Storytelling is one of the most effective ways to cut through complexity and connect with audiences. This is because it’s a sense-making mechanism. Today, so much marketing collateral fails because it’s too complicated. Consider, for example, a product launch email overloaded with jargon, buzzwords and lengthy sentences trying to explain every feature all at once. Instead of informing, the brain is forced to work overly hard to process the information, leaving audiences overwhelmed, confused and disinterested.
However, the simpler the communication, the easier it is for the brain to digest, process and retain the message. This is where animated explainer videos make a huge difference.
Savvy marketers use these videos to simplify abstract concepts and effectively communicate details of their products and services in a way that’s both educational and entertaining. By applying storytelling techniques, they highlight key information through strategically chosen visuals, which keep audiences engaged throughout.
Today, animated explainer videos have become a vital part of business strategy, and it’s no surprise why. With 97% of companies reporting that these videos help audiences understand their business better, they are essential for translating complexity into clarity, improving audience engagement and creating real impact.
At Content Creatures, we truly believe in the power of animated explainer videos to inform, inspire and drive action in a memorable and meaningful way. For us, they are core tools for helping brands be seen, heard and understood.
In this blog, we’ll explore what animated explainer videos are, why they’re so effective and how Content Creatures can help you create one that works for your brand.
What are animated explainer videos?
Animated explainer videos are short, focused films that use motion graphics, illustration and voiceover to clarify a product, service or idea. They typically last between 1 to 2 minutes. Instead of going into great, potentially exhaustive detail, they emphasise the most relevant information through fun and compelling animations.
Typically, they follow a three-act narrative structure, which aims to be both entertaining and informative, to guide understanding.
But what exactly is this three-act structure? It’s a simple, yet powerful storytelling framework.
It begins with a short introduction, which then moves to a middle section that outlines a problem or question and then concludes with a resolution or clear takeaway.
This structure helps stories stick. Because short stories are easy to remember and retell, they naturally invite conversation. Word of mouth is powerful and when your brand’s story is simple to share, it can help your message spread long after your video ends.
Besides this, the dynamic form of animated videos consistently outperforms static content, since they yield higher levels of engagement and capture audience attention more effectively from start to finish.
For example, imagine a company introducing a new sustainability initiative. Rather than relying on dense static content to convey information, they could use an animated explainer video to bring the concept to life. This could use vibrant colours, captivating visuals and an engaging three-act structure to break the concept down into digestible chunks. Audiences can be guided on a visual journey from the initial stages of sourcing materials through to the end goal of reducing waste. Resultantly, this approach translates a complex idea into a comprehensible and engaging story, which people enjoy watching.
In recent years, animated explainers have become one of the most valuable methods for brands to convey their message to their target audience and drive measurable results. A study into explainer videos found that they not only led to significant improvements in viewers’ knowledge compared to static content but also increased engagement and motivated audiences to take action.
These are just some of the powerful benefits these videos can offer your business. Now, let’s look more closely at why animated explainers have become such an effective tool for modern businesses.
What are the benefits of animated explainer videos?
Simplifying Complexity
It can be challenging to find the right approach to help your audience clearly understand your concepts, technical processes or overall brand message. By combining motion and storytelling, animated explainer videos break down complex ideas into clear, manageable pieces that are easier to understand.
They’re short, focused structure helps audiences grasp what matters most, making it easier for them to understand, remember and connect with your message.
Audience Engagement
Our brains constantly sort through vast amounts of information, discarding millions of unimportant details every day. In a world saturated with content, only messages that are clear, concise and engaging manage to cut through the noise.
Animated explainer videos achieve this by incorporating movement, colour, and sound with storytelling. These elements capture and hold attention through attentional capture by which stimuli, such as bright colours, loud sounds or movements instinctively attract and hold individuals’ focus.
Memory & Recall
Audience recall is one of the most important measures of message effectiveness. Animated explainer videos excel in improving memory and recall because they align with how the human brain encodes and retrieves information.
Research indicates that most people process and retain information more effectively when it is presented visually, rather than through text alone. Therefore, animated explainer videos tap into this cognitive preference using visual storytelling to maintain interest and strengthen memory.
Dual Coding Theory additionally helps explain this effect. This proposes that people process verbal information, such as words and narration, and non-verbal information, such as visuals, through two complimentary channels in the brain. When both are engaged simultaneously, like when watching an animated explainer, the information is encoded in multiple ways. This strengthens understanding and improves long-term recall.
With recall comes “retellability.” Think of explainer videos as story containers, shorter stories drawn from the bigger narrative. They make your message easy to understand and easier to share. When your story is easy to retell, that’s when word of mouth takes over and your audience starts telling it for you.
Persuasion & Narrative Power
Animated explainer videos are highly persuasive tools. By blending storytelling with information, they can lead to an eased processing fluency. In other words, these narratives can be processed more fluently than non-narratives, which can subsequently enhance persuasive outcomes. Notably, 85% of people are more likely to purchase a product after watching an explainer video. This number represents a real opportunity for businesses to influence consumer decision-making through this content.
Conversion Rate
If you’re looking for an effective way to boost conversion rates, animated explainer videos are a proven solution. By simplifying complex information, they make it easier for audiences to understand your offerings. It is this clarity that drives action. Adding an explainer video to a landing page can increase conversions by up to 80%.
For example, Dropbox’s two-minute animated explainer video introducing cloud storage helped boost its user base from 5,000 to 75,000 almost overnight. Animated explainers are, therefore, one of the most effective ways to turn views into value.
Versatility Across Channels
In today’s multi-platform landscape, versatility is key. Animated explainer videos are highly versatile assets that engage audiences across different platforms. On websites they help simplify complex concepts and improve audience understanding. On social media they help drive engagement through their narrative and visual style, which helps capture attention within seconds. And, in email campaigns, they help increase click-through rates.
Their versatility makes them a cost-effective investment, as a single video can be used effectively across multiple channels.
Want to boost brand clarity and engagement? Explore what we can offer.
2D Animation
We use two-dimensional graphics and animations to simplify brand concepts in an engaging, visually appealing way. This style remains one of the most popular for explainer videos because the possibilities for them are endless.
Here’s a 2D animated explainer we produced for Lightning Sharks, designed to simplify complex ideas through bold motion.
3D Animation
By combing storytelling with three-dimensional computer-generated imagery, we create 3D animated explainer videos that offer a greater level of detail and a true-to-life visual look. These elevate your concepts, ideas and narratives in a visually striking and immersive format.
This explainer for KBR Construction combines 3D elements with clean motion design to explain their process in a clear, engaging way.
Character Animation
Our character animation is powerful because it helps build emotional connections and help audiences relate to your brand. When audiences see relatable visual characters expressing emotion or overcoming challenges, whether it’s a brand mascot or a stylised employee, they engage more deeply and remember your message.
This playful, colourful character animation explainer we designed for Flow brings personality and clarity to their message.
Kinetic Typography
We make words move with purpose, energy and rhythm. Using bold design and motion graphics, your simple text can be transformed into an engaging visual story. This style captures attention fast and is ideal for delivering powerful messages, campaign headlines or key statistics in a memorable way.
Take a look at our explainer we made for Hiscox, which uses kinetic typography to communicate with clarity and energy.
Why work with Content Creatures?
Telling your brand story isn’t easy. But with strategy, storytelling and animation we can make them simple and memorable.
Since 2014, Content Creatures has been helping brands communicate their messages through animation. We create animated explainer videos for global brands that capture attention, strengthen understanding and reflect their unique voice. These inform, inspire and resonate with audiences long beyond the end of the video.
If you’re exploring new ways to communicate your message, we’d love to talk animation and help find you the right approach:
Brands deserve to be seen, heard and understood. Let us make your story clear, memorable and impossible to ignore through an animated explainer video.
