When it comes to digital marketing, visual content is incredibly powerful. It draws attention in ways that text alone cannot and delivers messages efficiently and rapidly. One exciting type of visual entertainment that has gained popularity is the use of animated cartoon characters to create engaging videos. This type of visual entertainment has become an effective weapon for establishing brand identity, interacting with customers, and communicating brand messages.
According to research, 72% of people would prefer to view a video instead of reading text. Furthermore, 96% of marketers believe that videos are essential to their strategy, and 91% of organizations employ them in their marketing plans.
Today, we will learn some tips and strategies so you can use animation to enhance your marketing strategy. We will also go behind the psychology of cartoon animation to understand why people are attracted towards them.
The Psychology of Animated Cartoon Characters
Animation is a written language we can all understand. It expresses feelings more effectively, clarifies procedures more distinctly, and retains attention longer than text.
Almost 65 percent of your audience will recall the content of your animated cartoon character video three days after watching it. Your audience remembers merely 10 percent. In simple terms, animated videos remain memorable for your target audience. The reason behind this can be discovered in human psychology.
We are drawn to animated visuals. This concept is rooted in the ancient “fight or flight reaction.” When an object moves, our brains detect it right away, and we immediately assess if the motion poses a danger. This causes moving visuals to instantly capture our attention and maintain it for some time.
Here are some reasons why the human mind is attracted to animated cartoon characters:
They Are Simple and Relatable
A key reason why animated characters connect with us is because of their simplicity. The animated figures are created with exaggerated traits and simplistic details, making them universally approachable. This simplicity enables us to reflect our own feelings and experiences onto the characters. Animated cartoons also bring back our childhood memories and let us relive our past experiences through their storylines.
For instance, the large eyes and basic features of animated cartoon characters such as Wall-E helped audiences in interpreting their emotions and feelings. These design traits effortlessly remove extra details. Emphasizing universal feelings like joy, sorrow, fear, and amazement allows audiences of various ages and backgrounds to relate to the character’s journey, creating stronger emotional connections.
They Amplify Human Emotions
Animated characters usually display exaggerated expressions and movements to amplify their emotions. This makes them more prominent and intense compared to human expression in reality. This enables audiences to swiftly grasp the emotion of the character even if there is no conversation going on. These bright and over-the-top meanings provoke an instant emotional reaction and pull us into the world of that character.
Think about Dory from Finding Nemo or Olaf from Frozen. Their exaggerated facial expressions and gestures make us immediately identify their feelings and emotions. Whether it is Dory’s joyful ignorance or Olaf’s cheerful excitement, their intense emotional display strikes a chord with viewers as it conveys feelings directly and profoundly.
They Bring Inclusivity and Representation
In the past few years, animation has significantly advanced in terms of inclusivity and representation by developing characters that represent varied cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. This enables the viewer to view their own self on the screen. This cultivates a strong bond between the animated cartoon, the audience, and their stories.
Movies such as Coco celebrate Mexican heritage, whereas Moana highlights Polynesian culture. These figures provide representation and foster inclusivity for audiences that have been previously underrepresented in media. Using inclusivity in your business animations can help you read and connect to a wider audience.
They Help us Escape Reality
One of the most incredible features of using animation is that cartoon characters have the capacity to defy the rules of reality. Animated characters have the skills to fly, alter their forms, defy the laws of gravity, and exist in a world driven by creativity and imagination. This enables viewers to break free from their daily hassles of life and venture into a world of imagination where everything is possible. This power of animated cartoon characters can be used to retain customers via captivating storylines that make a permanent place in their minds.
How Can Animation Benefit and Boost Your Business’s Marketing Campaign?
Using animation in your marketing efforts is one of the most effective methods to increase engagement, retain customers on your platform, and help you stand out from the crowd. There are many ways to use animation, from interactive advertisements and social media posts to interesting explainer videos and product demonstrations. Animated videos are not just visually appealing but also have the power to explain complex things simply and concisely. Here are some ways to use animation to benefit and boost your business’s marketing campaign.
Explain Your Product or Service
An effective method of educating your audience about your product or service is through animation. Animation excels in this particular area. For example, a brief, attractive, and vibrant animated video with a clear voiceover outlining a product’s benefits has a higher probability of capturing the attention of a buyer and closing a deal than only words and images.
Complex concepts can be perfectly simplified using animation. If customers are unable to grasp how your product works or its benefits, it will be challenging to sell, no matter how good it is. Therefore, you need a professional to create cutting-edge motion graphics and illustrations that will quickly describe the qualities and advantages of a product.
You can make complex ideas easy to understand by using cartoon characters, images, and storyboards. Make sure you do your homework and choose the perfect type of explainer video for your company and industry.
One great example of an explainer video is Airbnb. Airbnb used animation to make its platform easy to understand. They demonstrated how to use their services with brief, engaging animated clips emphasizing unique aspects like the host experience and booking procedure. This strategy improved their user engagement and made their services reach a wider audience.
Increase Landing Page Conversions
One of the most crucial components of any digital marketing plan is your landing page. Making a good impression is vital because it’s the first thing potential buyers see when they visit your website. To make your landing page even better, think about including an animated cartoon character video. A well-produced video may draw in viewers and explain your offerings in a way that texts and images alone can’t. Additionally, research indicates that landing pages with videos convert visitors into leads and customers more successfully.
Attract A Wider Audience on Social Media
One of the most crucial platforms for business promotion is social media. With 5.07 billion people using social media daily, it offers a powerful way to reach a larger audience. Unlike traditional methods such as TV commercials or print ads, which can be costly and hard to measure, social media marketing is both affordable and easy to track.
Making animated and interactive videos is one of the best ways to leverage the power of social media. It has never been simpler to share videos and reels with the world, thanks to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest. Animation and videos filled with iconic cartoon characters can assist you in reaching and attracting a wider audience. These videos will help you retain customers and increase brand awareness, too.
Increase Email Open Rates
Emails are still one of the most used and effective marketing mediums. Emails have an ROI of 36$ to 40$ for every dollar spent, but there is no assurance that your email will be seen even if you are using targeted email marketing campaigns. Why? Because only 20% of emails are opened daily on average.
But if you want to boost your email open rates, then there is one thing you can do. Add an interactive animated video to your email.
Adding a short, animated, and vibrant video to your email can increase open rates by 300%. You will be able to find several online tutorials and templates to assist you and guide you in leveraging animated video in emails.
Build Brand Recognition with An Animated Logo
One of the most memorable components of your business is your logo. Making a good impression is crucial because it is the first thing people see when they come into contact with your company. People also tend to remember your entire brand via that logo only. Animating your logo is another technique to boost your brand credibility and image. Your logo will be able to easily stand out from the competitors and improve brand recognition with a few simple animated transitions.
Furthermore, studies have shown that logos with animation or cartoon characters have a higher chance of being shared on social media. If you want people to remember your logo, then search well about your industry and add animated elements to your logo that look professional and help you create a fun presence for your brand.
Retain Customers on Your Website with Animation
Most of the time, your website serves as the consumer’s initial point of contact. Therefore, having an engaging website is crucial if you want to leave a positive impression and want your customers to come back. Adding animation to your website is a great way to increase user retention and user engagement.
Animated cartoon characters and visuals can draw in and keep viewers interested, whether in the form of an interactive explainer video or a simple animated logo. Examining animated web design case studies can help you optimize your website for a more powerful and eye-catching online presence.
Also, you can use animations to enhance your website’s user experience. Animation can be used to help users navigate a process like applying a discount on their order or playing a quiz to win a voucher. You can also use animation to give them visual signals like animated arrows, search tools, or menu buttons to help them find what they want.
A fantastic example of an animated website that was able to attract and retain its customers is Welsh’s Fruit Snacks. Their website is filled with 3D and 2D fruit visuals that just make the website so fun and amusing to scroll through.
Build Lasting Relationship by Tapping into Audience’s Emotion
Animation’s powerful ability to evoke strong emotions in its viewers is a powerful thing you can benefit from as a business owner. Animated content is able to evoke strong feelings and make a lasting impression with its vibrant colors, lively movements, and liable cartoon characters.
Businesses can benefit greatly from this emotional reaction since it helps strengthen the bond between the brand and its prospective clients. Organizations may build trust and loyalty with its audience by producing content that emotionally connects with people. For example, nostalgia can be employed to arouse favorable emotions or humor to make viewers laugh.
Bottom Line
Marketing techniques have been found to benefit significantly from the use of animation. It is an excellent tool for any company aiming to stand out in the crowded advertising market. Its ability to captivate viewers, trigger emotional responses, and offer creative potential makes it highly effective. When businesses integrate animated cartoon characters into their marketing campaigns and carefully track the results, they often see notable growth in revenue, customer engagement, and brand awareness. If you are looking to create high-quality, result-driven visual content, Video Jeeves’ creative expert services are what you need. Video Jeeves is a video production firm that specializes in motion and animation. We use our in-depth knowledge of animation cartoon character psychology to create explainer videos and clips that are engaging, efficient, and highly effective.
