Animated Advertising: The Benefits of Motion Graphics in Marketing
Motion graphics give life to images, shapes, and text to tell a story and draw attention. For these reasons, it’s no wonder that motion is huge in advertising where engaging viewers is the core goal.
Why Use Motion?
Capture Attention
Motion graphics combine dynamic movement with color, form, and especially sound to create cohesive packages that attract viewers.
Adelaide Film Works’ article The Power of Moving Images: Unveiling the Captivating Nature of Visual Engagement states, “The interplay of visual and auditory elements creates a multisensory experience that triggers emotional responses” (Adelaide Film).
A still image is easy to ignore, but a moving visual stimulates people’s sense of sight by constantly changing what they’re looking at each moment. Music or sound effects bring in the sense of hearing, adding another layer to the advertisement’s impact.
Convey Information
A benefit of visuals in general is their ability to share information effectively. One image can convey ideas that may take multiple sentences to explain. Use motion to turn that into multiple images, and the amount of information drastically increases.
Visuals are stored as both an image and a label of the image
Sara Paul’s article for Nielsen Norman Group The Picture-Superiority Effect: Harness the Power of Visuals discusses psychologist Allan Paivio’s Picture Superiority Effect. This effect attempts to explain why visual information is easier to remember than words. The article says, “Paivo believed that the picture-superiority effect occurs because any visual is stored in two ways in memory — (1) as an image, and (2) as a word or phrase that describes the image. In contrast, words are stored in only one way — the word itself” (Paul).
The dual nature of images allows them to hold more information. Because of this, images can be also used to tell a story. Stories can take many forms, and though motion graphics may not have a typical “narrative”, they can still use the three act structure of beginning, middle, and end to lead viewers through the visual.
Brand Recognition
With an advertisement, a major part of the information being shared is about the brand. Viewers associate certain characteristics with different brands that allow them to easily recognize them in their lives.
Brands have logos, of course, whose colors and shapes create a recognizable icon, but that’s not all there is. Advertisements are a chance for companies to show their unique style. The choice of music and visuals set the tone of the company and product. Motion graphics are an opportunity to explore imaginative ways of demonstrating these brand features.
This rebrand motion graphic for Burger King elicits multiple senses and feelings while emphasizing the (new) brand identity
Flexibility
Advertising takes many forms with a variety of delivery methods. Digital signs, commercials, and social media posts are all prime areas for motion graphics to catch people’s eyes and make them stop for a moment. Television commercials can be larger scale animations while social media posts may use short videos or GIFs.
Animated Advertising
With so much advertising surrounding people now, it’s important for companies to stand out and grab what attention they can. Motion graphics, with their mix of dynamic visuals and sound, can catch viewers’ eyes and leave a lasting impression, making motion a valuable resource for many brands.
