The COVID-19 crisis has put a halt to live-action production, from featured films, commercials, to television – but one particular medium is still moving at full throttle: animation.
Animation is still readily available, triggering a spike in demand – especially for advertising content.
The answer to marketing amid a pandemic: Animation
To succeed, businesses must adapt. This is doubly so in the midst of a public health crisis. Buying habits and consumer circumstances have undergone a sea change, prompting brands to re-evaluate their brand and marketing strategies. One example of this is through the incorporation of animation.
Lego is a great example of this. They’ve released an animated video to encourage kids to be superheroes and give suggestions on ways to stay safe.
In this video, they speak directly to their target audience, seeking to entertain and empower. They do so by building an authentic connection and providing values with educational resources and tips to play well at home. These STEAM and STEM-based initiatives are designed to inspire families globally to get their creative juices flowing despite the limitations of the pandemic.
This marketing campaign’s content-driven direction and inclusive message gave audiences an excellent blend of educational significance and engagement – leading to the surge in sales.
Artists have also followed suit and depended on animation to launch music videos – from The Weeknd’s “Snowchild” to Billie Eilish’s “my future”; While TV programmes like “The Blacklist” relied on animation to help complete the season finale with COVID-19 halting the production on the drama.
How COVID-19 animations sprang up
Many started turning to animation quickly to market their brands, while some focused on driving awareness about COVID-19 to audiences.
In pharmaceutical titan Pfizer’s case, they came up with a campaign that showcased the best tips and practices and adapted them for various markets globally with VidMob’s help. TurboTax, a tax preparation software, put together a clever animated COVID response ad on Hulu to motivate people to manage their taxes on their own at home.
With animation, brands can still do without in-person production and create content easily.
And this individual here managed to meld both animation and humour in a single clip – creating a hilarious animation that brings us back to the time when some may have gotten a little intense when purchasing hygiene essentials.
Source: Jason McCall
To educate the public about the pandemic, the Australian Government launched the COVID-Safe campaign with the a series of simple and clever gifs. No real-life actors were hired to demonstrate the correct way to hold back a sneeze with one’s elbow or show the right steps to washing one’s hands.
It’s time for brands to be innovative, inspiring, and come up with a viable solution to the existing crisis – boosting one’s brand reputation and helping the public. Marketers and brands alike have to focus on providing short-term communication and innovation to secure long-term success in this uncertain period.
That said, even a giant brand like Google has stepped in to push the message of getting individuals to play their role in ensuring safety and minimising the risk of infection.
Google on Tuesday incorporated animation into their logo to promote the use of face masks and the importance of social distancing. This effective animation doodle first sees the various letters in its regular avatar at first, then has them transform into moving characters wearing vibrant face masks.
Source: Google
In the following transition, we see the letters spread out to ensure space between one another, to represent social distancing. Finally, the doodle comes along with the message, “Wear a mask. Save lives.”
The way your brand fits into this picture
As long as you have an idea and a budget – CraveFX offers a reliable avenue to execute your marketing strategy. From 2D animation to motion graphics – a world of dazzling animated visuals await, ready to spice up your brand image!
