The Importance of Storytelling in Animated Commercials (and Why it Matters for Your Business)
We live in a world made of stories: from childhood bedtime tales to soap operas, TV news, and even business proposals, stories are everywhere. Some go as far as saying that even personal identity is a story, a tale we tell ourselves about who we are that we constantly write and re-write. What does this mean for branding agencies and business owners? What is the role of storytelling in marketing and brand development? Do stories matter, and why?
Why does storytelling matter for businesses?
The biggest challenge in commercial copywriting is getting your audience to care. The average consumer experiences more than 1500 ads daily, and the fight for attention is in full swing. How do you get people to pause and pay attention in the midst of all this chaos?
Enter storytelling.
A gripping story is a key to transforming a bunch of boring facts no one cares about into a coherent narrative that instantly immerses your audience and engages them emotionally. Science has shown storytelling to be the most powerful form of human communication. Every brand wishing to establish a genuine connection with customers must master the art of storytelling. A good story can make or break your business success, so take it seriously.
So Storytelling matters. But why animated commercials?
You can have a brilliant idea for your 3d animation and a gripping script but still, fail to get customers to care.
Why? Because a story is only as good as its execution.
If you have a well-developed script with charming and relatable characters but fail to narrate it properly, your audience will quickly forget you. The key to being remembered is emotional engagement, and this is where animation production comes into play. There are many reasons to choose an animation for promoting your brand, but here are five narrative-related reasons you should choose to tell your story.
If you want to see real-life examples of how we use storytelling in video ads, check out our commercial animation studios page.
- Animated commercials are engaging.
The perfect story makes you forget it’s a story at all. We become so engrossed that we forget the distinction between the virtual and the real world, and video marketing does precisely that: it immerses your customers in a unique, charming little universe exclusively built for your brand.
- Animated commercials make us listen.
The light-hearted nature of animated commercials makes us let our guard down and open our hearts more readily to what we’re watching. For many of us, animation is associated with the good old days of childhood. We think of animation as fun rather than an advertisement, so we’re more inclined to listen to the story it’s telling. You can make anything engaging and relatable, as long as you wrap it in a charming little story.
Do you think it’s possible to get people to care about the downside of illegal streaming? It certainly is, if you use the magic of animation. Here’s how:
- Animation makes the most complex concepts understandable.
Explainer animated videos and whiteboard animations are a marketer’s dream: they can get the audience to care about the most abstract, far-fetched concepts. Why? Because they give these concepts a tangible form and make them relatable. Animated commercials are becoming the standard form of explainer videos because they’re better at doing the job compared to their live-action counterparts.
- Animated commercials are perfect for just about any business. Just take a look at each of the videos below to see how diverse commercial animation is.
Animated commercials work for all businesses and industries. Whether you’re looking for a way to explain your services through whiteboard animation, or you want to promote your product in an animated TV commercial, animation’s flexible nature allows you all the freedom you need. The sky is your limit: if you can dream it, you can animate it, not to mention the different 2D and 3D variations at your disposal.
- Animated commercials work.
Let’s be honest: in the end, it all comes down to whether animated commercials can get the job done. The numbers show us that they can: having a video on your landing page can increase conversions by 80% or more and success stories are ubiquitous. For example, an animated explainer video helped Crazy Egg increase its conversion rates by 64%. Video marketing is the future, and animated commercials will only thrive.
From Idea to Script: the journey of the Story creation in 3d animation
You’ve understood the importance of storytelling. You know that an animated TV commercial or a motion graphic is just what your brand needs. Meetings with an animation studio have been made, hands have been shaken and your video marketing journey is about to begin.
So what’s next? How is a story developed in an animation studio? What journey does a raw idea go through on its way to becoming a professional script?
Coming up with the idea, writing the story, and developing the script are three of the earliest stages in the 3D animation pipeline. Let’s see how each step works.
- The Idea: where it all begins
Every great story begins with an amazing idea. At animation studios like Dream Farm Studios, a professional, creative team of experts start by asking questions about the project. The goal is to make sure that the idea we come up with is not only captivating but right to the point. It is essential to start with the end in mind, asking questions such as:
- Who is the audience for this animated commercial?
- What message do we want our story to send?
- What do we want the audience to do after watching this?
After answering these questions collaboratively with the client, the creative team gets to work. They brainstorm, play around with ideas and get feedback until they find an idea that is a perfect fit for this project.
Learn more about how to come up with great ideas for 3D animation
- The Story: once upon a time…
This is the step in which the heart of the animated commercial is born: the story. Which world does this take place in? Who are the characters? What is the conflict? How is it resolved at the end? The story takes shape when your idea takes on flesh and becomes more three-dimensional. A well-developed story polished by a dedicated team of scriptwriters is the key to emotional engagement.
Don’t forget how much brand characters matter in the world of storytelling. Commercial videos usually use the power of mascots with a combination of a perfect story for advertising goals.
- The Script: ready, set, write
The script is the formal, written form of the story. It contains everything that’ll happen in the animation production including time, place, action, movement, and dialogues. A professional, well-crafted script paves the path for storyboarding and gives animation studio artists a vivid idea of the world they need to bring to life. Read more on how to write the perfect script for 3D animation.
Check out our brand character service page to see how we are helping brands enter the metaverse using a brand character.
Wrapping It Up
Animated commercials and storytelling are like Peanut butter and Jelly: they go together perfectly.
At the heart of every effective commercial, video or otherwise, lies an engrossing story waiting to be heard. On the other side, animated commercials are the perfect vehicle for telling the story of your brand. Professional animation studios employ scriptwriters and creative professionals who turn raw ideas into fully developed, detailed scripts that will captivate the minds and conquer the hearts of your audience.
Arash Naghdi
Arash is the equivalent of Buzz in Toy Story when he goes to infinity and beyond, but never comes back! responsible for our blog and content marketing efforts, he always delights the audience with his tenacity and passion in creating the extraordinary.