How Corporate Explainer Videos Can Aid In Business Growth

Enterprise is, for better or worse, the energy that makes our consumer world go round. Businesses come in all shapes and sizes, selling all manner of different products and services, catering to every conceivable market demographic. But of the almost 5.6 million companies in the UK, and the 213 million that are estimated to exist worldwide, each shares one common, core goal; the pursuit of growth. Again, what ‘growth’ actually means can vary hugely, depending on the individual business and its goals. But the overwhelming likelihood is, in the modern enterprise environment, an animated video, or corporate explainer video, can help achieve it.

According to 2022 research by Hubspot, 92% of companies report that video is an important part of their strategy; similarly, 87% say that video marketing yields a positive ROI, up dramatically from the paltry 33% reported in 2015. The best explainer videos don’t just sell, sell, sell, however; they tell stories, communicating sometimes-complex messages and concepts in an engaging, original and compelling way to ensure that the information finds its mark, and stays in the minds of a target audience long after the video has ended.

At Sliced Bread Animation, we’re specialist producers of effective and powerful explainer videos to generate business growth, so we’re well-aware of the unparalleled opportunity they present to businesses just like yours. In this post we’ll explore in more detail how the best animated explainer videos work, share with you some of our favourite explainer video examples, and walk through the key business benefits of creating your own explainer video.

How and Why an Animated Explainer Video Works

The first thing to say here is that a good explainer video is incredibly time-efficient. In a matter of minutes or even seconds, you have the chance to communicate your key message in its entirety to your audience. Moreover, the nature of a great explainer video and the way it stimulates both visual and audio perception – a concept known as dual coding – means that, for the duration of playback, you’re likely to have the viewer’s complete and undivided attention. The same cannot be said for other modes of business messaging.

In a nutshell, a well-produced and fun video makes it almost implausibly simple for us to receive, process and remember the information it conveys – even if that information is nuanced or complicated. It’s often reported (Thermopylae Sciences + Technology) that, for most of us, 90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual. Furthermore, the brain can typically process visual information 60,000 times faster than written text.

Due to the natural hardwiring of our brains, animated explainer videos encourage us to react emotionally to their message, and to forge a personal connection to the concepts they communicate; this can be a dramatically powerful phenomena, from a marketing strategy perspective. A large part of business may be in the numbers – projections, revenue streams, conversions – but these things only occur when human consumers identify personally with a brand, product or service. Trust is the bedrock of loyalty in business; it’s the foundation of a profitable purchasing relationship, and generating your own video and top-quality video content is an extraordinarily effective way of laying that groundwork.

3 Great Corporate Animated Explainer Video Examples

Now we’ve got a good grasp of what makes the best explainer videos work so well, in a business sense, let’s take a look at some real-world examples. Of course, here at Sliced Bread Animation, we see a huge number of animated explainer videos on a daily basis – how-to-videos, marketing videos, short films, social media brand introductions, product demonstrations – and while some certainly leave a lot to be desired, many do an outstanding job of communicating the core message. Here’s a small selection, comprising just a few of our favourites.

• Delivering Sustainable Mobility Solutions – Hitachi Battery Trains
  The first example we’ll present is some of our own work! This was a video created in partnership with Hitachi Rail. After the Japanese enterprise giants decided to introduce a fleet of battery-powered trains to Europe, we were commissioned to generate a two-minute animation showcasing the advantages and benefits of battery-powered trains. The explainer does a great job of conveying central messaging pillars such as: travelling 90+ km on batteries, recharging whilst in motion, and the massive environmental benefits of this technology.
  You can view the video here.
• Collaboration Using Microsoft Whiteboard – Microsoft 365
  The beauty of this explainer video is in its sheer simplicity. Just 30-seconds long, the Microsoft 365 team leaned into the fundamental principles of a great animated video to produce a fun, compelling and engaging piece. Through bright animation and punchy audio, it effectively communicates how Microsoft Whiteboard enables co-workers to collaborate and connect in real-time while working remotely.
  You can view the video on YouTube here.
• Western Union U.S Mobile Bill Payments – Western Union
  Conducting their operations in the finance space – an industry not especially known for its scintillating, exciting nature – Western Union needed a succinct and captivating way to explain the key features of a fintech company: and this video certainly delivers on that brief. From 2014, this video was part of the earlier wave of animated explainer videos, and effectively shows how customers can set up and conduct their own mobile payment strategies.
  You can view the video on YouTube here.

The Importance of Animated Explainer Videos: 5 Enterprise Benefits

A short film featuring some engaging animation and attention-grabbing audio is a great tool for businesses to launch new services or products, increase conversions, or broaden engagement. At a more granular level, a well-produced animated explainer video presents a number of other business benefits, which you can position your company to take advantage of.

1. Streamline training processes: In any business, it’s sometimes necessary to upskill your staff or train employees in the execution of new tasks. Onboarding processes, which might previously have been time and resource-intensive, can be made dramatically more efficient by implementing a corporate animated explainer video.

2. Express company culture: Let’s face it, you could tell people what your brand stands for and what it’s all about until you’re blue in the face. And, it’s true, this may go some way to communicating your company ethos; but for a lasting, impactful, engaging and emotive communication of who you are as a brand, show people through effective animation.

3. Generate high-impact marketing material: Whether you’re marketing yourself as a brand, or a new product or service; in our high-turnover, short-attention-span world of digital content, a short video – complemented by clever use of audio – is the best way to reach your audience and make sure your message hits its mark.

4. Create evergreen content assets: Animated explainer videos are the resource that, in a business sense, just keep giving. You can deploy them as effectively at the awareness stage of the sales funnel, as you can at the decision stage; you can utilise existing videos for remarketing purposes; and you can repeatedly place videos at strategic moments throughout your user flow (in an email, on your social media feed and on your website, for instance) in order to increase familiarity and impact.

5. Boost your SEO rankings: In this day and age, a significant majority of the internet is made up of video-based content. Any business that neglects to include at least some video in its content portfolio is missing a major opportunity for SEO (search engine optimisation) ranking. The fact is, Google and other search engines prioritise content that users respond well to – and, by and large, that means video.

Discover the Benefits of Bespoke Animated Explainer Videos

The team here at Sliced Bread Animation are specialist creators of explainer videos that our clients use to improve cost-efficiency and increase their revenue. We can help you conceptualise sometimes-complex messages and render your idea – whether it’s a training process, a product launch or a brand awareness piece – as a compelling digital asset that engages your target audience and drives ROI.

To find out what a bespoke animated explainer video can do for your business and grow your operations speedily, significantly and sustainably, reach out to us today.