Growth Agency in the UAE, UK, USA & AUS

Animated Explainer Video Production in Dubai:  Why you should consider creating one for your business

Written by Amit Vyas | May 11, 2019

Marketing and technology are converging at an incredible pace and with this, customer expectations are increasing.  As customers today, we expect much more from the businesses we deal with in terms of customer service, the ability for them to make quick decisions and the pace at which they respond to our requests or requirements.  In some respects, much of this can be summarised by accepting that customers today are simply more impatient than ever before.  Today's customers value their time and lose respect for those that consume their more than they deem acceptable.  

It's important that every business understands this.

How many times have you visited a website looking for a product or service provider and gave up due to the lack of clarity on what services or products they provide?  Chances are this has happened at least once or twice in just the last month.  Here are some of the reason's this happens:

- Businesses find it hard to communicate what they do and how they do it.
Have you ever asked a professional or expert in their field what they do for a living and been left none the wiser by their response?  This happens a lot!  The problem is, when a business launches a new website, a professional within the company is tasked with either creating or at the very least, supporting the content creation process.  While this seemingly makes sense, given the importance for a company to showcase its expertise on a new website, these content creators fail to simplify what it is that their company does and how they do it.    The result of this is that website visitors and potential customers become confused and leave the website in search for a company that explains what they do better.   
 
When speaking to companies about this, we often refer them to the 'lowest common denominator' of thinking.  We ask them to breakdown what they do using the most simplest of terms, for every product and service they provide so that anyone can understand their business offering.
 
- Businesses naturally use acronyms and jargon and assume that everyone else does too
Have you ever heard a colleague explain a business concept to a prospect using an acronym that instantly drew a clear look of confusion?  It happens frequently.  Although in certain industries this can be deemed as 'business language' the reality is that some acronyms have an entirely different meaning to one person compared to another.  Here are some examples:
 
AP = access point, Asia-Pacific, accounts payable
ASP = application service provider, average selling price
DM = data mining, direct message
HD = hard drive, high-definition
IE = information extraction, Microsoft Internet Explorer
IM = instant messaging, Internet marketing, input method
IP = intellectual property, Internet Protocol
 
On company websites, brochures and other commercial collateral, it's important that companies clearly define any acronyms used to ensure that the user understands the meaning and context correctly.
 
- Businesses make false assumptions about their audience
It's often forgotten that the first visitors to a company's website are often tasked with conducting the 'initial research' on behalf of someone else, whether that be a manager, spouse, friend or colleague.  This happens a lot in our business where a receptionist is tasked with finding a 'digital marketing agency'.  In scenarios such as this, the actual audience visiting your website may be very different to the audience the website was intended for and you may alienate site visitors instantly disqualifying your company from the selection process.  Therefore, it's important that your website 'speaks' to all types of influencers making it easy for them to understand exactly what you do and providing them with the confidence to share your business' credentials with others. 

There's a better way - Animated Explainer Videos

What are animated videos?

Animated explainer videos are exactly what they say they are, which is video content that explains a service, product or concept using animation as oppose to real actors.  There are 2 main types of animated explainer videos that we'd recommend for businesses:

 - Animated Whiteboard Videos, that typically show a hand drawing various visuals on a white background either with or without audio narration.
 - Motion-Graphics using clever animation and transition to explain a point or process.
 

Just to be clear, I wasn't previously a fan of businesses who chose to explain what they did using animated explainer videos.  To be more specific, I actually hated most of those annoying white board videos, and was often more impressed and engaged with the artwork than the actual content being shared.  That was until I decided to bite the bullet and create an animated explainer video that helped explain one of the services that my company offers, which in this case was providing Direct Booking Strategies for Hotels.  I decided not to go for a whiteboard explainer video (no shocks there) but rather a carefully constructed video using motion graphics and storytelling.  

In this case, the storytelling centred around identifying an industry-problem, explaining the reasons for this, how the problem can be solved and who we've worked with previously to offer similar services to.  Here's the final video:

All of the content contained in the video above came from a long slide deck that I had created and had used in countless presentations when pitching to clients.  The presentation often took over 40 minutes and while it was positively accepted by both prospects and clients, meant that scaling this was not possible, especially across boarders into wider geographies.   The new video meant that I could share a link and within just 3 short minutes, a prospect would know whether they were interested in working with us to explore collaboration opportunities or not with either consequence being fully acceptable.  For example, if a prospect was interested in discussing further - great, but if they decided against working with us, that saves both parties time, that would otherwise have been lost or wasted.

The results were fantastic and we found ourselves using this video not just to qualify sales prospects but also during our lead generation processes, at international trade shows and even embedded the video within our sales proposals.

So this got me thinking...

Where else would a similar video work?  What other applications of the video would help drive efficiency within the business?

Solution 1:  Complex Case Studies Using Animated Explainer Videos

As a results focused business - we pride ourselves on generating tangible and measurable results for our clients - we often present complex case studies to clients.  Again, the presentations are popular and very well received, but last upwards of 90 minutes per meeting.  While this provides a good opportunity for prospects to understand what we do and the impact we can create, the ability to scale these specific services is limited and from a geographical perspective, almost impossible.

But with a video case study, the challenges can be overcome.  We therefore proceeded and created a video case study for a UAE based education client:

As with the previous video, the time saved explaining what we do as a company and the results we can drive, was enormous.  In less that 3 minutes, we would provide clear insights for a business and help them to qualify us as a potential partner to work with.  In the same respect, it also allowed us to qualify prospects without having to invest a minimum of 90 minutes in a face to face meeting.  

Solution 2:  Explaining complex solutions

If like ours, your business provides complex products and services, a well-crafted, short 2 or 3 minute explainer video can often explain your offering better than any human.  Here's an example video of Nexa's Account Based Marketing offering that would often take around 15 minutes to explain during a face to face meeting:  

Would Animated Explainer Videos work for your business?

It's difficult to say, but if your business has any of the following criteria, then I would seriously consider using these to help your business grow:

- Complex products or services
- Complex case studies that are often time consuming when presenting in meetings
- International operations or clients located remotely from your office locations
 

How much do Animated Explainer Videos cost?

Again, this is difficult to say and will depend on quality, the voice over artist employed (it's important to get a professional voice over artist rather than trying to insource this) and the length and complexity of the video required.  That said, if you have a budget of a between $4,000 and $10,000, this might be one of the best marketing and sales investments that you will make this year.

How do you create an Animated Explainer Video?

The process required to create a animated explainer video is actually pretty straightforward:

  1. Share your requirement and run our team through your video's objectives
  2. Our team will produce a script that outlines your objectives and vision
  3. Once approved, our artists will create a series of 'slides' and graphics that will allow you to visualise the video and how the script fits in.
  4. We'll also provide you with a list of voice over options.  Choices includes gender, international accents and of course, languages.
  5. Once approved, we'll start the magic and create the animation and align the audio narration created by the voice over artist selected.  
 

Contact us for more information and insights.  Simply complete the form on this page and we'll be in touch. 

First Published on 20th May 2019.  Updated on 20th January 2020 19:34:00