you should line up your shot.

76). Dental clinics could send animated stop motion videos of their patient’s mouth X-rays to show how they’ve changed over time.

77). Animated 3D models enable people to zoom around and explore the universe from the comfort of their local planetarium.

78). Gyms and quick serve restaurants have monitors that display animated motion graphics to educate, entertain and inform people during their idle moments in the venue.

79). The Pepper’s Ghost Illusion is an old but very clever way to create animated holograms that look like a ghost.

80). Animation is what enables us to play 2D, 3D, AR and VR games!

81). 3D Zoetropes are some of the coolest moving objects you can ever look at. It’s like a physical 3D animated flip book:

82). Programmable animated LED shirt lets you type out and sketch images on your phone that are shown on an animated marquee display built into the shirt.

83). Animated flipbooks are fun to play with and mesmerizing to watch. A company called Flipboku designed some cool new animated flip books that you can color in yourself and another kind of flipbook that can display up to 6 different animations, depending how you flip through the book.

84). Animation is even used in magic tricks! Japanese magician Katsuda Masuda has developed several amazing animated magic tricks that need to be seen to believe. Check out this one where he punctures a hole into a picture and makes it animate and move across the picture:

85). Indoor galaxy lights can simulate the effect of projecting an animated galaxy light and star pattern across your ceiling.

86). Your credit card company could send an animated infographic each month to explain your statement and show you how much money you can save by paying off your credit card debt quicker.

87). Animated lights projected on the ground inform airplane passengers when it’s their turn to line up to get on the plane.

88). Pseudo 3D animated billboards. More of this, please.

89). Interactive animated flooring.

90). Creating an explainer video for your startup can help your leads and prospects quickly understand what your company does and how it can benefit them if they use it. If you want to help attract new users and customers for your startup, contact us about creating a startup explainer video.

91). Old appliances used to use liquid crystal displays to produce digital images of the time and settings on a device. Now a days, seamless digital animations are part of the aesthetic of modern appliances:

92). Animations aren’t just digital projections. Physical objects can also animate. Check out these artistic animations:

93). Creating an animated logo for your brand is a creative way to articulate your brand’s personality with visual motion design.

94). Animated language learning programs can make language learning fun. Animated visuals can help the viewer enhance their memory recall and retention to speed up the learning process.

95). The internet technology “CSS” and the “SVG” file format are used to create crisp animations that can be displayed on websites to delight visitors. There’s one at the top of almost all the blog posts on our site.

96). Abstract psychedelic animated visuals are becoming their own form of hypnotic art:

97). Animated traffic lights countdown to show drivers when the signal is going to change. This design isn’t legal in the US but countries around the world are experimenting to see what impact this design can offer.

98). Audi’s ‘Swarm’ lighting concept reimagines what the light system on the back of passenger vehicles would look like if they were replaced with a solid screen. Animated visuals not only show when the turn signal is on or when the driver is breaking, they also inform drivers behind the Audi how hard the driver is hitting the brakes by showing a dramatic increase in the amount of red animated lines on the back of the vehicle.

99). BMW’s color changing concept car uses e-ink displays on the exterior to display 32 different colors. The newest prototype can even display multiple colors at a time which animate across the surface of the car.

100). Project LFX – animated projection mapping for games, movies, and checking apps like email, the weather and your calendar. Unfortunately, the company shut down but hopefully this project gets revived some day.

 

100 Ways Animation Can Improve The World Summary

If you’ve made it this far, you can now see that animation is everywhere! From games to education and beyond, animation’s presence in our world isn’t just limited to movies on our screens. Animation is becoming an integrated and interactive part of the physical world around us. Something tells us this is just the beginning…

What is Video Igniter Animation?

Video Igniter Animation is an online animated video production service. By working with our team online, you can get your custom animated video produced faster and for less than hiring a brick and mortar animation studio.

We can help you create any kind of 2D animation or 3D animated video you can imagine. Check out our video portfolio!

Need help syndicating your animated video? Ask us about video promotion!

Watch our explainer video to learn more about how we can help you create an animated ad for your business or check out our demo reel below:

 

Looking For An Animated Video Company In The U.S.?

Video Igniter is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Success Stories & Testimonials

“Video Igniter offered us the critical combination of creative value, clear communication, and patience with stakeholder feedback. We ended up with truly high-quality design assets for our video series largely due to the extra level of commitment — and the right balance of efficiencies with flexibility in the process when called for.”

Larry Schlessinger – Sr. Creative Program Manager, Amazon Web Services

“Video Igniter came to us with a number of creative and engaging ideas and were able to create an exciting, impactful video in a short period of time. And the best part was that it cost much less than other options of similar quality. The video they made is a great marketing tool for us.”

Alex Raymond – Founder, Kapta Systems

“I am beyond satisfied with my experience with Video Igniter. The first drafts of the work were almost exactly what I had in my head when developing the concept. After that each step along the way was seamless until arriving at a perfect finished product. And all this at a tremendous value. Anyone who has considered creating a marketing video should check out Video Igniter.”

Anonymous Customer Feedback

Looking to make an animated video? Get in touch with our team!

Thanks for reading our list of 100 Ways Animation Can Improve The World. We’d love to help you create your own custom animated video.

Schedule a call to discuss your animated video project.

Get a quote for us to create your animated video.

Request access to our newest price sheet.

Sign up and create your Video Igniter account, fill out a creative brief, and we’ll start your animated video.

If you want to sell more of your product/service to grow your business, it’s time to get serious about video promotion. Video is the go to strategy for businesses that want to drive big results, quickly. However, recent ad-tech updates designed to increase privacy for consumers has made targeted video promotion more difficult to deliver results. Never fear. It’s still possible to achieve big results from video promotion with the right team. In this FAQ, we answer the most frequently asked questions we receive about video promotion so you can understand what to expect along the way.

Examples of Animated Promotional Videos You Can Create With Video Igniter

Video Igniter can create any kind of 2D or 3D animated video for you. Check out our animation portfolio here. Request access to our demo reels and price sheet here.

Contact us or schedule a call to start making your video.

Are you looking for an example of a different style of animation? Send us a message to let us know what kind of animation example you want to see and we will follow up with relevant production samples.

 

Benefits of Animated Video Promotion

You’d be surprised how many people create animated promo videos without actually having a promotional plan. Yes, you can get a lot of benefit from merely putting an animated explainer video on your homepage. But if you really want to drive success home with your video marketing, it’s important to have a plan and a budget to promote your video to the right audience. Here are a few of the benefits you can experience from properly executed video promotion campaigns:

Increased Brand Awareness

Social media feeds are full of live action filmed content. Most of it is B- quality filmed on someone’s smartphone. You know what stands out in the ocean of live action content? Colorful animated thumbnails. If you want to increase the odds of social media users pausing to focus with your content, try creating something that’s visually different from what everyone else is creating. Creating animated video content is a very simple way to encourage new eyeballs to give your content a chance and get some soft exposure to your brand.

Increased Website Traffic

Video SEO is a brilliant way to gradually grow your web traffic over months and years. But if you want to create traffic to your website in realtime, spending money on video promotion can deliver results in hours, days or weeks – not months or years.

Generate Leads

Modern web video players have been outfitted with lead capture forms so you can make it easy for engaged viewers to opt in to sharing their email address to stay in touch with your business.

Increased Sales 

With increased leads comes increased sales. But it goes beyond that – well designed video content for sales pages has been shown time and time again to increase conversion rates. Video content provides some of the best educational sales content out there because it’s visually rich and enables customers to see what they’re buying – something that can’t be done with sales copy alone.

Increase Social Media Followers

Animated video content can also be used to drive viewers to your social channels so they can stay in touch with you. Some video promotion strategists see this as a better long term investment because people are more likely to follow your business on social media to stay in touch than they are to visit your website and share their email address.

Improved Chance Of Going Viral

‘Going Viral’ is not a recommended video marketing strategy. Yes, you can create certain kinds of content and try to game the social media algorithms in an attempt to make your video content go viral. But it isn’t something that can be guaranteed without a lot of money or a social media account with millions of followers. If you do plan on promoting your video through paid media channels, you do increase the odds your content could go viral which ultimately helps you decrease the amount you need to spend on video promotion to achieve the same positive business outcomes.

What video promotion services do we offer? / How can we help?

Are you trying to cost effectively reach your customers at scale? Video Igniter not only produces animated videos, we also help our customers promote them. We know how to get your promo videos in front of the right people to grow sales at your company. Whether you already have a video that you want to promote or you’re looking for a complete video creation + video promotion solution, Video Igniter has you covered.

Our video promotion team has delivered results for Fortune 100 companies and small startups. Whether your starting budget is $5,000 or $500,000, our team can help you create your strategy, develop creative and run your video promotion campaign. Profitable results will show themselves within a few short weeks and you’ll start adding more zeros to your monthly ad spend.

Want to learn more? Use this form to get in touch with our team and let us know you are interested in video promotion. Or, you can schedule a call with our production team.

What does video promotion cost?

There are two types of costs to think about when you want to run a video promotion campaign: video production costs & video promotion costs.

Video Production Costs

The creation of video assets typically ranges between $3,000-$25,000 for 2D animated video content that’s under 60 seconds in length. 3D animated videos cost 2-3x as much to produce. In addition to the production of the original video, many video promotion campaigns include multiple videos or variations of the original video that are tested and optimized to figure out which variation drives the most sales.

Video Promotion Costs

Video promotion costs are recurring monthly expenses that start low and increase once your video targeting and placement is dialed in enough that sales are increasing. Budget a minimum of $3,000-$5,000/month. During the first few weeks and months of your video campaign, we will refine the variables of your video promotion targeting based on what is delivering results. As results improve, companies find it easy to add more zeros to their monthly ad budget.

Media Strategy Costs

Sometimes, media strategy costs get baked into the cost of your video production costs or your video promotion costs. Media strategy means our team is going to spend more time and money researching your target audience to understand what messages resonate with them and figuring out which specific platforms would be most profitable to reach them on. Media strategy costs on their own range between $5,000-$10,000.

How does a video promotion project work?

There are three main components to a successful video promotion campaign: media strategy, media production and media buying.

Media Strategy

Media strategy is where we dive deep on your target audience to figure out what features, benefits and messages resonate with them.

We’ll also develop a framework to figure out how to get different kinds of people to convert after watching your videos. This includes creating videos for people that are warm leads vs cold leads and people you may have not thought to include in your targeting at all.

Media Production

This is where we take your key messages and turn them into custom animated video assets. For more on what to expect during the media production process, check out the section below called, “How do you create an animated promotional video?”

Media Buying

As production wraps on your video asset(s), we commit to media buys across all platforms that are relevant for your company’s campaign. This includes TV and Internet.

We run your ads for you, keep you posted on the results, and then we fine tune the targeting of the video promotion and invest more ad spend on the channels and video assets that are delivering results.z

In order to measure the success of the media buying campaigns, we will need to add a few lines of code to your website to ensure we can properly attribute which video asset delivered each sale.

How do you create an animated promotional video?

Questionnaire

Production starts with a call or a questionnaire to learn the specific information your animation and promotion teams need. This is the time for you to communicate:

• What key messages need to be included in your video?
• What action you want viewers to take when they’re done watching your video?
• How long you want the video to be.
• Who is the target audience?
• What visual style to use?

Script

Now that the production team knows what to create, it’s time to draft the script. If you paid for media strategy services, our team will go into deep research mode to identify how to word your talking points in a way that best resonates with your target audience. Then, we will craft your script around what works best.

When you review the first draft of your video script, make sure the story contains all of your key messages and ends with a call to action (visit our website, download our app, contact our sales time, sign up for a free account, etc). Does the story speak to your target audience? Would they find it intriguing, entertaining or comical? If you have media strategy as part of your video production costs, we will oversee tests of the script to ensure it speaks to your target audience.

Organize your feedback and send your revisions to your production team so they can incorporate your edits. You will get an opportunity to review the updated script before approving it for production.

Storyboard

Once the script is approved, it’s time to create the storyboard. The storyboard is the blueprint for your animated video – it tells the illustrators and animators what to create.

Each page of your storyboard includes four parts:

1. A sentence from your script
2. A simple mockup or rough sketch of the scene
3. Directions for the animators
4. A list of assets that are needed to create the scene

When you review the storyboard, focus on the storytelling details that are bring presented. Do the visuals enhance the presentation of what the script/voiceover are saying? Are the visuals relevant and understandable by members of your target audience?

If you want the production team to revise the storyboard, organize your feedback and send it over for them to incorporate into the second draft of your storyboard. Otherwise, mark the storyboard as approved so that production can move forward.

Illustrations

When the storyboard is approved, the art team can begin creating concept art. The art director will take a key scene and design one or more custom concepts to show how that scene could look in your video.

Let the art team know how you feel about the concept(s) so that they can refine your preferred style. Once you’re completely satisfied with the concept art, the art team will create all of the art for your video based off of the style of the approved concept art.

You get an opportunity to review the art and request revisions before approving it for production.

VoiceOver

While the illustrations are being created for your video, the production team will help you audition voiceover talent for your project. Listen to the auditions and let them know which one you prefer. Then, the production team will oversee the recording of the full voiceover to ensure it has the proper pacing, tone and pronunciation.

You get an opportunity to listen to the full voiceover and request revisions before approving it for production.

Soundtrack

Music selection is very important for animated promotional videos. The wrong soundtrack will be off putting for viewers and make them stop watching your ad even faster! The right soundtrack can help draw them in and keep them focused on the key messages that are being presented in your video.

Your production team will select a handful of soundtrack options for you to review. Let them know which you prefer and they will secure the license so that you can legally use the music in your ad. If you aren’t sure which option works best, wait til the first draft of your video is ready to review so that you can preview them alongside one another.

Animation

Now that everything is approved, it’s time to animate your video! Animation takes about 1 week for 2D animated videos that are under 60 seconds long. 3D animated videos take at least 2-3x as much time. When the first draft is ready, give it detailed review with your internal team and members of your target audience. Collect everyone’s feedback and share it with your production team so they can incorporate your edits and render out the final draft.

Post Production

In many cases, when the final draft is approved, the work is done and you can start video promotion right away. Some projects include special requests that are best handled after the original video finishes production. Special post production edit requests include:

• Rendering the video in different aspect ratios for social media.
• Translating the video into different languages.
• Editing a shorter 5, 15, or 30 second version of the video.
• Creating alternate intros or endings for the video.
• Audio mixing and mastering.

Video Promotion Case Studies

Video Promotion Case Study #1: Luxury Goods Company

Result Achieved: 1,370% ROAS Increase

A luxury goods brand was in a dire situation. They had no unique value proposition in a competitive market with little brand loyalty. With longer sales cycles, most of their sales weren’t showing in ad platforms due to the new attribution windows. They were spending money but couldn’t see what was working. They tried scaling but performance always got worse. It’s like they were flying blind. They struggled for so long that they had no time or money left to figure things out. Without an immediate solution, they’d go out of business.

Using our team’s proprietary software, we restored funnel attribution and leveraged a targeting advantage. Our team was able to pinpoint which ads were driving which sales by analyzing their customer journeys and identify conversion patterns to improve campaign focus and targeting. The client finally had clarity into what was working. Their ROAS increased 1,366% from 0.74 to 10.11 while spend scaled over 400%. What was typically their slowest revenue month became their best month ever! It didn’t stop there. The next month was their new best month ever. The month after that was (again) their new best month ever. After that, they had to turn off ads because they could not keep up with orders.

Video Promotion Case Study #2: Beauty Products

Result Achieved: 1,420% ROAS Increase

Beauty is one of the most competitive industries for online ads. After the Apple updates, it’s gotten much worse. A beauty brand saw the little results they had reduced to nothing. With the loss of demographics results and targeting options, they could not reach their best customers. They needed to find new ones fast. But after trying many agencies, they had no clear customer profile. Everything they tried didn’t work and their investors were ready to call it quits.

Our team analyzed their brand and campaigns to understand their problems. Nothing was working well but with our team’s software, we were able to do a more in-depth analysis to identify small opportunities. We synthesized the findings into new creative and targeting. The result was a viral sensation. They were able to scale budget 20x from <$100 /day to over $2,000 /day in less than 2 weeks. Their ROAS increased over 1,420% went from <0.5 to 7.1.

Video Promotion Case Study #3: CPG Brand

Result Achieved: 91% CPA Decrease

After major revenue goal failures, a CPG brand desperately needed to increase growth to sustain themselves. Being in a difficult category, their acquisition process required a more tailored touchpoint sequence to get new customers. With detailed targeting options removed and retargeting visibility crushed, they could no longer set this up like before. They tried different approaches but they all failed. With pressure from management, it was do or die.

To understand their acquisition challenges, we used our team’s proprietary software to analyze the touch points customers were seeing and their success rates. Our team was able to identify the sequence of messages that was working and used it to create new ads. Then, our team layered the messaging in the right order using first party targeting data we generated. This created a better cold audience experience for those in-market but not ready to buy. They were able to reduce their CPAs 10.6x from $457 to $43. This increased their ROAS by 10.6x too.

Video Promotion Case Study 4: Retail to E-commerce Transition

Result Achieved: 1,670% ROAS Increase

A global leading brand was making the transition from retail to e-commerce. Many competitors were already bidding on their placements across all channels. Their marketing team had aggressive goals their leadership committed them to. They started a multi-channel approach but soon ran into a big problem: every channel was taking credit for sales. With poor visibility into campaigns, they couldn’t tell what channels were the best investments. They tried scaling and results only got worse. They were stuck and needed an answer or their team would be fired.

Multi-channel attribution is one of the biggest challenges for larger brands. After setting up tracking the right way, our team used use our software to see how each channel contributed to their customer journeys. Our team was able to see what channels were acquiring new customers and which ones were only good for retargeting. With this information, our team devised an ad launch plan that effectively spanned their channels with differentiated acquisition and retargeting messages relevant to each channel. Their ROAS improved 17x from < 0.5 to over 6.8. They were able to scale their budget over 12x. Their executives gave them the green light for an unlimited budget.

Still have questions about video promotion?

Do you have a question about video promotion that wasn’t addressed in this article? Use this form to send us your question or with a member of our production team.

 

 

What is Video Igniter Animation?

Video Igniter Animation is an online animated video production service. By working with our team online, you can get your custom animated video produced faster and for less than hiring a brick and mortar animation studio.

We can help you create any kind of 2D animation or 3D animated video you can imagine. Check out our animation portfolio!

Watch our explainer video to learn more about how we can help you create an animated video for your business:

 

Get In Touch About Video Promotion

Schedule a call with our production team to discuss your video promotion needs.

Get a quote for us to create and promote your animated video.

Request access to our newest price sheet.

Check out our animated video portfolio to see our latest and greatest creations.

Create your Video Igniter account, fill out a creative brief, and we’ll start making your animated video.

Ready to make a storyboard for your explainer video but aren’t sure how to get started? We thought it might be helpful to share some explainer video storyboard examples from past projects so that you can see what a completed storyboard looks like. We’ll also show you the video that resulted from the storyboard so you can see how the storyboard gets translated into a custom animated video.

Content:

1). The Importance of Creating A Storyboard

2). Explainer Video Storyboard Examples

3). How to Create A Storyboard For an Explainer Video

4). Animated Explainer Video Storyboard Template

5). Explainer Video Storyboard Creation FAQ

1). The Importance Of Creating A Storyboard

The storyboard is like the blueprint for your explainer video. It provides instructions to the illustrators and animators so that they understand what you want them to create. Otherwise, you’re leaving too much up for interpretation and it may require expensive rework to fix the video and make it look the way you want.

Each page of a storyboard includes four parts:

1. A sentence from your script
2. A mockup or rough sketch of the scene
3. A bullet point list of the animation instructions
4. A list of assets needed to create the scene

Here’s an example of what that looks like:

 

Want to save $ on your production budget? Download our free storyboard template to create your explainer video storyboard right on your computer. Creating your storyboard can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars off the cost of your explainer video.

2). Explainer Video Storyboard Example

If you’re wondering “what does a good explainer video storyboard look like…” – we started digging up some examples for you to check out. We also included the video that was created from the storyboard so you can see what it looks like after it’s turned into a custom animated video.

Explainer Video Storyboard Example:

Resulting Video:

 

3). How to Create A Storyboard For an Explainer Video

Once the script for your explainer video is approved, you can use it to create your storyboard.

First, download our free storyboard creation template and paste it into Google Slides, Keynote or Powerpoint.

Then, duplicate that page one time for every sentence in your script. Paste one sentence on each slide of the storyboard.

Use clip art to create a mockup of each scene. Or, create a rough sketch on paper, take a photo with your phone and paste it into your storyboard.

Create a list of instructions for the animators so they understand how everything is supposed to move in the scene.

Finally, include a list of assets that are needed to create the scene. This is where you should provide specific detailed instructions for what assets are needed to create the scene. For example: Main character should be female with red hair. She is holding a kayak paddle in her left hand and wearing river rafting gear, including a helmet. Water SFX. Mountain river scene in the background.

Extra resources to help you create the storyboard for your explainer video

• How to create a storyboard?
• Tips to help you build a great storyboard.
• Download our free storyboard template.
• What is a storyboard? And why do you need one?

4). Animated Explainer Video Storyboard Template

We created an explainer video storyboard template you can download to create your own storyboard on your computer so you can save money on your production budget. Creating your own storyboard can help you save hundreds or thousands of dollars off your explainer video cost.

5). Explainer Video Storyboard Creation FAQ

How long should my storyboard be?

Typically, a storyboard has one page for each sentence in the script. If there is a more detailed sequence you are trying to explain in your storyboard, it makes sense to break a sentence up into multiple pages to make it easier to explain and visualize what is supposed to happen during each part of your explainer video script.

Explainer video scripts typically have 125-150 words for each 60 seconds of content. This ends up being about 8-12 sentences or 8-12+ pages for your storyboard.

What does it cost to create a storyboard for an animated explainer video?

Animation studios typically charge a few hundred dollars up to tens of thousands of dollars to create a storyboard for an explainer video.  Most studios don’t charge on the high end and rely on information you provide them to inform the creation of the storyboard. High end storyboard creation services include detailed research programs to understand the target audience and test which visual messages resonate with them to ensure the message is understandable and memorable.

Deep Dive: Want to know what else goes into the cost of an explainer video?

How long does it take to create a storyboard?

Storyboard creation can be a fast process if your timeline is tight and your team is nimble. Usually the storyboard creation process takes 1-2 weeks. After the client approves the script, the storyboard artists will create the first draft in 2-3 days. Then, you get an opportunity to review the storyboard and request revisions. The animated video production company will review your notes, incorporate the revisions and send back an updated version of the storyboard within a few business days.

Hire Video Igniter To Create Your Storyboard And Produce Your Explainer Video!

We write scripts and make custom explainer videos for world-class brands like T-Mobile, Amazon Web Services and Linkedin @ video production prices startups can afford.

Check out our portfolio.

Interested in getting some pricing info? Get yourself a copy of our latest rate sheet.

+20 reasons companies love hiring Video Igniter to create animated videos.

Explainer Video Demo Reel

 

Explainer Video Success Stories & Testimonials

“I run a video production company and outsource animation. The team at Video Igniter did a great job in taking the concept I very crudely drew out and made it into a beautiful animation. The review process was easy and their turnaround time was very quick. I’d def recommend them if you’re looking for an animation project.”

Pat Henderson – Founder, Path8 Productions

“Video Igniter came to us with a number of creative and engaging ideas and were able to create an exciting, impactful video in a short period of time. And the best part was that it cost much less than other options of similar quality. The video they made is a great marketing tool for us.”

Alex Raymond – Founder, Kapta Systems

“I found exactly what I needed: custom animated production with lots of options, fair price and fast communication. I loved working with the Video Igniter Team. Million thanks.”

Antonina Rome, MD – Bioresona

Get An Animated Explainer Video For Your Business!

Schedule a call to discuss creating a storyboard for your animated video.

Get a quote for your explainer video & storyboard.

Request access to our newest price sheet.

Check out our animated video portfolio to see our latest and greatest creations.

 

What is Video Igniter Animation?

This is Video Igniter‘s comprehensive FAQ about animated explainer videos. We get a lot of questions about how to make and use animated explainer videos. So, we decided to create a writeup with answers to the questions everyone is asking.

Video Igniter’s Animated Explainer Video FAQ answers questions like:

1. What is an animated explainer video?
2. Why do businesses use animated explainer videos?
3. How do you make an animated explainer video?
4. How do you hire an animator to make an animated explainer video?
5. How can I save money on my animated explainer video production budget?

Examples Of Explainer Videos You Can Get From Video Igniter

Video Igniter can create any kind of 2D or 3D animated video for you. Check out our animation portfolio here. Request access to our demo reels and price sheet here.

Contact us or schedule a call to start making your explainer video.

Are you looking for an example of a different style of animation? Send us a message to let us know what kind of animation example you want to see and we will follow up with relevant production samples.

 

What Is An Animated Explainer Video?

Animated explainer videos are short entertaining educational videos that make it easy to learn and remember new information. Businesses, publications and organizations create animated explainer videos because they simplify complex topics and use beautiful animated images to hold the viewer’s attention while teaching them something new.

When should I use an animated explainer video?

Animated explainer videos can improve business outcomes at every level of your sales and marketing funnel. We recommend using animated explainer videos if you want to:

Gain Awareness

Animated explainer videos are great for grabbing people’s attention because they’re colorful, they move, and they concisely articulate your brand’s key messages. If people are intrigued by your short 15 – 30 second explainer video, they’re more likely to visit your website to watch a longer more in depth video.

Increase Conversions, Acquire More Leads and Close More Sales

 

Animated explainer videos have been shown to increase conversion rates on landing pages. Explainer videos can be used to increase sales on your website or increase the % of people who opt to give you their email address for future marketing messages.

Educate Customers

Animated video explainers hold people’s attention better than regular, live-action videos. The combination of colorful animated images synced with a voiceover creates a self-reinforcing educational experience. Viewers are more likely to understand the information and remember it longer than if they had merely read it.

How can I make an animated explainer video online?

 

Pick Your Producer

Before production can begin, you need to figure out who is going to produce your animated video. Are you going to make it? Or do you want to hire an animated video production company like Video Igniter? You could also hire an animation studio or a freelancer. For more tips on how to pick a video animator, scroll down to the section titled: “How do I find an animator to make my animated explainer video?”

We also recommend checking out this article on the different types of Online Animated Video Makers.

Script

Production starts with a questionnaire to learn about the video you want to create. Your production team will review your responses and then draft a script for your animated explainer video.  If you want, you can write the script yourself to save some money on your explainer video production cost.

When the first draft of your script is ready, review it with your internal team and members of your target audience (if available). Collect everyone’s feedback and send it to your animation team. They will revise your script and send it back to you to review and approve. Video Igniter will continue to work with you to refine your script until you are completely satisfied with it.

Free Download: Thinking of writing the script yourself? Our free scriptwriting resources teach you how to write your script + you can download our free explainer video script writing template.

 

Storyboard

Once the script is approved, we will create your storyboard. The storyboard is the blueprint for your animated explainer video. It contains all the production instructions the illustrators and animators need in order to know what they are creating.

Give the storyboard a detailed to review to make sure all your ideas and key talking points are clearly articulated in the storyboard. It’s important to get all the details documented in the storyboard before production moves forward. If your storyboard isn’t complete or lacks enough detail, it could lead to a budget increase because important production details weren’t specified in the storyboard before the illustrators and animators got to work.

VoiceOver

After the script and storyboard are signed off, we will get the voiceover(s) recorded. We’ll start by getting voiceover auditions from several voiceover artists that we feel will deliver the right tone and energy for your animated video.

Tell us which audition(s) you prefer and we’ll get the full voiceover(s) recorded.

What if you’re not in love with any of the auditions? Just let us know why! We’ll happily order up some new voiceover auditions.

When the full voiceover is recorded, we’ll send it to you to review. You will get an opportunity to request revisions before you approve the voiceover for production.

Soundtrack

We will also help select some soundtracks that will enhance the presentation of your animated explainer video.

If one of the soundtrack options stands out to you, let us know and we’ll buy the license so you can legally use the music in your video. If you can’t decide which soundtrack you like best, let us know. We’ll help you preview them when the first draft of your animated explainer video is ready.

For more tips on soundtrack selection, check out this guide for selecting an animated video soundtrack.

Illustrations

Now it is time to illustrate! After the storyboard is approved, our art director will start creating concept art for your animated video. The art director will review your company‘s branding and style references you provided. Then, they will select a key scene from your storyboard and create concept art for it using one or more different visual styles. They will send you the concepts to review and wait for your feedback.

If you love one of the concepts exactly as it is, tell the art director. They will get the illustration team started on creating all of the art for your video, using the selected concept art as a style reference.

Suppose you like aspects of multiple pieces of concept art? Just let us know which parts you like and we will combine your favorite parts into a new piece of concept art. We will continue to work with you to refine aspects of the visual style until you love it. Then, we’ll create all of the illustrations for your video using the same visual style.

What if you aren’t satisfied with any of the concepts? That’s ok. Just let us know your honest feedback. We’ll use it to create a completely new concept for you to review and iterate on until you love it.

Animation

Now that everything is approved, it’s time to animate! It takes about 1 week to animate a 60 second animation. If your project is longer than a few minutes, we will add additional animators to the project to speed up the production process. Once the first draft is ready, we recommend you give it a review with your internal team and members of your target audience (if available). Organize everyone’s feedback and send it to your animation production team to incorporate your edits and render out the final draft.

How do I find an animator to make my animated explainer video?

Picking the right producer for your explainer video is a key decision in the animated video production workflow. Here are some resources to help you find the right animated explainer video producer to produce your animation’s ideal visual style, project deadline and budget:

– 9 Things to Look For When Hiring An Animator to create an animated explainer video.

– How do you hire an animator?

– How do you outsource an animated explainer video project?

– Pros and Cons of Different Animation Styles

– What goes into production cost of an explainer video?

– Learn the types of online animated video makers.

– What’s the difference between hiring an animation studio, a freelance animator and Video Igniter?

– What is Video Igniter Animation?

– Need your video fast? Learn about rush delivery.

Where can I hire an animated explainer video producer?

VideoIgniter.com

Fiverr

Linkedin.com/Jobs

Craigslist.com

Are there different types of animated explainer videos?

There are many types of animated videos you can create. We’ve written FAQ guides for most of them. To learn more about how to make and use specific types of animated explainer videos, check out the following animated video production resources:

Corporate Explainer Videos

How To Make Animated Corporate Videos:

https://videoigniter.com/animated-corporate-video/

How To Make An Animated Advertisement:

https://videoigniter.com/how-to-make-animated-advertisement-video/

How To Make An Animated Company Video:

https://videoigniter.com/animated-company-video/

Educational Videos

How To Make Animated Educational Videos:

https://videoigniter.com/animated-educational-video/

Cartoon Explainer Video

How To Make An Animated Cartoon Video:

https://videoigniter.com/animated-cartoon-video/

Free / Cheap Explainer Video

How to make animated videos for free:

https://videoigniter.com/free-animated-video/

Animated Infographic Explainer Video

How To Make An Animated Infographic Video:

https://videoigniter.com/animated-infographic-video/

Animated Product Explainer Video

How To Make An Animated Product Video:

https://videoigniter.com/animated-product-video/

2D Animated Explainer Video

How To Make A 2D Animated Video:

https://videoigniter.com/2d-animated-video/

3D Explainer Video

How To Make A 3D Animated Video:

https://videoigniter.com/3d-animation-maker/

Marketing Templates & Resources

Is your animation being created for a business objective? If so, the following templates and resources will help you maximize the impact your explainer video has on your business outcomes:

– 6 Ways to get high viewer engagement for your animated videos.

– How to use animated videos to improve your sales and marketing efforts.

– 7 Tips for using and improving your business’ explainer video.

– How to grow your business with visual content marketing.

– Learn how to interpret your video’s viewer stats to see if it needs improvement.

– How to use a sales animation video to increase sales.

– A/B Test variations of your animated video to improve its conversion rate.

– How to use animated videos to generate leads.

– Learn how an animated sales video can improve your bottom line.

– What are the benefits of using animated videos for digital marketing?

What does a high end animated explainer video look like?

This is the kind of quality you can expect if your budget is over $7500/minute:

What does a low cost animated explainer video look like?

This is the kind of quality you can expect if your budget is in the $1250-$2000/min range:

What does production quality look like for an ‘average’ production budget?

The average production budget for an animated explainer video is $3,000-$5,000 for a 60 second animation. Here are some examples to see what level of production quality you can expect for this budget level.

How Long Does Take To Make An Animated Video Explainer?

It takes 3-8 weeks to create a 1-2 minute 2D animation. It takes about twice as long to make a 3D animated video.

Need to speed up production for a deadline? You can save some time by writing your script and building your storyboard. Rush delivery animation is available if you need to speed up production even more. Use our ‘get a custom quote‘ form to contact us and let us know you are interested in rush delivery.

How long should my animated explainer video be?

If your goal is to get awareness

Aim for a length of 5-60 seconds. Most awareness videos are in the 5-30 second range. The purpose isn’t to tell people your whole story. It’s just to get them intrigued enough to want to learn more and share your story. In many cases, the shorter the better.

If your goal is to educate your leads and prospective clients

For leads and prospects that have already heard about you and want to learn more, your videos should be about 1-2 minutes long.

Long videos are usually reserved for customer education and retention. Longer videos can be used to give an in depth look at your product/service to show how it works. It can also be longer feature-length content that would be of interest to your target market. Consequently, this feature-length content could be used to gain awareness among new potential customers as well as delighting your existing clients.

Is it possible to speed up production for an animated explainer video?

Do you need to make your animation fast? Video Igniter offers rush delivery animation to help speed up production for your deadline.

What Does It Cost To Make An Animated Explainer Video?

Animated explainer videos cost between $1,500-$7,500 to create a standard 60 second 2D animated video. 3D animated explainer videos cost about 2-4x as much. It is possible to make cheap animated explainer videos but the reduced production quality can lead to a poor educational experience for the viewer and decreases the perception of your brand. For a detailed overview of animated video production costs, this article teaches what goes into the cost of an animated video.

Interested in pricing information for your animated explainer video?

Get a custom quote.

Request access to our current price sheet.

How many revisions do I get on my animated explainer video project?

In general, 2D animation studios and freelance animators offer 1-2 rounds of revisions in the price they quote. If you are paying by the hour instead of the project, you get as many revisions as you want – but the price keeps going up.

Video Igniter offers unlimited revision on our Simple and Standard Animation projects. This means your project won’t go over budget if you ask for more than 1-2 rounds of revisions. We will revise any asset we create for your project an unlimited number of times until you mark it as approved.

Check out the FAQ about our unlimited revisions policy to learn more about it.

How can I keep my video production costs down?

 

Write Your Script

You can save hundreds or thousands of dollars off of your explainer video’s production cost by writing the script yourself. Your script doesn’t have to be perfect; if you can write the first draft of your script, your animation production team can help you polish it to make it production ready. Here are some resources to help you write the script for your animated explainer video:

How to write a script for an animated explainer video.

Examples of explainer video scripts.

Tips to supercharge your video script writing.

Download our free script writing template.

Create Your Storyboard

Making the storyboard for your animated video is another way you can save hundreds or thousands of dollars off the cost of your video. Use our free downloadable storyboard creation PDF and check out these resources to help you create your own storyboard:

What is a storyboard? And why do you need one?

How to create a storyboard for an animated video?

Tips for building a great storyboard for your video.

Download our free storyboard creation template.

Record The VoiceOver

Did you know you can record professional sounding voiceovers in the office or at home for free?  You don’t need to buy any expensive equipment or fancy software. Just watch 1:31 in this episode of The Video Igniter Show about voiceovers to learn how you can record your own high quality voiceover for free.

Consider Using Stock Assets

Video Igniter makes custom animated videos. But your animated explainer video doesn’t need to be 100% custom made. It’s possible to use stock assets like icons, text, 3D models, stock images and videos to decrease your production budget.

Use Free (Legal) Music

Incompetech lets people to use their songs in their videos for free – as long as you credit the artist. Facebook’s Sound Collection also offers free music you can use in your animated promotional videos.

What should I be aware of before I start production on an animated explainer video?

Some things to think about before you hire an animation studio, freelancer or Video Igniter to create your animated explainer video:

– Review our explainer video explainer video tips.

– Learn about the different styles of animation.

– Pick the right visual style for your animated video.

– How to figure out the right pricing option for your animated video.

– 9 Things to look for when hiring an animation studio, freelancer or Video Igniter.

Still have questions about animated explainer videos?

Do you have a question about animated explainer videos that wasn’t answered in this FAQ? Use this form to contact us with your question. We’ll send you a response via email and post the question + answer to this FAQ.

Why Hire Video Igniter To Make Your Custom Animated Explainer Video?

World class animation and design talent at prices startups can afford.

We can make any kind of 2D or 3D animated video you can imagine. Check out our portfolio!

+20 reasons companies love hiring us to create animated videos.

Animated Explainer Video Demo Reel

 

Looking For An Animated Explainer Video Company In The U.S.A.?

Video Igniter is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Custom Explainer Video Production Success Stories And Testimonials

“Video Igniter offered us the critical combination of creative value, clear communication, and patience with stakeholder feedback. We ended up with truly high-quality design assets for our video series largely due to the extra level of commitment — and the right balance of efficiencies with flexibility in the process when called for.”

Larry Schlessinger – Sr. Creative Program Manager, Amazon Web Services

“Video Igniter came to us with a number of creative and engaging ideas and were able to create an exciting, impactful video in a short period of time. And the best part was that it cost much less than other options of similar quality. The video they made is a great marketing tool for us.”

Alex Raymond – Founder, Kapta Systems

“I am beyond satisfied with my experience with Video Igniter. The first drafts of the work were almost exactly what I had in my head when developing the concept. After that each step along the way was seamless until arriving at a perfect finished product. And all this at a tremendous value. Anyone who has considered creating a marketing video should check out Video Igniter.”

Anonymous Customer Feedback

How To Hire Video Igniter: The Animated Explainer Video Production Company

Get a quote for us to create your animated explainer video.

Schedule a call to discuss your video project with our team.

Request access to our newest price sheet.

Create your Video Igniter account, fill out a creative brief, and we’ll start creating your animated explainer video.

Video Igniter’s Animated Explainer Video