3 LESSONS FROM OLD SPICE

In 2010 an Old Spice marketing campaign achieved viral success. Even more impressive was the fact that they did this as part of a rebranding that completely changed their target audience. There were many factors that contributed to their success, but there are 3 key things that this campaign can teach us about marketing. Things that keep us talking about these ads to this day.

#1 Make It Short, Sweet, and Snappy

The commercial that debuted the ‘man your man could smell like’ campaign featured witty dialogue and cheesy, rapid-fire transitions that caught and kept audiences’ attention from the start. And let’s face it, opening with a shirtless man didn’t hurt either. What Old Spice knew, and capitalized on, was that viewers have a short attention span.

Aim For 90 Seconds

In today’s digital world, we are exposed to so much content that we have to pick and choose what we pay attention to. Longer videos just take up too much of our time. That is why there is a sweet spot for video advertising, and that sweet spot lies somewhere around 90 seconds. After 60 seconds viewers start to drop off, and after two minutes less than 57% of viewers are still watching. Anything less than a minute risks not connecting with your audience or expressing a compelling story.

The Old Spice commercial was only 32 seconds long, but that was because it was made for TV. I am willing to bet that viewers would have kept watching for another 28 seconds at least.

You Have 10 Seconds…

Of course, there is a second factor in whether we tune into the video at all: capturing attention right away. If a video doesn’t hook us, and hook us fast, we are going to click away. On average, a video needs to grab our attention in the first 10 seconds in order to keep it. A fact that Old Spice played on repeatedly.

Keep It Engaging The Whole Time

Not only were the first few seconds engaging, and the commercial short overall, but the constantly changing set and props were creating new interest points that kept us from becoming bored. New things were even being added in the last 4 seconds! When paired with witty dialogue a winning combination was born.

#2 Create A Fantasy

In most marketing campaigns it is important to tell a story or create some kind of fantasy that will entice people to engage with your brand. The Old Spice rebranding campaign was no different.

Know Your Buyer

The story that Old Spice wanted to tell for this particular campaign meant that they had to change their target audience, which was a two-fold process. First, Old Spice wanted to lower the age of their demographic from 55+ to 18-35. Next, they used a crucial piece of research to flip their marketing strategy on edge. Knowing that women make approximately 70% of all the purchases of male toiletries, Old Spice decided to market to them instead.

Satisfy A Desire

Armed with that strategy Old Spice built a fantasy that would skyrocket their sales. They started off by creating a comparison between real life and the fantasy that Old Spice products could help women achieve. Then viewers were dazzled with a bit of romance and the repeated offer: “Smell like a man, man.” The idea was simple; Old Spice products could make your man better, or maybe help you attract a woman if you’re a man. The only way to achieve this would be to use Old Spice products.

#3 Don’t Let Your Video Stand Alone

It is easy to think that a well-made video or advertisement can stand alone, but the team at Old Spice knew that that isn’t exactly true. After their commercial aired they saw how effective it was and decided to continue to build a relationship with their customers. Their plan was to saturate the market and get everyone talking about their brand. Interacting with people in this way turned them from customers into fans.

Blitzkrieg Marketing

From the beginning, Old Spice had a plan to reach their audience on a new turf: the social media platforms that were gaining traction with the technology age. They advertised on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TV all at once. They wanted to be everywhere, and get people talking. This caused an immediate debate that paved the way for their encore.

Interactive Follow-Up Campaigns

When all the buzz around the initial campaign reached its peak, it was time for a second wave to break. In a spark of genius the Old Spice marketing team dreamed up and produced a two-day interactive series of videos where the “Old Spice Guy” answered fan questions and interacted with celebrities. Relating to their audience in that way was a huge victory for the Old Spice brand. 

Ydraw Can Do The Same Thing

Are you looking to create a video as part of a marketing campaign? We want to help you. Ydraw specializes in a range of animation styles that can help you achieve the same charming effect as Old Spice for your audience. Our team creates short, engaging videos that keep the mind active by continuously triggering the sense of sight. With a variety of animation styles, we can tell any story in an artistic way, and we are constantly looking for new technology to help us enchant audiences with beautiful animations.

But don’t just take my word for it. Our happy clients can tell you how we have helped them.

TELL A STORY PEOPLE WILL WANT TO HEAR

TELL A STORY PEOPLE WILL WANT TO HEAR

Humans are storytellers. It is one of the oldest traditions we have. Before modern methods of record-keeping, storytelling was how we survived–how we preserved knowledge, taught, and shared memories–and it continues to be one of our primary sources of entertainment. And everyone has a story. Just ask the thousands of people who attend the Scottish International Storytelling Festival every year.

Good marketing strategies make use of stories that will stimulate an emotional response and drive a customer to act, whether that action is signing up, making a purchase, or volunteering. At Ydraw we specialize in telling stories through short animated explainer videos, whiteboard animation, 3D animation, and more. We know we can help you tell your story, but first let me tell you Y.

Y Draw?

Of all the ways to tell a story, drawing might be one of the oldest. Just think about ancient hieroglyphs and cave drawings. That’s how people communicated! If that is not a compelling enough reason, here are a few more.

Say More With Less

Have you ever heard that a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, so have we. That is why we know that animating a short video to tell your story can help you say more in less time. That’s great news considering it only takes about a minute for an audience to stop paying attention. In fact, if you don’t have them locked in after 5 seconds they might just move on, but more on that later. However, with animated videos you are not just getting one picture, you are getting several.

Plus drawing has the potential to break down speech barriers and tell a story even without words. That is how powerful they are. You can maximize the short amount of time you have to get your message across by showing your audience what you are talking about, not just telling them.

Enchant Your Audience

How many of you know someone who will sit there for hours watching 10-second videos on Tik Tok? Their eyes glaze over and they can’t seem to tear themselves away because there is something trance-like about watching those videos. That is how easily you can hypnotize your audience with a simple video.

Whiteboard animation in particular is excellent at captivating an audience from the first frame. This is because the viewer is watching things being drawn right before their eyes. As a result, their whole mind is engaged in the process while they listen to the information being shared and are visually stimulated with constant motion. Much like anticipating the punchline during a comedy routine, the viewer is waiting for the whole picture to be revealed and is held in suspense. When the image is complete there is a sense of relief.

Be Contagious

Videos also have a high chance of going viral. In his book, Contagious Jonah Berger talks about “the science behind why things catch on,” and it is full of advice on how to create content that has the potential to ‘go viral.’ The technological age we live in makes it so easy to share a video that they can receive millions of views overnight. So when you have animated explainer videos as part of your marketing strategy you increase shareability and reach a larger audience. 

The chances that you will go viral are higher if you have a catchy script and fun artwork. Shakespeare wrote, “the eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen…” to describe how our individual senses come together for a more complete experience. Food that looks good, smells good, AND tastes good is way more enjoyable than food that just does one of those things. In the same way, hand-drawn visuals will complement a well-written script to give you that viral effect. 

So now you know Y. What about how?

Explainer Video Basics

The most infuriating thing about every tutorial on how to create a great explainer video or how to write a killer ad script is their number one step. Inevitably it will be something like, “start with a great hook.” Yes, that’s swell advice, thanks…now how do I do that? Well, after some research and a bit of trial and error, here are the basics. Some guides may add a bit more fluff, but these points are found in each one.

Create A Fantasy (AKA Tell A Story)

We’ve all seen enough advertisements to know exactly what it sounds like to be sold something. How thoroughly can a teenager tune out an adult or a husband tune out a nagging wife? That is how easily we tune out advertising all the time. Instead of using boring, overdone ad copy, insert your brand/product into the story people are living out every day. 

Taking the idea of telling a story one step further, into creating a fantasy, ups the stakes. Most people at a fundamental level are focused on their own survival. Will your brand or product help them get a promotion? Look better to a potential mate? Be healthier or more fit? Show them a fairy tale and position yourself as their guide, helping them look good or accomplish their goals. They will want to buy into whatever you are selling naturally. Create a fantasy they will want to see played out.

Misery Loves Company

Think about every great movie or comic book villain. What are they trying to do? Make everyone else as miserable as they are! Usually, their backstory is some woeful tale about why they are so full of hate, because it is true: misery really does love company. So when it comes to wooing new customers, sympathy goes a long way. 

Chances are you already know some key pain points your clients are suffering from. After all, you created a product or service to fix their problem, right? When you start your video by sharing in their distress, you let the viewer know that you understand how they feel. Then you can comfort them with your offer, and empower them to become the hero. 

Don’t make that common mistake. In this story, they must be the hero, not you. This will create a more compelling reason for them to interact with your brand.

Include A Call To Action

One thing you should never do when creating video advertising: exclude a call to action. The audience needs to be told how to obtain your offer, and no it is not because they are dumb. Marketing students have been told for years that “people are dumb, and you have to tell them exactly what to do.” Really, it has much more to do with being lazy.

If you have produced a quality video then you’ve sold the audience by the end of it. The viewer knows that they want whatever you are selling, but they want it to be easy to get. If you don’t make it easy to obtain whatever you are offering they will move on. Some kind of click here, buy now, or call today ending to your script is vital. Make it easy for them and they will flock to you. 

Yes, of course, it is important to have a hook, but there is no format for how to do that. A great hook depends on your audience and other variables. First, do the groundwork of figuring out what story you want to tell, then trust the process. A hook will come. It should never be the first step or you might just get stuck there.

There Is No I

You probably want one of these videos for yourself right about now, but deciding to create a video like this is a huge undertaking. So, if this all sounds like a pretty tough nut to crack, don’t worry: hiring us gives you a team of people who know what they are doing. When I first started this job, I thought there was no way that I was going to be able to pull it off. My coworkers kept reminding me that I was part of a TEAM and that it would take time to learn everything, but they would help me along the way.

Here is a peek at our process. Right off the bat, we get to work diving into the story that you want to tell and begin scripting your video. You might already have a script you want to work with, but don’t know what to do with it. Our writers will help you spin it into gold. Then we hook you up with the perfect voice actor to bring that script to life. While the voice actor works their magic, our artists will begin illustrating your project and recording it live. Editing comes last. This is when our genius team pieces together the voice-over and the recorded illustrations with a little bit of digital magic to unveil a work of art: your video.

Still not convinced? Check out some of our work and you’ll see what I mean.

2019 Video Marketing Stats (7 Data Points You Need To Know)

2019 Video Marketing Stats (7 Data Points You Need To Know)

Quick Summary of 2019 Video Marketing Stats

  1. Over 80% of marketers acknowledge that video is taking over
  2. Over 50% of social media users who watch a video engage with the brand
  3. Money spent on video marketing has gone up over 50% in the last 3 years
  4. Almost 90% of marketers express satisfaction with their video ROI
  5. Almost 75% of consumers prefer video over written content before buying
  6. Over 3/4 of every second spent on cell phones is spent watching videos
  7. Interactive video is used by a quarter of all marketers

Video marketing is as important for businesses now as it’s ever been. The ever-increasing popularity of social media has played a big role in this development. Those who keep up with information in the world of video marketing have an edge over their competition. We want you to be that person. Benefit from not only having a digital marketing strategy that involves video but also from being informed on the subject.

Here are some promising statistics related to video marketing that will get you excited for the future. They should also help motivate you to give more attention to video marketing if you’re not already. These video marketing stats don’t lie.

1. Over 80% of marketers acknowledge that video is taking over

For many years now, video has consistently yielded really good results. It’s been in the last half-decade where we’ve seen lots of business owners finally jump on board. And industry experts fully believe that the importance of video marketing for businesses will continue growing. Honestly, there isn’t any reason to believe otherwise. Video is king. People prefer watching a video over reading an article when given the option.

Business owners must start creating video content now (or at least sooner than later). This is because in order to get it right you often need to experiment. What video type will work best for your business and for what you’re trying to accomplish? It may take some tinkering. Some trial and error. The sooner you go through this process, the sooner your business will reap the rewards.

2. Over 50% of social media users who watch a video engage with that brand

Of all the things a business can do to attract customers, few (if any) have a better success ratio than video content. They are so good at increasing site traffic and brand awareness. And in this case, “so good” means getting over half the people watching to engage with your brand! That’s crazy!

And this news gets better when you break down the numbers even more. If we just consider Millenials, that percentage goes up to over 65%! Almost three-quarters of every millennial who watches your video on social media will interact with you further. I think it’s safe to say that anything producing those kinds of numbers is worth your marketing dollars. Videos are essential to effective advertising and building a strong social media presence.

When looking even deeper, you’ll find that almost a quarter of the people interacting with your brand visit your site. That same amount of people will do more research on your company, Googling your brand to find out more. One study showed that Millenials actually prefer there to be a direct purchase link associated with the video. When people are clicking the link, you know the video is working.

3. Money spent on video marketing has gone up over 50% in the last 3 years

Companies are investing in video marketing more than ever. That includes both mobile and digital advertising. Since 2016, money spent on it has gone up over 50% and that percentage is rising still. Do you know why? Because it works. And everyone is starting to figure this out.

Fun fact: what industry would you guess spends the most on video marketing? The answer: household goods.

4. Almost 90% of marketers express satisfaction with their video marketing ROI

The statistic above is specifically referring to social media video marketing. But still, the ROI numbers associated with all kinds of video marketing climb ever year. Spending a few thousand to make many times that is appealing to business owners, it seems. In fact, referencing the same study, we learn that almost half of business owners polled agreed on something else. The marketing dollars spent on video sees the biggest ROI compared to other marketing efforts.

5. Almost 75% of consumers prefer video over written content before buying

Let’s say you have an online sales page. On the page, you’ve got written content and a video. Which one do you think most people will interact with first? Video. When someone goes online to learn about a product they’re interested in buying, they are hoping there’s a video. They want to see it. They want to hear an authoritative voice talking about it. Almost all of your potential customers prefer this. If you don’t have a video on your website, let alone a video marketing campaign, you’ve got work to do.

One of the reasons people love product videos is because seeing is better than imagining. Also, the total time a person takes to make a buying decision goes down with video. When your product or service has an accompanying video, more people are likely to buy. Videos feel more authoritative than text. And we haven’t even mentioned one of the main reasons people love video marketing. Because they can share it with people after they know how great your product is! People love sharing what they love on social media. They can’t do that effectively without a video.

6. Over 3/4 of every second spent on cell phones is spent watching videos

Did you get that? When people are interacting with their cell phones, almost 80% of the time they’re watching videos. Let that sink in. A large percentage of people watch video on their phones now more than on their TV. If any of these facts are clear about the importance of video marketing, it’s this one. You need to put your brand in the place where people spend there time. And today, it’s on their mobile phones.

There’s another aspect to this that you should know. There are videos that are recorded live and then there are static videos. The live videos we’re talking about here are things like behind the scenes clips, Q&A videos, tutorials, etc. Guess what? These kinds of live videos are watched 3x more than static videos! Get thinking about what kind of live content you can upload for further brand awareness and customer interaction.

7. Interactive video is used by a quarter of all marketers

An interactive video is a live stream or any other video content where people can interact in real-time. Customers love this! People feel truly connected to your brand when they have these opportunities. Interactive video has been shown to be great at developing loyal customers. Almost 25% of marketers polled said that they have used interactive video at some point. And most of them said they found success with it.

2019 Video Marketing Stats – Conclusion

This data is incredible for you! Information like this is so valuable. Take advantage of it by getting to work figuring out how you can implement video into your marketing plans. The positive proof behind these video marketing stats is overwhelming.

How To Measure The Sales Impact of Your Videos (3 Focus Points)

How To Measure The Sales Impact of Your Videos (3 Focus Points)

If you’re spending your marketing dollars on video content, good job. When done right, video content achieves incredible ROI. But just having Ydraw create an awesome video for you and then setting it free on the internet would be unwise. You need to track what it’s doing. Is your video actually working for you? You need to know how to measure the sales impact of your videos. Here’s how.

Conversion Rate

First of all, you need to track the conversation rate. How many people are taking the action you want them to after watching your video? If the percentage is lower than you expected, you’ll need to do some research. Maybe your call-to-action isn’t as compelling as it needs to be. Perhaps your target audience isn’t being found because you’re not using the right platform. These are only two of the who-knows-how-many reasons for your video’s performance. Dig in and get the data.

On the flip side, if the conversation rate from your video is good or better than good, find out why. Do research on what’s causing it to work so well so you can replicate those things in other areas of your marketing – including future videos.

Engagement Rates

Next, you need to measure engagement rates. Use analytics and software to get your answers. What percentage of viewers are watching the whole thing compared to how many are clicking away before it’s over? Is there’s a particular moment in the video that has the highest clickthrough rate? How many likes, shares, and subscribes is the video producing? Depending on your video host, there are many more metrics you can measure that are very helpful.

If your engagement rate is low, then you’ve got some figuring out to do. Video comment sections can be a helpful way to learn what people think about it. If there’s a pattern in the negative feedback, that should allow you to pinpoint some of the issues. Don’t be afraid to engage with customers directly and ask questions, whether via email or right there in the comments.

And, just like we mentioned above, if your engagement rate is awesome, do similar research to make sure that you understand what’s working. You’ll want to implement these practices in future marketing efforts.

Vanity Metrics

Do your best not to be fooled by vanity metrics. What are vanity metrics? These are things like the number of comments, likes, and views a video is getting. The reason we say not to be fooled by them is because even though those things generate excitement for you, a lot of times they don’t correlate to increased sales.

However, we’re not saying that more views is always disconnected from sales. You’ll have way more conversion opportunities the more views you get. You may just need to a little optimizing. Revisit how the video is placed on the page, the video’s size, and its thumbnail image. It’s common to do a lot of experimenting with these types of things to find out what generates the best results.

How to Measure the Sales Impact of Your Videos – Conclusion

Don’t make the mistake of failing to monitor the impact of your marketing dollars. You’re wise to spend them on video content. But just because video content has a historically high ROI doesn’t mean you don’t need to monitor it. Now that you know how to measure the sales impact of your videos, get in the habit of viewing the analytics. Don’t try and let the video do all the work. Lead and guide it to generate the most sales possible.

Why Animated Videos Are Perfect For Social Media Marketing

Why Animated Videos Are Perfect For Social Media Marketing

Animated videos work wonders for social media marketing.

How? First off, remember what the 5 goals of social media marketing are: (1) increase brand awareness, (2) enhance public relations, (3) build a community of advocates, (4) research and development, and (5) driving sales and leads.

Animated videos address each one of these goals perfectly.

How Do They Increase Brand Awareness?

An engaging animated video with your brand’s colors and logo woven throughout sticks in people’s brains. The video delivers an extra-potent dose of memorability where your brand is concerned. It’s much easier to remember a particular brand if it’s associated with fun visuals as opposed to a stand-alone logo on a landing page or an article full of text.

Using animated videos also sets you apart from the ocean of business Facebook pages that are constantly posting uninteresting company photos and updates. If you’ve got a compelling animated video that autoplays on someone’s feed, chances are they’re gonna watch it. This will make your brand more interesting than your competitors.

How Do Animated Videos Enhance Public Relations?

A high-quality animated video shows that you’re serious about delivering your message efficiently. It shows the public that you care about being understood. Even fun or silly videos add an element of legitimacy and professionalism to your brand.

Also, social media is where you find the most accurate info regarding how the public feels about your company. Browsing comments from a meme you shared off someone else’s page is fine. But when you have original, animated content, the percentage of positive feedback is higher. Animated videos lead the public to view your organization as stable and confident.

How Do Animated Videos Build A Community of Advocates?

When someone shares your video, a seed of loyalty is planted. That action proves it spoke to them to the point where they wanted others to experience what they did. Whether your animated video made them laugh, cry, or think, them sharing it is a sure bet that you’ve stuck in their brains. This is the first stage of brand loyalty.

Animation has a way of making people feel comfortable. Helping your audience feel comfortable with your business is an important step toward turning them into an advocate.

How Do Animated Videos Promote Research and Development?

One of the best things about using videos in social media marketing is how easily traceable they are. You can combine the analytic data of both Facebook and the video hosting platform for your benefit. This makes gathering data and putting it to future use so easy.

There’s also evidence suggesting that for businesses, short, animated videos receive more engagement than live-action ones. This is because the nature of animation allows complex ideas to be more easily explained. More engagement means more data which leads to more refined processes.

Plus, they’re cheaper to produce than live-action videos. This leaves you with more marketing dollars to make more videos or put toward further research and development.

How Do Animated Videos Drive Sales and Leads?

Animation is less likely to come across as intrusive marketing. This means that viewers are more likely to get hooked within the first few moments and watch the whole thing. This does wonders for conversion rates.

Why are they less intrusive? Because animated videos are fun, even when they’re talking shop. Being entertained and persuaded at the same time is an age-old marketing tool, and it’s all over social media. Animated videos exude an element of fun, making the purchase more appealing.

There’s also something nostalgic about animation, and nostalgia is huge in our culture right now. It’s a very effective marketing tool, and animation is a great way to tap into that.

Conclusion

If you feel like your social media marketing is lacking and you haven’t commissioned an animated video of some kind, we highly recommend you consider it. It’s worked wonders for our clients’ social media efforts. There’s no reason it won’t work for you.

What Is Tone and Mood and Why Do They Matter to Your Video?

What Is Tone and Mood and Why Do They Matter to Your Video?

By Erica Schmidt Jabali

According to a Harvard professor, at least 95% of purchasing decisions are made subconsciously – or based on how we feel. We could be influenced by a brand’s commercial, their marketing, brand packaging, and more.

This means simply giving the facts and figures in your video isn’t enough – you have to strike an emotional chord with your target consumer in order to motivate them to act.  (read more here)

This is one reason why we ask in our questionnaire and on our kick-off calls what tone and mood you want in your video.

And, we are usually met with crickets on the other end of the line.

Turns out, for those of us who haven’t been in high school English classes for a long time (okay, a really long time), we might need a little brushing up on our tone and mood skills.

Don’t worry – we got you.

So, sharpen your pencils and sit up straight – because your speed-round refresher course on Tone vs. Mood starts now:

TONE:

Tone is the author’s attitude towards the subject. Remember when your mom used to say, “Don’t you take that tone with me!” Well, she wasn’t wrong – the tone we use in our speech is similar to the tone a piece of writing or voiceover in a video takes.

Here are some examples of videos that use a different tone:

In this video, the client wanted a confident, inspirational, educational tone:

 

Whereas in this video, the client asked for a relaxed, fun, beachy vibe, so our fan-favorite, chameleon of a voiceover talent, Dawson, actually used a surfer accent to achieve this goal

 

 

In this video, we wanted to replicate that infamous movie trailer voice to give it that movie trailer tone:

 

 

So, in short, tone is the inflections used by the voiceover in order to communicate how they feel about the subject.

Our VO talents are pros at taking a script and inferring the tone that it is trying to convey.

WHY THIS MATTERS:

You know your target customer better than anyone. You know what they like and don’t like. You know what their interests are, maybe their demographics, and even their buying patterns.

So, how do you think this person wants to be talked to?

Do they want that warm, motherly tone that says, “I’m here for you…”? It might end up sounding a little bit like this:

 

 

Do you want a fast-talking, witty, lightning speed commentary like this one?

 

 

The tone you choose for your video should be directly related to how your target consumer wants to be talked to.

 So, when deciding the tone for your video, consider the following questions:

  1. What prior marketing campaigns have been the most successful and what tone did they take?
  2. What type of tone will your target consumer be most responsive to?
  3. What tone will best represent your vision for your business and how you want to be perceived?

Try to think of three key words to describe this tone.

Excellent. Now that you have your tone figured out, let’s move on to mood:

MOOD:

 This is how the viewer will feel after watching your video.

For example, this client focuses on food kits for emergencies:

 

How did this video make you feel? That’s the mood of the video.

Our goal was to create a feeling of urgency, to make you feel that you need this product in order to be prepared and protect your family.

You need to think about the mood because you want to have that target in mind when writing your video.

For example, if you want your viewer to feel emotionally moved and compelled to act, then you’ll want to write the video with that goal in mind – and anything that does not compliment this mission has to be cut.

Sometimes, it can be painful to make cuts or reduce a video script to get it to a certain time – but if you think about all of your choices through the lens of – what will make my target consumer feel [x, y, z] – then it becomes much easier.

Since we know that people make most of their purchasing decisions based on how the branding or marketing makes them feel- then selecting the most appropriate tone and mood for your video becomes imperative.

WRAP IT UP:

  • The tone is the author’s attitude in the video and the tone of the VO and the script writing will communicate this
  • The tone creates the mood that your viewer will feel
  • With most purchasing decision made based on emotions – how you make your viewer feel is very important
  • Consider your target tone and mood carefully when preparing for your kick-off call!

There you have it. Everything you needed to know about tone and mood.

We hope this helps as you prepare for the scripting process. We’re here to help and hope to make the process as easy on you as possible.

Please reach out with any questions. We can’t wait to work with you!