5 Ways to Use Animation in Advertising Animation is an increasingly popular method of marketing. The use of animated cartoons and virtual worlds is having a positive impact on consumers as well. It is estimated that people retain 58 percent more information when it is presented in a combination of video and text, and 90 percent of people say seeing a video is useful when they are trying to decide whether or not to buy a product. As a result, animation advertising can allow marketers like you to creatively and powerfully convey your brand to potential customers. Following are a few of the many ways you can put animation to use in your own campaigns. 1 – Client Presentations: Presenting your product to high-powered executives can feel intimidating. There is often much at stake during these meetings, including large sales that could mean the difference between the success and failure of new enterprises or product launches for your business. Animation, especially storyboards and animatics, provide an ideal way to convincingly pitch your business in these meetings. There are a number of reasons animation can improve your clients' perceptions of your product. First, animation tends to convey information more quickly and memorably than does simple text. As a result, it allows you to drive home the elements of your product within the time constraints you face in a boardroom presentation. Because it is so memorable, animation also helps your clients to remember what your product was all about long after you leave, leading to a greater chance of making a sale. In addition, animation can help you to successfully pitch a new product that may not even be completed yet, because it allows you to demonstrate what the finished item will look like. Your animation partner can help you to create images and worlds that would be difficult to create in real life, giving you a way to help potential clients visualize what you have to offer. 2 – Business Websites: Animation is becoming increasingly common on websites as well. There are a number of reasons that animation can be a useful way to make yourself stand out online. The first is that the medium, with its motion graphics and other elements, is more likely to garner attention than is plain text, especially from younger consumers who are accustomed to the constant presence of the screen. In addition, because animation tends to engage the visitor's attention more than does plain text, it is likely to keep the visitor on your site longer. When they spend more time browsing your offerings and becoming intrigued by effective animation and quality content, they are more likely to become your customers. Finally, animation can play a role in making your site easier and more interesting to navigate. By making it easier to move around your site, learn more about your company, and purchase
your products and services, you are more likely to garner sales and build a positive reputation. 3 – Banner Ads: Animation on your website can contribute to keeping potential customers on your website and earning their business. However, animation on the Web can extend beyond its use on your website. For instance, you can use animated ads on other websites as well. This type of animation draws the viewer to your business and encourages them to pay attention to what you have to offer them. The key to effective animated banner ads is to keep them short and simple. For instance, they should be limited to about 15 seconds. By keeping them brief, you can create animation that enhances their effectiveness instead of detracting from it, giving you a powerful tool for making your product. The right kind of commercial animation can create banner ads that stand out from the numerous other ads vying for consumers' attention, giving you greater success in putting your brand foremost in people's minds. 4 – Email Marketing: Animation in emails can be an effective marketing technique. One of the reasons for this is that emails provide a limited format for conveying your message. Animation can convey this message far more completely and effectively within the small space the email provides than can regular text. Typically, the animation will be delivered in the form of animated GIFs. These GIFs have the advantage of improving click through rates and of providing the reader with a unique method of reading your message, making it more likely that they will pay attention to your message. At the same time, you need to be careful to produce a GIF that is readable through the email. Some email providers are less able to handle animation than are others. For instance, Outlook will only display the first frame of the email. An experienced commercial animation studio should be able to handle the design requirements of creating an effective form of animation for inclusion in emails. 5 – Television: Television was the first home of animation and continues to provide an excellent place to use animation in your advertising. Animation is a natural fit for television because of the medium's visual nature. Animation in this medium allows you to showcase your business and products in a way that is unforgettable, impactful, and creative.
In addition, television can provide an ideal venue for introducing mascots and brand ambassadors. These characters, such as the Coca Cola polar bears, can put a welcoming face on your brand, allowing you to gain the trust, and business, of those who watch your advertisements on television (and online, since these ads can be transferred to the Internet, as well). Conducting an effective advertising campaign relies upon creating memorable advertisements. Animation studios can help you to create these kinds of advertisements for almost any medium. Whether you want to target presentations, websites, email, or television, animation can add a level of interest and winsomeness that can make your business stand out. Powerhouse Animation is a traditional 2D animation studio based in Austin, Texas with offices in Burbank, California. Since 2001, Powerhouse has been making ideas come to life through animation, illustration, and motion graphics. With a staff of 35 in-house artists, animators, videographers and designers, Powerhouse works on a wide variety of projects and has created animation for companies including Disney, Sony, Marvel, DC, Old Spice, Coca Cola, Miramax, the USO and more. To learn more about some of these projects visit PowerhouseAnimation.com.