Whiteboard animation videos are special animated films, which educate customers about a company, a brand or its products. They have been used by marketing, sales and HR departments of the biggest companies for 10 years, but only just starting to gain popularity in Poland.

The following article shows interesting cases presenting the possibilities of whiteboard films.

When can whiteboard animation be useful?

Whiteboard animations are created in such a way that they engage the viewer. Apart from that, they have an amazingly positive influence on the viewer’s ability to memorise the material seen as shown by the studies conducted by prof. Wiseman – one of the most well-known psychologists in the world. (You can read more about that in our article entitled What is whiteboard animation (and how your business can benefit from it).

Whiteboards – apart from their explaining and commercial function – are also effective in presentation of products already at the concept design stage. This is due to the fact that there is no need to use read-made shots.

They are also widely used in internal communications in companies. Animations are successful in replacing static slide shows and transferring knowledge in a dynamic way. Their attractive form is perfect especially for presentation of a set of complex information or data.

Thanks to whiteboard animation, it is possible to talk about the company’s internal policy, its processes, cases or regulations in an innovative way, without boring the audience to death with PowerPoint presentations.

The biggest brands in the world use whiteboard animation

Whiteboard animation is already used by the biggest brands and concerns in the world. The most well-known example of a company using whiteboard animation is Coca-Cola. The famous drinks manufacturer presented its “Content 2020” business strategy in a clip of over 17 minutes.

The then deputy marketing director of Coca Cola, Jonathan Mildenhall (currently a CMO in AirBnB), explained the most important assumptions of the American giant’s plans step-by-step.

The whiteboard animation video presenting Coca-Cola’s marketing strategy

The video reached the company’s business partners and was spread in the Internet among the fans of the brand. Everyone got the same, consistent message. That is how the employees were spared the need to play the “Chinese whispers” game and rely on oral (and PowerPoint) announcements of the management’s guidelines, which could result in many misunderstandings.

This example shows that animated films can become a part of the visual identification of a company and show an important subject in an easily comprehensible way.

Carlsberg also decided to use whiteboard animation. Over 2 years ago, the Polish branch of the Danish beer manufacturer ordered us to make a series of educational videos on various aspects of beer production and consumption. The aim of the video was to pass the knowledge on the subject in a nutshell to managers of an expert company.

After some time, the videos were also uploaded to the Carlsberg’s website, so that the company’s customers were able to get to know more on the subject of beer production.

Carlsberg’s educational video [in Polish]

Use in B2B and B2C communications

Coca-Cola and Carlsberg are not the only giants which have been benefiting from the potential of sketched animations. Among the companies using whiteboard animation there are, among others, Google, P&G and Deloitte.

However, one of the most famous animation cases is an American start-up which has become a global brand within the last few years. It has been due to, among others, a very skilful use of an explainer video, which resulted in an increase of conversion on their website of over 3 %[1]. The use of a whiteboard animation video translated to additional 10-20 million dollars of income (depending on the source of calculations). That start-up was Dropbox.

When promoting itself, Dropbox used only a whiteboard animation film and a marketing strategy based on recommendations. As it service was innovative, the company wanted the person entering their website to know how Dropbox works and what benefits it brings within just 2 minutes.

A fragment of the video explaining how Dropbox works

The animation was aimed directly at potential users. It explained in an amazingly simple way what the app was and how to use it. On the website, next to the video, there was a “download” button.

The result? The attention of the viewer was drawn completely and the number of people interested in the service, translating into the sales volumes, was enormous.

Whiteboard animation in Employer Branding and recruitment

Recently, we faced a very interesting recruitment challenge. Due to the number of projects, we needed to hire more illustrators. It was difficult as the work in ExplainVisually is different from typical tasks given to artists.

Apart from that, the atmosphere in our company is almost like in a family so we looked for someone who would fit well. That is why we decided to make our own video in which we would clearly show what was it like to be an illustrator here and what we were like. We combined a classic film with whiteboard animation.

We shared our recruitment film in a form of a Facebook video, as the Facebook’s algorithm promotes its own videos at the expense of YouTube videos. It was also there, where most of our potential employee could be found.

The result?

Within 48 hours, our video was seen 10 thousand times and shared 100 times. The organic reach exceeded 25 thousand (about 80 times more than a typical post on our fanpage!). The number of likes increased by 15%. And, what was the most important, even though we were looking for candidates for a nontypical job, we received over 80 high-quality applications.

Thanks to the persons who shared our film, the results of the recruitment process exceeded all our expectations.

Our recruitement video [in Polish]

A video that generates conversions

A whiteboard animation video can also be an effective form of classical advertising on both TV and the Internet. What makes companies choose this method is the quick time of making, a large freedom of creations and the cost efficiency.

Whiteboard adverts usually take the form of explainer videos, that is videos which explain the functions of a given product or service (More information about explainers can be found in our article entitled What is whiteboard animation (and how your business can benefit from it.

In that case, conversions are generated for several reasons:

• First of all – it is a non-pushy way of advertising. Explaining a way in which a product or service works helps overcome the barrier of reluctance towards strictly persuasive videos. The ad has an educational aim – it shows potential benefits and leaves the decision up to the consumer, instead of directly persuading him/her to buy what is offered.
• Second of all – animations draw the attention of customers as they are still a rarely used form of advertising.
• Third of all – explainer videos use clear CTA messages, which explain step-by step what to do to purchase or use a given service. Regardless of the fact if the clients are supposed to click a link or select a number, it is easier for them to make a purchase.

Thanks to those advantages, whiteboard animation can become an important element of traditional and digital communication, especially because  in some cases, watching a video can increase the intention to buy something even by 85%. [2]

Use of animated films as part of marketing strategy

Probably the best strength of whiteboard animation is its accessible form, which shortens the distance, and makes it easier to win the sympathy of the viewer. That is due to its pleasant narration, drawings and characters with which the recipient can identify.

The characters can be freely adjusted in terms of their age, behaviour and look to resemble the target group. When a potential customer sees his/her reflection in the film, he/she is more likely to trust the company and its products.

Whiteboard animation films also offer various possibility of marketing creations. Thanks to their nature and looks, animations can become a part of a company’s strategy and DNA as they use the company’s elements of visual identification, logos, colours and slogans. The idea is the limit.

High quality is a key to success

It possible that whiteboard animation films are effective due to their influence on human emotions and behaviours. According to psychologists Melanie Green and Tim Brock, who studied the “narrative transportation” theory [3],  when the recipient loses himself/herself in an interesting story, his/her attitude changes.

Not only is the message memorised, but also influences the viewer’s beliefs. It is hard to imagine a stronger influence. That is why storytelling’s popularity has been increasing. One of the channels for telling the brand’s stories is whiteboard animation.

It is worth noticing that a drawn film can be an efficient marketing tool only if it is made in a professional way. Apart from attractive drawings, we also need to understand the target group of our video and the aim the video is supposed to reach. It is also important to be able to convert the client’s materials into an interesting story as well as to provide high quality of editing and postproduction.

Within that scope, whiteboard animation videos are similar to classic adverts. And even though whiteboard animation’s budget is far from that of a Super Bowl’s advertising block, after almost 10 years of its presence on the market, it is safe to say that it is not a passing trend.

If you would like to have such a video made for the needs of your business, write to us to the following address: hello@explainvisually.co!

Our whiteboard animations: