Animated explainer videos are short-form productions used for sales and marketing purposes. They intend to discuss and draw attention to the most important aspects of a company’s product or service in a clear and concise manner.
Explainer videos can be live-action, animated, or a combination of both. Each method is highly effective, but more recently, especially in the wake of covid, animated content is becoming increasingly popular.
The majority of businesses choose to host explainer videos on their website home page. It is also largely effective to share such videos to social media hubs to reach a wider audience of potential consumers.
We understand that one of the best ways to gain inspiration when developing your own animated explainer video is to watch and analyse other companies’ efforts. This is why we have collected 15 brilliant examples of animated explainers for you to sink your teeth into. Each video is uniquely brilliant and will provide great insight into what it takes to create the perfect animated explainer video for your product or service.
But first, let’s take a look at what makes animation such a great medium for your explainer video.
What is the purpose of explainer videos?
Your explainer video must show what problems your product or service solves, whilst also providing enough information to evidence that it can do so effectively.
To ensure that your explainer video is effective in carrying out its purpose, follow this formula:
Present problem
What problem does your target consumer face? Call this your ‘problem statement’.
Present product as a problem fixer
How will your product or service solve this problem for your target consumers?
Show the audience why they should buy your product
In many ways, this is the most important aspect of explainer videos. An explainer that fails to exemplify why your product or service is the best option for your consumer is a wasted venture. The video must be effective in conveying your company’s overarching purpose.
To ensure this essential step is carried out, make sure you provide a mission statement and a call to action that connects directly to your target audience.
Why make an explainer video?
Some sights that have incorporated explainer videos in their marketing strategies have achieved a conversion rate increase of 144%. They have proven themselves to be worth spending time, effort, and money on.
Why use animation in your explainer video?
Versatile
- The most ambitious graphics can be developed with animation.
- There are many forms of animation styles and formats, so you can find the perfect one for your project, no matter how abstract.
- If you are looking to push into the realms of creativity to attract customers – animation is the best option.
Informative
- Complex information can be condensed and simplified.
- Presents data in a digestible format.
- This makes animation great for data-oriented services or complicated tech products.
Malleable
- Animated video content is much easier to edit than live-action.
- Changing the plan with live-action footage will require reshoots which are often a nightmare to reorganise.
- Animated video can be quickly and easily edited as many times as needed.
- Perfect for products that are in a constant state of development like apps and websites.
Longevity
- The ability to easily edit animated videos allows for changes over time, this increases longevity.
- If details that date the explainer are left out, it is possible to keep and use the content for years.
- This also increases cost-effectiveness in the long run, although it is worth noting that animation is not necessarily cheaper than live-action video.
Professionalism
- Largely due to its associations with children’s television, some may think that animation is an unprofessional medium to communicate product explanations through, this is a thoroughly outdated ideology.
- Animation has the ability to be extremely polished, corporate, and professional whilst at the same time being accessible to wider sections of society.
15 animated explainers to inspire you
Panorama9:
Take from it: Versatility
Paranorma9 takes full advantage of the endless abilities of animation. To create a worthwhile explainer video, audiences must be kept engaged. This can be a challenge, especially when social media sites like TikTok have set audience attention spans at an all-time low.
The explainer’s nostalgia-inducing video game storyline, ingeniously unique animation style, and humorous script masterfully demands the audience’s attention.
Mint:
Take from it: Simplicity
One of the finest ever explainer videos, Mint’s videos success stems from its overarching simplicity. Immediately the video states the problem it can solve and why it’s effective at doing so, there is no room for misinterpretation as the script is so concise.
Visually the video is as simple as it gets, taking viewers on a journey through the app in a clear and concise manner. Side-scrolling animated motion graphics and a neutral colour pallet transform a potentially complex topic into one that anyone can understand.
Hubspot:
Take from it: Mixed-media
This Hubspot explainer uses a hybrid of animation and live action footage to create an entertaining and informative video.
Communyco:
Take from it: Animated Characters
For an app aimed at creators and creatives, from artists to writers, the vastness of its target audience had to be reflected in its explainer video. The cast of quirky animated characters, lends itself not only to the inclusive brand image but also grabs the attention of creatively like-minded people.
Animated characters are the perfect tools to represent any type of person as well as their choices and emotions. Anyone can put themselves in the shoes of a character as long as it acts in a way that is recognisable to them. The effortless synergy between person and animated character is arguably much harder to achieve in a live-action production.
The characters also humanise Communyco and steer it away from an intimidating corporate feel. In doing so they communicate that the product is friendly and accessible to all.
Take a look at our article all about character animation here.
Crazy Egg:
Take from it: Effectiveness
Explainer videos are not just about being fun and engaging to watch, they must also produce positive financial results for your business to make them worthwhile. To be effective explainer videos should increase conversion rates by tempting audiences further into your sales funnel.
The success of Crazy Egg’s animated explainer video is undeniable. The video is directly responsible for increasing conversion rates by 64% and generating $21,000 in extra monthly revenue.
Crazy Egg’s video champions everything that makes explainer videos effective, it’s simple, engaging, fun, contains a strong CTA, and leaves the target audience convinced that they need to trial their product.
The proof is in the numbers! An animated explainer is a thoroughly worthwhile investment when done right.
security@me:
Take from it: Professionalism
Security@me’s explainer video features fresh, trendy illustrations and detailed animation. The production quality of this video is extremely high, a 3D style has even been achieved with 2D animation, this unusual but impactful technique makes for an unforgettable explainer.
The punchy colour pallet keeps you engaged from the second it starts and the quick-moving graphics glue us to the screen until the end. This engagement level, created by high-quality production pushes more potential customers into the sales funnel, increasing bottom line profits.
Animation of this quality can be expensive. Professional animators have to be highly skilled and the creative process takes time. Despite this, it has been proved time and again, quality animated explainer videos possess the ability to be a productive investment for your business.
Gogoro:
Take from it: Efficiency
In just 30 seconds Gogoro has managed to explain their product and how it can positively impact not only the potential consumer but the wider community. Its efficiency is impressive!
The snappy start, bright colour pallet, and short video length make it the perfect unskippable video to be hosted on social media sites like Youtube.
Spotify:
Take from it: Branding
These explainer videos from Spotify show the growth of the brand and product over a five-year period. With each video, the branding grows stronger as Spotify morphs further into the music industry giant it is today.
Their earliest explainer, released in 2011 to launch the app is a fun animation with an upbeat soundtrack. In the early days, Spotify kept it simple in terms of branding but it works effectively, allowing it to work effectively across languages and borders. The recognisable green pallet and striking logo show up intermittently throughout the video. This immediately drives brand recognition. The video earned Spotify 1 million American subscribers and 5 million subscribers worldwide within the first year. That’s 10x the growth of Spotify’s competitors.
This later video, released in 2016 explains Spotify’s new ‘party’ feature. It showcases an even more recognisable brand image to suit their rising domination of the music streaming industry. This is achieved by introducing striking graphic animation styles and a reinvigorated colour palette.
Spotify’s distinct and established brand personality shines through again in the latest explainer on our list. They are constantly reflective of their target market, this is what makes them stand out from the competition. More than anything else, the videos embody Spotify’s brand values; collaborative, innovative, playful, and passionate. Achieving this level of brand engagement in your explainer video would be an impressive achievement and a surefire way to guarantee not only sales but also develop a positive brand association within your target audience.
Headspace:
Take from it: Tone
Headspace is a mindfulness app that aims to take the intimidation out of meditation. These explainer videos perfectly understand their target audience and how they will react to different tones.
The comforting voice-over and lack of music combined with muted colour pallets invoke feelings of peace and tranquility, something the app can bring to customers through guided meditation.
Paddle:
Take from it: Sincerity
Blurring the lines between an explainer and a testimonial video, this production by us here at Kartoffel is a great example of how to appeal emotionally to your target audience in an explainer.
The animated character struggling to juggle his tasks represents what potential consumers may feel, and demonstrates how their problems can be solved using Paddle.
Far too frequently, explainer videos are devoid of all emotion, instead, focusing on statistics, figures, and dry explanations. Remember that emotional appeals to audiences sell products, even during explainers!
Capital One:
Take from it: Engagement
To most people, money, and finance is a dull topic, it certainly doesn’t encourage high levels of engagement from the general public. Capital One’s explainer on Money Market Accounts, however, proves to be an engaging creative endeavor.
The video is equally informative and enjoyable to watch. The bright colours, fast-paced graphics, and creative storytelling techniques pull the viewer in, even if they have no interest in finance. Just think how boring a live-action explainer would be in comparison!
Not only does Capital One’s video encourage viewers to engage, pushing them into the sales funnel, it also simplifies. Banking is a potentially confusing topic, animation helps to make the information accessible to wider sections of society.
PayPal:
Take from it: Structure
Paypal’s mixed live-action and animated video perfectly demonstrates the structure that explainer videos should aim to have.
The problems or ‘pain’ points the audience experiences are listed off, the video then describes how PayPal can solve these problems easily and effectively. A strong call to action is displayed at the end of the video, directing viewers where to go next – in this case to their website.
Like PayPal, follow this structure to create an effective explainer video:
- Present problem
- Present product as a problem fixer
- Show the audience why they should buy products.
Final thoughts…
Animation is the ideal medium for drawing attention to the most important features of a company’s product or service in a concise manner. Take inspiration from our above selection of masterful explainers and begin to craft your own!
When done well, animated explainers can be an excellent investment, but producing animated material, especially at the quality level that today’s consumers expect, is challenging. A full-service video production agency, like us at Kartoffel Films can help you to streamline the process. Why not give us a call, let’s get our creative partnership started!
