How to use animation to make sense of the complicated in construction

Introduction

We have so much information, so many different opinions and so many platforms…

Being a storyteller is what can help you cut through the clutter and get your message across.

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It's not always as easy as simply saying "tell a story".

It might be easy to think that construction animations aren't always pretty.

Even little children who want to play with diggers eventually get their head turned by a fire truck or fast car.

Just say, “I commission construction safety videos” and the image conjured up is one of hard hats, high visibility jackets and of course, a lot of cups of tea.

We’ve all been there

Trying to explain something complicated is, well, complicated…

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The reason? 

It’s because there is so much to focus on all the time. 

We're always chasing the next new channel, new campaign, new angle.

And your clients, they don’t know what they don’t know. 

It seems the more important the topic, the harder it can be to explain. 

Remember, you’re a storyteller, complicated is where you should shine.

Because great storytelling is all about turning the complicated into the simple.

“If you make something digestible, people will add in the nuance.” 

– Malcolm Gladwell

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Malcolm Gladwell is a master storyteller and a chief simplifier. 

In his book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell tells the story of Joe Flom. A New York attorney.

This is a story about Joe Flom… He is short and slightly hunched. His head is large, framed by long prominent ears, and his narrow blue eyes are hidden by oversize aviator-style glasses.

His family moved nearly every year when he was growing up because the custom in those days was for landlords to give new tenants a month’s free rent, and without that, his family could not get by.

“I was ungainly, awkward, a fat kid. I didn’t feel comfortable,” Flom remembers. “I was one of two kids in my class at the end of the hiring season who didn’t have a job.”

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Gladwell could have chosen to write 10x more about Joe Flom. 

Instead, he chose a topic - the career paths of Jewish immigrants - a much complicated and nuanced area and turned it into a short, captivating story.

• He lets our mind create the imagery.
• He leaves us spaces and gaps to fill in our own details.
• He leaves us wanting to know more…

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In 2023, there were about 3.48 billion digital video viewers, a 25% increase from 2019 (2.78 billion).

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50% of B2B purchasers rely on video content when making purchasing decisions.

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96% of people choose to watch videos instead of reading manuals or text instructions.

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B2B marketing experts who use video experience a 49% faster growth in revenue vs those who don’t.

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In 2023, B2B video content achieved 1,200% higher engagement rate on average than text and image-based content combined.

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87% of B2B marketers are using video in their marketing strategies to connect with their audience and simplify complex concepts.

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Statistics are all fair and well in a world of statistics.

But when it comes to making your construction animation a success, you need the secret SAUCE.

That’s right…

You need the secret S.A.U.C.E.

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The secret S.A.U.C.E.

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You’ve heard of the secret sauce, right? It’s that magical thing that all great storytelling has.

And when it comes to animated videos the secret sauce is the gateway to storytelling nirvana!

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No matter the story that you want to tell…

However complicated, intangible or abstract your story is, animation’s secret sauce is the way to tell it.

For us, it’s our own little guide to surviving the storytelling quagmire.

Remember:

• you know your audience,
• you know the story you want to tell,
• you are just trying to breakthrough.

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No more explaining things twice, getting a "uhh… sure" or glazed eyes!

That’s the mission.

That’s what construction marketing videos can achieve.

68% of consumers prefer watching videos to learn about new services or products, as compared to ebooks, infographics, presentations, and articles…

So what’s in the sauce?

Let’s dig deeper.

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“When we worked with Tricks Studio, we played their video at a trade event and everyone stopped talking, turned and watched the video. The room fell silent. The video did exactly what we wanted it to do.”

– MarComms Lead, GCP (St Gobain)

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S is for Simplify

Hopefully you see that the key to storytelling is about making things simpler.

Think about how you would tell a story.

There’s a start, a middle and an end.

You need to start with a powerful hook, show value to your audience, and provide crystal clear information.

These factors can make or break your story.

And let's take an idea like say… "Waterproof Resin Technology: How Closed Cell Resins Can Save Projects $millions". 

• How easy is it to explain?
• Is your next customer reading a press release?
• How detailed is a blog post going to be?

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Construction Safety Videos can do it without the 200 page dense report.

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Building systems animations can do it without the 40 minute presentation deck.

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A 3D building visualisation can do it without you needing to be on a call.

Video construction animation has just made water leaks look interesting!

• No one had to go into a tunnel. 
• No one had to flood a major city!
• It’s about creating powerful visual hooks

Now imagine a product installation animation showing a company injecting a tube with the resin, water receding, a clock in each corner with “Lower Environmental Impact” and “Long Term Durability”.

It’s powerful. 

Construction marketing videos weave the complicated into simple. 

Finally, imagine graphics showing the impact this has for the business.

When we make things simple, we make things understandable.

Video construction animation breaks down the complicated…

so that your audience can be reached…

no matter who or where they are. 

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A is for Attention

Now you’ve made the message simple, you need to keep their attention!

And this is where construction animation shines! 

Because we all have, video brain. 

• We watch videos.
• We learn from videos.
• We get entertained by videos.

But not all videos are equal.

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The longer my video the better surely? Well, seemingly not.

B2B videos that are shorter than 60 seconds are on average watched all the way through 68% of the time.

Whilst videos that go over 5 minutes see engagement drop to 35%.

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Imagine explaining, Waterproof Resin Technology: How Closed Cell Resins Can Save Projects $millions in less than 60 seconds in a blog, guide or presentation. 

The topic needs to jump out and grab your attention.

By using well produced construction marketing videos you can catch their attention, get their curiosity engaged, and explain simply and concisely what they need to know about your product or service.

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There’s also an added benefit!

You want people to remember what you’re showing them. 

And they will. 

Whether you’re selling something or asking your audience to remember a specific thing, your construction animation is the tool that will do it.

Did you know?

We remember videos far longer as we use our sense of sight and hearing to process the information.

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U is for Universal Appeal

Everyone has seen a construction animation before. 

You're probably thinking of one right now.

Your audience have also definitely seen construction marketing videos. 

Just think, why?

Construction animations are an incredibly powerful storytelling tool.

It shuts the door on age, cultural or language barriers. We can identify with characters, narrative, and information far more clearly.

It makes telling the hard stuff easy. We don’t need a personal story. Just a story.

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Around 70% of B2B buyers and researchers engage with videos during their purchasing journey.

According to Google, 70% of B2B buyers and researchers incorporate video content into their decision-making journey.

You can bridge the gap between the video you have created and the message you are trying to convey using a medium that people know and love.

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By minimising the barriers that your audience faces, you can communicate with them on your terms.

You can make your message count across all 
the stakeholders.

You can tell the story that your business deserves.

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C is for Cost Effective

It takes one Construction animation.

One construction marketing video can;

• change minds,
• educate,
• evoke emotion
• shift perceptions and most importantly;
• sell your product or service. 

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And do so much more. 

It can be branded to you, bespoke to your needs and delivered across multiple devices and platforms. 

It's hard to imagine trying to do anything else. 

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Can you articulate the essence of who you are and what you do, in just a few slides?

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Do you want to explain your next big product with some… photographs?

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Imagine creating the perfect, industry-leading solution only have an A5 leaflet as your sales tool?

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One construction marketing video.

Translated to multiple languages for multiple markets. 

That can be sent to sales teams around the world.

That can be used in boardrooms and office cubicles.

You can talk to your shareholders, customers, staff and anyone else who is interested in your construction animation. 

Better yet…

B2B marketers that use videos report 49% faster growth in revenue than non-users.

Imagine having to produce different presentations about the same service 100x a year. 

Instead with animation, you get your returns quicker. 

• Put it on your landing pages
• Show it on the big screen at the exhibition events
• Send it out via email 
• Get it on the website to boost your SEO rankings

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And when your construction marketing becomes more cost-effective, you can segment further and go after the audience you really want.

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E is for Emotion

The final ingredient to our secret S.A.U.C.E. is emotion.

How easy do you think it is to make a complicated topic like… recycling… emotional? 

Try it now in your head. 

It’s not easy is it? 

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So when we say, video construction animation can fix that, what do we mean? 

You have to think about

• Voice acting,
• visual metaphors,
• sound effects,
• timing,
• narrative arcs,
• symbols,
• dynamic angles,
• environment interaction
• and much, much more. 

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With so many variables, so many ways to put the story into new worlds and environments, you have to craft emotional hooks from start to finish.

So when you talk about recycling, you’re not talking about the repurposed materials, you’re actually talking about…

Once upon a time, in a forest far, far away, loggers chopped down trees and turned the wood into homes, building materials and paper.

But, when the paper had been used, the wooden beams were cut into unusable bits and homes came to the end of their life, a bright spark thought "hang on, there's something we could do with this". 

We could turn that material into more homes, more paper, more building materials and slowly, over time, that forest was replanted, and the cycle could continue.

Because at our company, we believe that ethical recycling starts with a single tree planted.

We've just told a little story there, and wasn't it so much more powerful that simply explaining that we can work with off-cuts and waste?

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And emotion isn't just to pull at the heart strings…

Because if you can impart emotion into the serious, the complex, and the dry then you can develop trust with your audience in your brand, product and service.

And 87% of consumers say that a videos quality impacts their trust in a brand.

Your turn…

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