Everything you need to know about creating an explainer video with us
Not all animation studios are created equal, in fact, some are as effective as a toddler in an egg and spoon race. So if you’re considering creating an explainer animation this is everything you need to think about, and more specifically, this is what makes working with us so great…
The Basics: How do we define an explainer animation?
An Explainer video is a short online marketing video used to explain your company's product or service to your clients - cus if they don’t get what you do, they ain’t going to buy in!
Explainer videos work especially well for tech businesses. They are also useful for any organisation with a complex or nuanced message they want to be heard, understood and acted upon.
At Only the Bold we use storytelling to create animated videos that boost conversions. We talk about an emotive problem your customer has and then show them how you can make their lives better. And who doesn't want a better life?
We create a desire for your product then back it up with features and benefits that no logical person could deny. This is our deceptively simple formula to highly converting video.
Emotion + information = persuasion
What problems will my explainer video solve and why are they so effective?
An explainer video will help you improve conversions by explaining what you do
You’ve probably got a product or service which is NOT straightforward, and takes a lot of words before your customers ‘get it’.
Take for example tech companies, generally, they work with innovative ideas and new products - therefore they don't have products that are easily relatable or understood.
The first hurdle you have to overcome is helping customers understand what you do. We create narratives that highlight an emotive problem and then show how your product solves that challenge.
The human brain is programmed to respond to narratives, particularly ones that engage with ideas that are familiar to them. By mixing unfamiliar ideas with familiar ones, stories told through video help introduce viewers to new concepts.
An explainer video gives consumers a reason to care about your business.
Stories give us the ability to empathise with characters' challenges by “transporting” us into their brains. Research shows that when we are really sucked into a story, our attitudes and beliefs are more susceptible to change.
According to David Hoffeld, the author of “The Science of Selling”, there’s a scientific concept called narrative paradigm; this psychological phenomenon refers to your brain’s natural tendency to be swayed more easily by stories than by plain facts.
A compelling story can bypass your critical thinking faculties and tap directly into the emotional part of your mind making people more likely to act. So, don’t just give a dry list of details, the best way to present your offering is with a narrative framework.
Using stories within your explainer video will make your products and services memorable!
Visual storytelling are two words that when combined create a POWERFUL method for a company to successfully market its brand – when used in the right way.
Explainer videos are so effective because they combine audio and visual stimulus to explain a concept in a simple and understandable way. Instead of just providing text or audio, they use both, which is proven to increase message retention.
Andrew Angus, author of “60 seconds: How to tell your company’s story & the brain science that makes it stick” cites a principle called dual-coding that reveals when auditory senses alone are stimulated, people retain about 10% of what they’re told, but when both visual and auditory senses are stimulated, that number goes up to 68%. That’s a 580% increase in retention!
Adding visuals to a verbal description can make the presented ideas more concrete, and provides two ways of understanding the presented ideas. But dual coding is about more than just adding an old image. Instead, we make sure your visuals are meaningful. Through the use of metaphors, analogies or abstraction we add another layer of understanding.
Your brain processes images faster than it does text, some 60,000 times faster!* Images too have a more direct effect on our emotional state. For instance, consider how you feel when you read the word “girl” and when you look at an image of a smiling girl. While the word is benign, the photo may trigger an emotional response.
This knowledge guides our creation of explainer videos because we know people buy with their heart (or emotions) first THEN back this up with logical reasoning.
It is the best way to give your audience all the information they need to buy.
People need to understand what you do, why they should care and how you’ll make their life better.
David Hoffeld, points out in his book “The Science of Selling”, that the decision of buying a product is the final outcome of a series of six choices. These six why questions must be answered for you to persuade a customer to change their behaviour and adopt your product or service.
Your job is to seamlessly help consumers through the process of answering these questions. And the best way to do it is with an animation where you will be able to explain everything they need to know in a concise and effective way and in a short time.
Increase conversion on your website
Having a strong online presence that quickly communicates your value is a crucial component of your marketing strategy, especially when your product isn’t easily understood.
An effective online presence is important for outbound marketing because it reinforces your brand and what you offer to your target market. Once you’ve communicated with your audience, your web presence portrays why your product or service is so great – because that’s the next stop for the majority of your potential customers.
It’s also vital for inbound marketing because quality online content will help convert customers even if they haven’t heard of your brand before.
Visual storytelling is essential marketing in the digital world. That’s because effective visuals are key to grabbing the attention of customers and securing their engagement.
There has been a significant increase in the use of explainer videos in both the private and business sector because they effectively convey complex facts to a target group within a very short time.
QUICK SUMMARY:
Explain a complex concept in a simple, friendly and understandable way.
Increase message retention with the use of images and sound (makes a message stick)
Help introduce viewers to new concepts through storytelling.
An explainer video gives consumers a reason to care about a business because they connect with stories.
A compelling story can bypass your critical thinking faculties and tap directly into the emotional part of your mind.
Explain everything your audience needs to know in a concise and effective way and in a short time.
You can demonstrate the value of your product or service.
Gives you a strong online presence
Reinforces your brand and what you offer to your target market.
Gives you the opportunity to connect with your audience
Save your clients time and keep them engaged by watching a short video rather than reading all the information.
* According to Ekaterina Walter and Jessica Gioglio, the authors of “The Power of Visual Storytelling”
What’s included in the explainer video?
Our goal is to provide you with a highly converting video. To achieve that we provide a bespoke service to each client but here are the basic elements each video will have:
Scriptwriting
Storyboard
Design
Animation
Sound effects
Professional voice over
Music licence
What's the process?
Here’s an overview of all the steps we’ll go through in the project from initial contact to final sign off.
An initial chat to check if we’re a good fit
We’ll ask you about your business goals, vision and your core message. If it seems like a good fit we’ll use this info to create a bespoke proposal targeted at your audience.
Next, we create a free proposal
Your proposal will include:
A recommended look and feel for your target audience
Reference videos showing animation style
A unique mood board (We give you at least two options to choose from)
Strategy outline
Time frames
Your personalised quote
Once you choose the option that suits you the best and hits your goals, we set the agenda to establish deadlines for you and us.
After you decide to work with us the process goes through stages:
1. Script
We have access to a team of amazing scriptwriters who are expert storytellers with different backgrounds and narrative styles, we’ll select the best one for you.
We’ll create a narrative that sticks in the mind of your audience and builds an emotional connection between your brand and your customers.
Where possible we’ll apply behavioural psychology to engage and motivate your audience including powerful techniques like heuristics in your CTA to influence the audience and get results!
This is the only point in the project where we limit revisions, we do this to focus our clients and make sure the project doesn't get bogged down in this initial stage. After a maximum of three rounds of amends, we’ll lock the script in and get your approval before continuing.
2. Storyboard
The storyboard is a sequence of simple drawings, with some directions and dialogue, representing the shots planned for your explainer video. With the story board you can pre-visualize the narrative and the sequence of the video.
We’ll check in with you to make sure everything is working for you and correct anything that isn't before getting sign-off and moving to the next stage.
3. Design:
We’ll take a few frames from the storyboard and turn them into what are called style frames. The style frames will be based on the mood board we created in the proposal and also incorporate your brand guidelines.
Style frames capture the colours, mediums, textures, photography, and assets that we plan to use in your video.
4. Music and Voice-over selection
We’ll provide you with a small selection of three suggestions to choose from. If you don't like these suggestions we can find alternatives.
5. Animatic
We lay everything out; voice-over, music and design, then we perfect the timings. At this stage, the images will be static or have very minimal animation so that you can see how all the elements come together for your explainer video.
We’ll give you a first look and make any adjustments to the timings before getting signoff and moving to the next step
6. Animation
This is our expertise and where the majority of the time on the project is spent tweaking and refining! We animate all the elements to create silky smooth animation that will excite and surprise your audience.
Everything works in harmony in order to deliver your message in the best possible way to your audience and get results.
We’ll deliver version one and then make any amends you need before delivering the final project on time. We don't limit you to just three rounds of amends like some agencies because we want you to love your animation as much as we loved creating it.
The only caveat is that the project is moving forward. For example, we can’t get to the end after signing off the script and start rewriting everything. Once you sign off on a step, going backwards in the process to make amendments means the project will be delayed and this will incur an extra cost.
How much does it cost?
Animation is a broad term, it includes simple stop motion to an animated 3D Pixar movie. Your project will fall somewhere on that scale which is why we price each project individually. The following prices are a guide:
EXPLAINER ANIMATION: £7,995 -£12,495
VIDEO FUNNEL PACKAGE (Animated Advert + Explainer Animation): £9K-15K
PREMIUM SERVICE: £15,000+ Price on Request
Every project starts with a free proposal where we will give you different options so you can choose the package that works best for you and get you closer to your goals.
Our payment terms are:
50% Deposit up front // 25% At the halfway milestone // 25% On final delivery
Is there a refund policy?
While we are not able to offer refunds, you can be certain you’ll love the finished project. There'll be no surprises on the final delivery day as you’ll have had input at key stages in the process to craft the video you need.
We have unlimited reviews in each stage of the process, the only exception is that we limit revision when we’re developing the script. We limit this to three rounds of amends so that the project isn't delayed and we can start on schedule.
We ask for sign off at key stages and as long as we’re moving forward in the process, and not back a step, we don’t limit revision.
Who is this for?
We predominantly work with tech companies who are looking to boost conversions and explain the problems they solve for their customers.
However, the work we do is relevant to any organisation or business with a complex product, service or idea to explain in a compelling way. among other businesses looking to explain their services/ products in a clear, engaging way using animated videos to boost conversions and create informed, invested customers.
We commonly work with Technology companies, SAAS, Artificial Intelligence, Software, Apps, Blockchain, Fintech, Tech Startups, as well as organisations such as the BBC.
This is NOT for you if:
You are not ready to invest in improving conversions for your business
Your business simply competes on being the lowest priced and has no USPs or story to tell
You’re looking to persuade customers to act against their own interests (eg Big Tobacco)
Using storytelling and behavioural psychology to trigger people's emotions is a powerful combination and we don’t use our expertise to manipulate people into actions that are against their best interest.
We believe technology has the power to improve people's lives and tackle some of the biggest challenges we face, such as climate change. We love helping customers discover new and exciting possibilities through the work we create.
So if you’re looking to encourage people to smoke more cancer sticks, burn more fossil fuels or are creating the next A.I. powered weapon, we’re not really for you!
How much time will you have to invest in your explainer video?
Giving feedback over the whole project shouldn’t take longer than 3-4 hours in total which will be spread out over a number of weeks.
At key stages, we’ll present you with great options to pick from and solve any design problems for you. So all we need from you is your opinion. We know creative development and you know your customers and product better than anyone.
We communicate expectations well in advance when we lay out the project timeline. In return, we expect timely feedback from you in a pre-agreed timeframe (normally 24 - 48 hrs).
We use simple online platforms that add clarity to the process and avoid long laborious emails to collect your feedback. You can add feedback when it suits you and we won’t waste your time in unnecessary meetings.
EXAMPLE:
What support will you get in the creative process of your explainer video?
We are here to guide you in every step. However, the best work comes from collaboration so we ask that you share your insights and we’ll do the same. We’ll only present you with good options, all you have to do is select the most suitable one for your brand and audience.
What results can I expect?
Boost conversions
Increase your audience
Win more customers
More people seeing your website
More sales
More people will be attracted to your brand
Strength your branding
Stand out from your competitors
Connect with your audience
Build trust
How do I start?
We create truly unique solutions matched to each client's needs - so everything starts with a phone call to get a brief!
Get in touch for a free proposal