We all love a good story. And what better way to tell it than with animation! Animated customer story videos are not only captivating but also provide a fresh, engaging way to showcase how your product or service makes a difference. Telling a real-life story about how your product helped a customer can create an emotional connection with your audience.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the process of crafting an animated customer story video, using a recent example from our own video production to inspire your next project.
Timelines & Budgets: Planning Your Animated Customer Story
Before diving into the creative process, it’s important to set expectations around timelines and budgets. Animated videos are typically priced by the minute, with the style and complexity of the animation impacting the overall cost. If you’re working with a studio like us, you should expect a project timeline of several weeks, factoring in the creative process, feedback rounds, and revisions.
Step 1: Set Clear Goals
When embarking on an animated video project, the first step is always to establish your goals. Video production is an investment in time and money, so it’s important to understand what you want to achieve from the outset.
In the example customer story video shown here we began by asking the client a series of key questions to help create a comprehensive brief.
Then, we sat down with our team: writer, producer, and creative director – to brainstorm and refine the concept.
At a minimum your brief should cover:
- Marketing objective of the video – What do you want the video to achieve (e.g., brand awareness, customer education, lead generation)?
- Target audience – Who are you speaking to? Understanding your audience will help guide the tone and visuals.
- Story content – What’s the heart of the customer story? Is it a challenge they overcame, a unique product feature, or an inspiring success story?
Step 2: Craft The Story
Scripting isn’t just about writing dialogue, it’s about crafting the entire narrative including the planning out of visuals. In our example, we were telling the story of a customer who had a wild experience dealing with an insurance claim. A burglar was found hanging from the roof of his shop! This gave us an exciting, relatable, and visually rich story to tell.
The scripting process involves:
Reference Gathering: Collect images or video clips that inspire the tone, color palette, and visual style of your video.
Concept Development: Start with brainstorming ideas and honing the main theme.
Visual Planning: Think about how the visuals will support the story. What can be animated to reinforce the emotions and actions in the script?
Some tips for scripting customer stories:
- Choose a relatable and engaging story – While exciting stories can capture attention, relatable ones create a stronger emotional connection with your audience.
- Stick to the basics – Focus on the core of the story and avoid getting bogged down with unnecessary details that don’t move the narrative forward.
- Consider your resources – If your budget is tight, minimize the number of characters and settings to focus on high-quality animation.
Step 3: Storyboarding
Storyboarding is like the blueprint of your video. In this stage, we sketch out the key scenes and flow of the video. This visual roadmap allows you to foresee how the final animation will unfold and ensure that all parties are aligned before diving into the design phase.
Storyboards are also crucial for aligning the team’s vision and preventing costly revisions later on. This step helps to avoid any major surprises once the animation is underway.
Step 4: Look-and-Feel
Here comes the fun part: creating the style for your animation! At this stage, you’ll decide on the overall look of your video based on the mood of your script, moodboard, and your company’s branding guidelines.
We typically design 2 – 3 key frames that represent the look-and-feel of the entire video. These initial frames help the client understand how the final video will feel visually and allow for early feedback.
Tips for customer storytelling:
- Include your main protagonist early in the design.
- Focus on the key moments from your story, capturing the essence of the narrative in just one or two scenes.
Take a look at the initial look-and-feel design we created for the project:
After client feedback, the final version came to life:
Step 5: Illustrations & Graphics
Once the visual style is approved, the next step is to create the detailed illustrations that will make up the final artwork of the video. This is where the magic begins, as characters, environments, and props are illustrated with the animation style in mind.
In our project, the team worked closely to ensure that the designs matched the energy and tone of the customer’s story. These illustrations are essential because they bring your storyboard to life.
Step 6: Animation & Sound
The final stage of the process is animation! By this point, your team has already laid the groundwork through scripting, storyboarding, and creating the look-and-feel. Animation should now proceed smoothly.
Sound design is equally important – it’s crucial to work with professionals who specialize in creating the perfect audio experience to complement your animation. Whether it’s background music or sound effects, the right sounds can elevate the storytelling and make the final product feel complete.
Final Thoughts: Telling Stories That Resonate
Telling customer stories through animation can be a powerful way to engage your audience, showcase your brand’s personality, and demonstrate the value of your products or services. The beauty of animation is that it’s limited only by your imagination, allowing you to visually communicate emotions, challenges, and successes in a way that feels both fresh and memorable.
By following the steps outlined above, you can create an animated customer story that not only captures attention but also leaves a lasting impact. So, whether your story is dramatic, humorous, or heartwarming, animation is a fantastic medium to tell it in a way that resonates with your audience.
