Video is a great way to market your company as billions of consumers watch and interact with video online every day. One of the best types you can produce is explainer videos. They use animation and other images to inform your customers about important company information such as the benefits of your product or service and to announce company news.
Mostly, they are short and use creativity to get their message across, which is important given the short attention span of most consumers.
To help inspire you and show you what animated videos can achieve, we decided to round up 7 great examples of animated videos that have been produced by a wide variety of brands around the world.
1. Xero Accounting Software
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jisiKhAMJs
The first example we want to highlight is an animated explainer video by SaaS company Xero. Xero sells accounting software to small businesses all over the world. In this video, they use animation to highlight the benefits of one of their new product features that they call “Xero Practice Manager.”
As you can see from the video, they explain the pain points of the customer and then explain how the new feature they are introducing helps solve them. This is a great example of an animated video that helps explain complex features by showing rather than just telling.
2. Starbucks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Seeig-GkPJI
Starbucks uses an animated explainer video to explain to customers how they source and produce their coffee beans.
This video is a good example of using short videos to showcase important aspects of a company’s brand messaging through the use of captive and engaging storytelling. This is an important point when working out the length of your own explainer video—longer isn’t always better—you want to capture the attention of the viewer and then hold it. Sometimes this means keeping the video length short and to the point.
3. Live Plan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAWud9_g_Kc&t=33s
This animation explainer video by software company Live Plan is a great example of a B2B explainer video.
In the video, they explain all the main benefits of their product and how using it solves problems that potential users have. They also include social proof in the video (telling viewers how many customers they have) to entice customers to sign up for their service.
The video uses upbeat (but not loud) background music with a clear voice-over to produce a high-quality and engaging explainer video.
4. Sealy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TlyOWkEHIM
This explainer video by mattress maker Sealy is a great example of a video that answers questions that customers commonly have about their product. The video showcases how the company helps you to choose the right mattress for your needs and informs the viewer of a few key product features without going into unnecessary detail.
In the video, they use upbeat background music and a professional-sounding voice-over script to add authority to the animated images. Throughout the video, they include the company logo and branding to ensure the message of the video is connected up with the name of the brand.
5. Wix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHgBgv9BiGw
Explainer videos don’t need to be complicated (in fact, they shouldn’t be) to be effective. This is a good example of a simple explainer video by website building platform Wix. They introduce their product in a short and engaging video.
They let the viewer know what the company sells and why the viewer should care. It also includes a few mentions of the pain points of building a website and explains how Wix reduces those issues.
6. Chipotle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1zXGWK_knQ&t=42s
This is a great example of an explainer video produced by the Mexican fast-food chain Chipotle. It is like a mini-movie complete with a soundtrack and a compelling story about the brand.
The company uses the animated video format (in the style of Wallace and Gromit) to tell the story of how the company’s supply chain operates humanely and ethically to source the ingredients used in their food products. Using animation helps them produce a memorable video that is highly likely to be shared by a large number of customers.
7. Next Glass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_CWyidDnio&t=53s
This example by Next Glass is another great example of an animated explainer video.
In the video, they clearly explain all of the major problems people have when trying to work out what wine to buy. After they establish the pain points, they then explain how their software helps solve all of those problems. They also make it clear why this is important to the customer and give a few good examples of the practical implications of customers using their platform.
The Bottom Line
Explainer videos are a great way to share information with your customers. When done well, they can help increase engagement, lower marketing costs, and boost your sales. Most great explainer videos have a few things in common, including:
- They’re informative
- They’re interesting
- They’re memorable
- They’re concise
- They’re simple