Have you ever had one of those weekends? A food fueled smorgasbord that leaves you with a meat hangover?
I did this last weekend.
(Pictured: a heart attack)
It was AMAZING! Three racks of ribs, two full home grown chickens and ten bratwursts.
I spend over 9 hours making this. That picture was taken near the very end and I had spent a very long time making sure that everything went perfectly. Boy did it ever.
(Pictured: Drool Factor 5)
The same thing can be said about anything: School, children, career, business. They all need nurturing. They all need taking care of. They need time to be mastered.
It’s the same with writing. You have to nurture the skill if you want to master it. Perhaps some think that it’s all just a matter of left to right, up to down, put it in an order to make sense and viola! You have some magical sentence that will change the world.
Or not. It does matter what the words say. I forgot to mention that.
In my line, that’s really all that matters. Especially when trying to write and explain concepts for companies that not only make sense, but are engaging and entertaining.
But hey, that’s our job.
There’s nothing that feels quite as nice as when a video comes together. Especially when that video is now creating traffic to your website.
The numbers don’t lie. 80% of Internet users recall watching a video ad on a website in the past month. Video sharing websites like YouTube are getting millions of hits a day. Since nearly the entire world is on board with this whole Internet thing, that’s a lot of people that could be watching videos about your company.
When Ydraw started we were making good videos that held audiences attention.
Then as the years went by, the videos went from good to great. Sort of like how the Beatles only got better after they replaced Paul after the car crash.
So as we venture into the future, we write.
Writing has always been second hand nature for me. To accurately represent feelings through action and dialogue have been a staple in my life ever since I can remember. A lot of it has been from working on movie sets with my dad, an accomplished Special Effects Technician.
Since I was a little kid I’ve always been on a movie set. My first memories of a movie set was going down to San Diego and seeing some jets used on ‘Top Gun’ and getting yelled at by Tom Cruise. I started working on movies since I was 15 and have a decent resume (not that my name appears on all of those movies, not a lot of people’s do).
But my passion wasn’t into making the production, but rather into creating the story. So I started writing and writing and then after that nap, more writing.
I still have some of those first attempts to put pen on paper and they are BAD.
In the same way when I started to smoke ribs, those first racks of ribs were terrible. Absolutely and horrifyingly terrible. I even made friends of mine eat them.
I still feel bad about that.
But today, my writing and my ribs are something I’m proud of. It took years to accomplish. Hours upon hours of practice. Now I’m being recognized for both. I have a great writing job here at Ydraw and my whenever anybody takes a taste of my ribs are blown away at the quality. The reason is simple.
Through nourishment and time-consuming effort, I have been able to cultivate the type of result that is extraordinary. And more importantly, a result I’m proud of.
We love our customers and appreciate the business you all have given us. Without you, we would not be eating.
You would think that after creating animation videos for five years our ideas would run out, but they have not. Success breeds more success, and animation video creation only breeds more video ideas. It’s racking our brains and we just have to make it stop.
You’re going to help us…lol
Over the last year we have come up with some glorious ideas that will certainly go “viral” or at least put you on the map.
For our happy customers, we are going to present you with three video styles and ideas that could change your business forever. These ideas can be adjusted, changed, or adapted to your business, so my hope is that your marketing director will take a look and maybe bring us back some more ideas.
Now, I must warn you that these ideas do not come cheap, nor are they going to be simple. It’s going to take a big budget and for this to work you are going to have to let our professional animators do what they do best:
Create amazing stuff!
I will tell you whom these video ideas are not for…
· Companies with a very tight budget. (Sorry, it’s going to take a lot of time and teamwork. This does not come cheap.)
· Companies that have a hard time pushing the envelope.
· Companies who worry about offending every Tom, Dick and Harry on the planet. These videos will be loved by most, but there will be haters. There always are.
So lets jump in.
I am going to give you examples of these ideas so that you can see what type of traction they have received in the past. Remember, the reason for sharing our ideas is to spark a few ideas of your own.
Video Campaign Number 1
“Fart On A Plane”
All of us have experienced the misery that comes with plane travel. It ranks among the worst experiences – next to death. Personally, I feel like we are being treated like a bunch of lost sheep and I am sure airline workers feel like we are a bunch of dumb lost sheep.
We want to create a series of funny videos. (Five of them to be exact.) These videos are going to show the different scenarios that happen on a plane. It’s something we all relate to and it will bring a smile to the face of the audience.
The kicker is, after each video we will have branding and a message that applies to your company. It’s marketing without the audience knowing.
Here are some great examples:
Have you ever heard of “Dumb Ways To Die?”
It was a video created by Metro Train Station that has over 100 million views, but it doesn’t stop there. The campaign we would create would mimic theirs in that we would create.
Can either of these examples be applied to your business? “Fart On A Plane” could be perfect for a Net Jets, Magellan Jets, Flex Jets, or a private plane company looking to show the misery of commercial plane travel.
What are the pain points of your business that the audience can relate to?
Video Idea Number 2
“Training Like You Have Never Seen Before”
Have you ever seen “The Bottom of the Ninth?” I’m guessing you have not. It is probably one of the cooler ideas I have seen, but it did not get any traction due to lack of marketing and lack of usefulness.
This style of video is 3D, with 2D elements encompassing a comic book feel.
Take a look:
This style would be perfect for a training video series. Could you imagine being trained by videos and a comic book style pamphlet?
Your audience would not forget it!
They could watch the training video series on their phone, at any time, or they could read the comic style pamphlet. It would be the most effective training ever done on planet earth.
A year or two ago we created a training video for The Cosmopolitan and it was a huge success. I think it is time we push the envelope a bit and really create a training video style that will be recognized by companies all around the world.
We can do this; we just need the right customer to make it happen.
Video Idea Number 3
“Still Coming Up With A Title”
If you have been with Ydraw for a while you will know that we love the Chipotle video.
I have written about it a couple of times before. Check it out below:
They nailed the message and were rewarded with millions of views. We want to create something like this for your company. Once again they took the pain point of the audience and exploited it.
Did you see the poor cow?
Now can you see the challenge that we are facing? We have some amazing writers, Disney animators, and editors, who want to be stretched to the limit.
Currently we are doing a full campaign for National Safety Council. They had the budget and we were able to let our artists create. It has stretched them a bit, but they still have hidden talents that we have yet to see.
Here are some screen shots and scenes.
Let’s chat and discuss ways to make this happen. It’s for the greater good. If these video ideas do not stop soon we might have to start creating them on our own.
It’s our job to build it, and the audience will come… lol
Hope you enjoyed…
The Rise Of Video Marketing Ideas and How To Make It Stop
Sometimes it doesn’t work to just tell your audience how your company can be essential to their business plan and how they need you so they can live a long and fruitful life. There are a lot of ads that are patronizing to the audience with incredibly dull narratives and poor acting. Perhaps by explaining what you do will persuade consumers better than any actor pretending to care about your company ever could. But here’s the problem, sitting and explaining your company is boring. It’s not engaging, it’s uninspired and it’s so very boring. Like, Jane Austen narrated by Ben Stein boring. So how do you balance out an entertaining video and explaining your company’s concepts and ideas?
Whiteboard explainer videos, of course! Let’s go through why.
ILLUSTRATIONS CAN HELP CONVEY COMPLEX CONCEPTS EASIER. Visual concepts are a driving force that allows your audience to grasp your ideas easier. The perfect example are the before and after pictures of meth addicts, though grisly they may be. The before pictures shows a healthy person who doesn’t seem to have any effects of drug abuse. The after pictures show the devastating and shocking effect that meth has on the human body. It appears as though the life had been sucked out of them. Without having to go into detail on how the drug has this effect, or why the person started to take the drug, the story of how it destroys you is clearly presented instantly.
WATCHING THE CREATION OF THE VISUALS IS CAPTIVATING. As the artist creates characters, environment and situations, the viewer is watching the story unfold in front of them. The simplicity of being able to watch that process pulls in the viewer and in turn they are keen on watching to see what comes next. Being able to see the illustration come to life adds a human touch to the video. Rather than having a polished animation from start to finish, the viewer gets to connect with the person behind the drawing. Knowing there is somebody behind that pen lets the viewer know there are people behind the drawing, just like there are people behind your company.
SIMPLE AND AFFORDABLE. Without having to use a crowded infographic that can come across more complex than it intends to be, a whiteboard animation is simple and tells your story without having to assault your viewer with statistics and mission statements. Perhaps the thing that stops most people from using video for their company is the cost. Luckily whiteboard explainer videos are incredibly cost effective and can reach a large number of people quickly.
USING NARRATIVE CAN PERSUADE AND MOTIVATE VIEWERS. Any parent knows the influence any kids TV show has on their children. Why when I was a lad, I too became a victim of Saturday morning television shows and for about 2 years straight dressed up like Pee Wee Herman…. EVERYDAY. It happened, deal with it. Just because the audience you have are now older and wiser doesn’t mean they can’t be persuaded by an engaging video. A study by LaMarre and Landreville in 2009 found that the difference of watching a film that reenacted a historical event and a documentary on the same subject had similar levels of issue interest and engagement with the narrative presented. Fictional stories are as effective as factual stories in persuading and shifting ideas related to the narrative. Both can be engaging and compelling experience for the viewer.
EASY TO DISTRIBUTE. Distribution of digital video is incredibly simple. A video can be uploaded to a many platforms an infinite amount of times. It can be sent in an email to consumers or link to your YouTube account. The entire world can take part of your company and the video can work its magic every hour of every day. Reaching your audience has been easier than ever.
A promotional video using whiteboard animation can present a complex subject matter into something that can be easily understood while being entertaining. That entertaining video can retain a high engagement rate and rack up views to direct consumers to your company. It’s simple, affordable, it’s easy to distribute to your clients and perhaps you’ll be able to have some free time to catch some Pee Wee Herman yourself. If that’s your thing, it’s certainly mine.
We are always producing new explainer videos and I at times I forget to check out our latest merchandise. Well here are some fun new and exciting explainer videos.
I get asked all the time by clients and prospective clients who are looking for whiteboard videos:
“What makes you different from all the other whiteboard video companies?”
Well…I am glad you asked. We actually lost a job last week to some company in California. It always amazes me when this happens because I do not know why people settle for no name companies that produce junk. Unless it is a price issue, then I understand.
Let’s Get REAL!
Did you know that 95% of Whiteboard Animation Companies do not even create customized art? Nor do they draw under the camera. It’s all clip art and fake hands. Welcome to the day and age of deception. If you are going with a large video production company they are most likely going to search for software that will create a fake hand.
Don’t be fooled. If you want amazing Whiteboard Animation Video results, make sure you have a company that really does produce whiteboard videos.
Make sure they are customized and your artwork is created to match your brand and business. This will eliminate about 95 % of whiteboard video companies.
Here is a list of companies that create real whiteboard animation videos.
1. Ydraw
2. Truscribe
3. Switchvideo (look fake, but are not)
4. Whiteboard Animation
5. RSA animate (the father of Whiteboard)
6. Adtoons
7. 321 fastdraw
These 7 Whiteboard Video Companies are what I consider to be the best in the industry. We have all been around since the beginning and we focus on Explainer Videos. They are my competition and I consider them to be valid opponents (kind of).
Now Let’s Compare Whiteboard Video Quality.
Best way to compare quality is to show you some screen shots. Or you can just jump over to YouTube and check out a few videos.
https://www.youtube.com/user/theRSAorg
Ydraw
Ydraw
https://www.youtube.com/user/theRSAorg
https://www.youtube.com/user/switchmarketing
https://www.youtube.com/user/TruScribeVideos
https://www.youtube.com/user/321fastdraw
https://www.youtube.com/user/Ydraw2011
Obviously I am a little biased but you will see that Ydraw is the absolute best in quality. Our artists all come from places like Disney, Cartoon Network, Marvel, etc. They worked on movies like, Land Before Time, Pocahontas, Toy Story, etc. They are one of the the things that makes us different.
Let’s Talk Whiteboard Video Pricing
This is where things can get a little tricky. The companies above have a price range starting at $3900 and goes up to $75,000. It’s rather unique how we are all over the board. Don’t ask me… 🙂
The price of a whiteboard video is very negotiable, but if you go too low, your quality will suffer. I would pay around $8000 for a one to 2 minute video. There is no need to go higher. If a company wants more or thinks they deserve more money because of some special method, don’t buy it. Have them come down!
We have a package that starts at $3900 if you are the right client, but most pay $7500 for the first minute and $2000 per additional minute. http://ydraw.com/youre-a-genius
And Finally The Whiteboard Methodology
This is where we all differ a bit, but at the end we wrap the same concepts into different terms. For example, we like to draft our scripts using simple formulas.
1. Headline, Problem, Solutions, Call To Action.
2. Attention, Interest, Desire, Call To Action
3. Pain, Peril, Resolution.
These are all things that you need to integrate into your Explainer Video. This is what keeps their attention. I have seen all of our competitors create great videos.
Usually the number one destroyer of a creative video is the client. They say too much and forget to let us do our jobs. Below are some of my favorite videos. The first one is a great script that converts, the second one was created by RSA animate. It was one of the first whiteboard videos ever created.
Have a great day. We would love to help you with your next Whiteboard Animation Video. We consider ourselves the Best in the Industry and would love to prove it to you.
Obviously you need to check out this New YouTube Video we created for YouTube Video Marketing Ads
It is not easy being this creative, but somebody has to do it. We came up with this YouTube video for one specific purpose. That is to create YouTube Trueview ads.
Awhile back I blogged about the need to create a Video for YouTube specifically. You can not just take a commercial you have been using for TV and start running YouTube ads to it. That does not make any sense.
If you are going to dabble in YouTube ads you really need to create a video that is customized for YouTube. Trust me on this one. I am constantly running youtube ads and testing what works and what does not.
Did you notice how we used the skip button? Did you notice how we spoke to the audience and acknowledge that they were on YouTube. This stuff works.
People are tired of us bombarding them with our messages. For example…When was the last time you got a call from a salesman. How nice were you? Or when was the last time somebody texted you asking if they could call you? Now that is just weird.
Things are changing and you will want your video marketing to adapt to what people want.
So while you are here I wanted to show you a couple of other videos that we have created for YouTube.
This video was created to rank for the keyword “How basketball got started.” You will notice if you type that keyword into YouTube that is the first listing that will come up. There is a trick to this and you can read all about it by jumping over to Yincmarketing.com
They will explain how to rank video and how you can dominate YouTube within your niche. This goes right back to creating the right type of video.
Good Luck
hope you enjoyed this short blog about our New YouTube video ad
