7 of the Best Digital Explainer Videos That Hit the Bull’s Eye

Explainer videos are becoming more and more prevalent in this digitally-driven internet era. As smartphones widen reach and shorten attention spans, marketers are looking for a new angle to approach their promotional efforts.This has given rise to one of the most popular new forms of promotional content today in the form of explainer videos for business.

These videos are part one part how-to, one part promotion and one part fun, making for a short, enjoyable and easily digestible form of video content that engages views. As we have elaborated in past blog posts, the numbers back up the popularity for explainer videos among companies big and small the world over.

Here are the statistics that justify the popularity of this form of video production and promotion:

• Where both text and video are available on the same web page, 69% of users would prefer to watch video to learn about a product or service.

• A staggering 98% of users say they’ve watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service.

• 74% of users who watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service subsequently bought it.

• 77% of consumers say they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a video.

• 45% of businesses who use video say they have an explainer video on their home page. Of these businesses, 83% say their home page explainer video is effective.

• 47% of businesses who use video use it in their email campaigns. Of these, 80% believe it to be an effective tactic.

As an explainer video production company based in India, we have witnessed firsthand how some of the best brand and product explainer videos have helped established multinational firms and even fledgling startups grow exponentially.

Seven explainer videos that stand out from the crowd

1. Pinterest

Everyone knows what social media website Pinterest does, and how it works, and even how you pronounce its name, right? Well, Pinterest wanted to make sure anyway, so they made this cute, clever and entertaining explainer to tell you everything that you need to know about the company, what it does, and yes, even how to pronounce the word ‘Pinterest.’ This is the perfect example of what a short, effective explainer video can do, and gets bonus points for tossing in a Chuck Norris reference.

2. Amazon Go

Have you heard of “just walk out shopping?” This is tech giant Amazon’s latest attempt at making life simpler for consumers and shopping more convenient, quick, and accessible to everyone. Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? To explain an entirely new concept like this can be difficult, unless you go down the explainer route of course. As Amazon has demonstrated through this less than two minute long live-action video, new concepts and ideas can be put forth in simple terms using this medium of videos. Also, another bonus point, this time for showing cupcakes some love.

3. Mint

Keeping track of your finances gets extremely difficult, especially nearing the tax season. Mint came up with a digital solution that would streamline the whole process. However, getting people on board to take the effort of signing up, and assuring them that putting in their bank details wouldn’t be a security risks were both challenges. Well, Mint, in true internet fashion, said ‘challenge accepted’ and a made a simple animated explainer that walks new users through the whole process of coming on board the service, the benefits it offers, and how secure it is all in one succinct video. That’s the beauty of explainer videos, they need not be focused on just one aspect of the product or service, but can cover multiple facets.

4. Airbnb

Who knew renting out a room or an apartment to complete strangers from around the world for short periods of time could become such a big thing? Well, it has, and Airbnb, the pioneers of this movement are surely one of the big start-up success stories who used a promising idea and a clever app to acquire great success. To help put the word out Airbnb went down the explainer route, and took viewers on a rollercoaster ride across the world (or a live action miniature version of it) in a video that is part adorable, part inspirational and will want to get you off your feet and start packing. Don’t believe us? See for yourself!

5. Spotify

Music app Spotify may be a household name today, but this wasn’t always the case. When the app launched in one of the biggest music markets in the world – the United States of America, it needed a hard-hitting promo to get potential customers to download the app and start streaming all that sweet, sweet music. So what did the brand do? Make an explainer, of course! The result was this snazzy little number that has no VOs (that’s Voice Overs for those who aren’t familiar with the abbreviation) and 2D animation that is clean, cool, and effortless in its enjoy-ability. You get to learn everything you need to know about the app without the content coming across as preachy, boring or overly promotional. That’s a winning combo and has be proven so with the app’s popularity.

6. Groupon

Who loves discounts? We all do, right? What about coupons though? Yeah, not so much. Cutting, collecting and keeping coupons safe is more effort than it is worth most of the times, but not when you’re dealing with Groupon. So what is Groupon, how does it work, and where can I get those discounts? Well, the company have made a straightforward explainer that gives you all the answers. The colors, font, animations and style are all very elegant, and give you a great perspective on what the company has to offer.

7. Google Now

Let’s be honest, Google is so deeply integrated into our smartphones (and lives) that we kind of take it for granted these days. However, your phone wasn’t always this intuitive, there was a time before all those mostly awesome, sometimes annoying prompts showed up. When they did finally show up with Google Now, the brand needed a way to show off all its new features, without coming across like a show off though. So naturally they chose to make an explainer video that did this for them. The result is this slick little number that shows you how awesome the app is, without it looking like Google are looking for a pat in the back.

Clearly, explainer videos are a great way of engaging customers and growing your brand. If you are interested in making similar cool, quick, and engaging videos, get in touch with us at Toolbox Studio to help make it happen.

Featured image source: grooveden.com

Utkarsh Salunkhe

Last updated: October 4, 2024

Utkarsh was honored with the 7th Dadasaheb Phalke film award for his short film "Grey," and presently, he is working on post-production of a Trilogy feature film project called 'SHADES' for which he is responsible as a Writer, Director, Editor and Art Director.