Unlock the Power of 2D Animation
One common question we get from clients is ‘how to use 2D animation’ or how do we ‘unlock the power of 2D animation’. Below we talk through how to get started with animation, some tips to build quality 2D animation and some examples of different types of 2D animation briefs.
What is 2D Animation?
2D animation serves as a versatile and rich content tool, capable of enhancing everything from training materials — adding motion to PowerPoint slides for increased engagement — to elevating brand presence with intro and outro animations, all the way through to an animated explainer video for a home page
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- Users are 3 times more likely to opt for watching a video tutorial on YouTube than they are to read a text-based instruction manual.
- 72% of customers said they would rather learn about a product or service by way of video.
- 48% of content marketers believe their companies aren’t using video marketing to its fullest potential.
Beyond the numerous quantitative benefits that 2D animation can offer, it’s an excellent way to elevate your visual storytelling, showcasing your business’s adaptation in line with modern marketing trends.
Overview of The Creative Process
The creative process begins with the critical kick off phase of planning out the content brief. Which defines the style, voice, the look and feel of the animation, consideration any existing brand guidelines, and identifying the target market and key messages. While the creative process is exciting, it can also lead to distractions, with a tendency to want to stuff too much in a single video.
Our creative process at BAKE for 2D animation, breaks everything down in a systematic manner, ensuring we’re tackling all key themes and areas of interest. Whether addressing a sales benchmark, enhancing education and awareness in the sales funnel, or creating online FAQ/help videos to support customer service, we focus on organising and prioritising content properly.
Here’s a summary of our winning formula:
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- Plan it out: Planning is key to success, a mind map can help organise complex information, leading to a series of animated videos that align with your content calendar. This approach allows for a more focused message across multiple videos, enhancing engagement at various stages of the sales funnel Vs one video which ends up sounding like a word salad.
- Storyboarding: Developing an approved storyboard is key. Storyboarding, which pairs text with visual elements, acts as a blueprint, ensuring the animation meets the project’s goals. Once the storyboard is approved, we move on to illustrating key scenes and characters, adhering to the client’s brand guidelines.
- Bringing it all together: With a mind map and storyboard completed, the next steps involve finalising the script, key scenes, music, and voiceover track. With these elements approved, the project enters production, where animation brings the storyboard to life, complemented by music, sound effects and even a voice actor that matches the desired tone, to emphasise key messages or branding elements.
Below are some examples of our work, showcasing both our winning formula and the creative applications of 2D animation medium.
Example 01
MapMyPlan needed a 2D animated explainer video to help communicate their innovative approach to financial planning. We worked closely with their team to craft the script, create storyboards, develop the illustrations, look, feel, tone, help them select the right voice talent, 2D animation and editing all the way through to sound design and music licensing for their B2C video explainer.
Example 02
Lixi was an interesting brief, as our team handled the creation of their first 2D animated explainer video from scratch. And as they’re the developer of national data transaction standards, for the Australian mortgage industry, the pressure was on. We helped them to craft their script and storyboards, develop an illustrated set of characters and icons, cast and produce the voice over talent and animation.
These are example of informative, entertaining pieces of communications collateral that bring awareness to their value offerings, drive convertible traffic to their websites and create memorable visual experiences that people will remember MapMyPlan and Lixi by.
Benefits of 2D Animation
2D animations are often more affordable to produce than other types of content, particularly compared to live-action and 3D animation, making it an attractive option for time-sensitive marketing campaigns.
But despite it being much more affordable, it holds its weight when it comes to tangible benefits. For example, landing page animations are beneficial for SEO as they capture the attention of an audience, increase dwell time, reduce bounce rates, and ultimately leading to website visitors staying longer.
Animation also has the ability to simplify complex concepts and make them more accessible, effectively explaining products or services in a clear and concise manner – as shown with our work with MapMyPlan and Lixi. And when competition to stand out is as fierce as it is in the age of digital marketing, being able to spend less time explaining and more time showing is something that the audience will appreciate.
Additionally, leveraging the 2D animated content across multiple channels, such as paid banner ads, campaign landing pages, homepage videos, or FAQ pages, can significantly bolster brand visibility and engagement.
Example 03
Our work with the NSW State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) involved a 2D animated training video to communicate legislative changes in response to COVID. We worked on a tight timeline to concept, design, deliver and publish the materials to their target audience. This was done with strong collaboration with the SIRA team to secure approvals and deliver the final files in a timely fashion.
And with this, we took a static PPT training presentation and turned it into an engaging, rich media content piece, with professional voice over that was both received warmly by industry stakeholders, and owhich was effectively leveraged across channels like YouTube, eDMS and sydndicate via their industry partners.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the goal of incorporating animation into your communications strategy is to achieve greater effectiveness and engagement. By enriching your content with animation, you can expect to see improved ROI, increased time spent on your site, and growth in your sales funnel and lead generation activities.
We’ve implemented our 2D animation for iconic Australian leaders across a broad range of industry sectors – now let us apply our experience to elevate your educational, product, sales or content calendar.