When does animation beat static assets?
Is less still more? As our ability to create assets gets more advanced, so does the content we see on our social feeds. It feels as though every other post we see nowadays is some form of video, and as digital marketers we must ask the question: is static enough anymore?
Sure, static images still have their merits — and are even necessary in many scenarios — but how do you know when to trade it in for something bigger and more memorable?
Big ideas sometimes need big assets to do them justice. But as we’re all too familiar with, just because you have a fantastic campaign idea doesn’t mean there is always a budget to go along with it. Creating a standard video typically means filming with a whole crew, a set, cameras and rigs, followed by a long postproduction process.
Video animation is a great choice for when you have a BIG production idea, but only a little time or budget. You can create a similar, if not better, style of video using computer generated imagery. Animation not only saves time and money, but it can get you shots that would be nearly impossible to film.
In fact, large companies often prefer animation and CGI for the possibilities it brings. You can defy physics in animation — ever wondered how fast-food chains make their burgers look so good flying through the air?
If you have a complex idea that is difficult to communicate with a single static image, which is a scenario many of our client’s face, then animation can be the key to getting those bigger ideas understood.
Maybe you want to share your really detailed 20-step plan including every graph and table known to man, but you’re just not sure how to entice people to learn more about it? Or perhaps you write about advanced topics, but you can’t quite get people to read all the way through. A great example of this is wordy technical blogs. If you want people to read and engage with detailed written content, providing a more digestible and visual alternative can be helpful for visual learners, long-term memorability, and digital engagement.
At Ridgemount, we turn blogs into animated videos for our clients to explain the content in a more engaging way to their audience. We found that if Meta users watched the animated content first, they spent up to 12 times longer reading the blog content than without viewing the animation.
As well as showing the most complex messaging and concepts in a helpful and captivating way, animation can be great for brand awareness. In a recent study by psychologist Richard Wiseman, it’s been shown that animations can boost knowledge retention by 15% compared to other digital formats. Several other studies also show that animation creates more long-term memories rather than short term, and who doesn’t want to make their brand memorable?
Research papers & analysed results
Even if you’re just doing a completely run-of-the-mill campaign, the first question you ask is usually: what is going to get me the most engagement? Well, according to an Adelaide Business School study, animation can increase audience engagement by up to 50%. When you are scrolling through endless images and ads, psychologically something moving is more likely to capture your attention and keep you engaged for longer. This also means you have longer to tell your story than the average 0.2 seconds you usually get when someone looks at a static post before promptly scrolling away.
Compared to static images, animation creates more initial attraction, a larger time investment from your audience, increased memory retention, and more engagement and conversions. While static assets still have a place, and always will, there is no question that animation is the best when it comes to marketing your brand.
