Effectively Explain Software Products with SaaS Video Animation

With over 14 billion SaaS customers across the globe, Software as a Service (SaaS) companies require unique marketing strategies to reach target audiences and effectively demonstrate how their products eliminate critical pain points. Animated explainer videos do a great job of simplifying technical concepts, engaging audiences, and showcasing products as a must-have, real-life solution for diverse customer needs.

Video Animation Styles for SaaS Products

Whiteboard SaaS Explainer Videos

2D Animated Videos

Motion Graphics Animation

screenshot of whiteboard video completed for VistaPrint

First-Hand Explainers on a Whiteboard

In real-time, whiteboard explainer videos showcase dynamic footage of a human hand sketching visuals on a dry-erase board or other surfaces. Those clips are then sped up with a time-lapse effect and enhanced with color, movement, and other animation techniques to create a captivating visual learning experience. Whiteboard animations are inherently compelling due to the mesmerizing effects of watching a story unfold through colorful and animated illustrations.

A cartoon animation image showing a male standing in front of a bank

Bring Stories to Life with 2D Animation

Generations of consumers have spent their childhoods submerged in classic cartoons. 2D videos leverage similar animation styles and techniques to offer a nostalgic and whimsical viewing experience that capitalizes on the likenesses of classic comic books and cartoons. All of our 2-D assets are digitally illustrated in-house by Sketch Effect artists, making them 100% custom to each client project. This ensures that each video is unique and perfectly aligned with each client’s brand and audience.

Zirc Dental Motion Graphics Animation Screen Shot

Create Elevated Visual with Motion Graphics

Instantly add clarity to complex subjects with motion graphics animation. Adding movement and dynamic transitions to illustrations, icons and text achieves a cleaner and more professional look than other animation styles, ideal for corporate audiences. If data sets, charts, or other monotonous forms of information could use a visual boost, motion graphics animation is a terrific way to add life and color to critical messaging.

Our 5-Step Process for SaaS Product Videos

01 Kickoff Call

We begin with a call to get aligned on the project at a high level. We’ll discuss your overall goals for the video, messaging, audience, channels, and call-to-action. We’ll also dive into the creative process, discussing color palette, branding considerations, voice-over preference, and more.

02 Script & Voice-Over

Working with our team of writers, we will take all the material from the Kick Off Call, as well as other materials, documents, and references, and turn it into a wonderful script that matches your preferred voice and tone. Once approved, we will also source voice-over talent based on your preferences.

03 Storyboard

After scripting, we jump right into the storyboard. In this step, we break down the video panel by panel, sequence by sequence, and create rough, loose sketches to convey the overall visual direction. Here is when the video begins to come to life visually!

04 Illustration

Depending on your video style, we will create the polished final illustrations, graphics and assets that will go into the video animation. This is when our in-house team of illustrators get to really shine.

05 Final Edit

Once everything is ready, we generate the final animated edit. Everything is sequenced together, music and sound effects are added in, the voice-over is synced up, and the final video is rendered out. Congrats! You now have a final animated video.

Video Animation for SaaS Products

is a Great Fit For:

Internally-facing corporate communication

User interface and product explainer icon

User interface overviews & product explainers

Customer-facing video marketing promos or sales

Product rollouts and launches

Educational, instructional, and training materials

Change management

The Value for Your Audience

The Value for Your Businesses

More Efficient Messaging
Entertainment & Engagement
Increased Comprehension
Longer Retention

More Efficient Messaging

Video animation is the best way to showcase your software product with maximum impact. No matter your target audience, video content is processed faster and remembered longer than traditional communication methods. Animated video is the best way to ensure your message is effectively delivered, whether you’re speaking to existing or potential customers.

Entertainment & Engagement

We live in a world full of distractions. From email reminders to viral social media posts and online videos, important messages get quickly lost in the mix. Video animation is an incredibly effective way to cut through the noise and drive engagement when attracting user attention spans has become so competitive.

Increased Comprehension

Humans process video 60,000 times faster than text alone! By leveraging animated videos for internal or external audiences, you can deliver digestible content that is easily and quickly understood.

Longer Retention

Information retention is critical - especially when it comes to how your product stacks up against the competition. According to science, visual communication is the best way to help audiences remember content longer when compared to simply reading or hearing information.

Clear Call-to-Action
Maximized Shareability
Ease of Production
Cost-Effective

Clear Call-to-Action

Because video content achieves such high engagement, it’s an appropriate medium for encouraging audiences to take specific actions like signing up, product purchases, registrations, engaging in further learning, and more. No matter your goal, video animation can help you achieve it.

Maximized Shareability

From outside-the-box social media campaigns to sometimes stuffy topics like corporate policy, the best SaaS explainer videos give common topics the boost they need to become memorable and meaningful. By driving engagement and increasing shareability, your message is more likely to reach an amplified audience.

Ease of Production

Animated marketing videos are much more efficient to produce than live-action production. Animation eliminates the need for on-screen talent and other live-action production expenses like studio rental, crew hires, permits, and more.

Cost-Effective

In addition to being faster and more efficient to produce, animation is much more cost-effective than working with traditional video production companies. This is especially important when it comes to creating multiple videos for a themed series or slightly edited content for segmented audiences.

TESTIMONIALS

In the Words of

Our Partners

"We partnered with The Sketch Effect to create an animated video to explain our team management platform and are very happy with the results! From the initial script to final animation, the team made the entire process easy for us and delivered a creative and effective final video. Our Pickle Juice platform has only benefited from utilizing this video and look forward to continued growth, thanks to our new animated explainer video!"

Kellie H.

Customer Support & Onboarding Specialist

Pickle Juice

"The Sketch Effect is awesome! The animated video they made for us at Cure VCP Disease will be instrumental in spreading awareness about our important cause. The Whiteboard Animation helped communicate a complex and serious issue in a clear, understandable way, and guided viewers towards actionable next steps. This video will help us further our mission in a profound way. Thanks Sketch Effect!"

Nathan Peck

CEO

Cure VCP Disease, Inc.

"I came to The Sketch Effect with a rough idea for an animated universe to house a new product family and they brought it to life! As someone who is not a designer, it can be very difficult to get ideas out of my head and the team at Sketch Effect are so good at asking the right questions to get a feel for what I’m looking for and deliver it so well, and then some! They are creative and responsive and always eager to problem solve!"

Hannah Higerd

Marketing Services Manager

Acuity Brands

"Our business is complex. In looking for simple and shareable means to communicate our issues, we found The Sketch Effect. The relationship started with several illustrated videos explaining the workings of power plants and the electric grid. We have also advanced to using the team for Live Sketching at internal meetings and training sessions. Their ability to simplify messaging into layman’s language and visuals has been astonishing to see and beneficial to our success. We value the partnership."

Ronny Just

Governmental Relations Manager

Southern Company

"We cannot thank The Sketch Effect enough! Our team was really pleased with the illustrated video and how well it communicated the vision for our project. The Sketch Effect team did a phenomenal job turning our long winded elevator speech into something people could grasp and get excited about quickly."

Tresa Sharma

Field Marketing

Chick-fil-A

"Having artists from The Sketch Effect join our virtual meeting was a huge hit. In a season full of virtual meetings and staring at our screens, every meeting can begin to feel the same. The Sketch Effect made this meeting stand out. The live-sketching helped participants stay engaged added a unique creative element to the presentation, and provided tangible takeaways for all of our participants. "

Kevin Scott

Co-Founder

ADDO Worldwide

"Our animated video with the Sketch Effect turned out wonderfully and we were very happy with the entire process. It was great working with the Sketch Effect team – they really understood the assignment and our goals for this communication effort! We launched the video to the entire Staff and have been receiving compliments ever since! As our work in this space continues, I’m sure we will be back in touch for more animation projects with The Sketch Effect."

De’Johna S. Council

Corporate Legal

Chick-fil-A, Inc.

"Our video has been a big hit and we've received a lot of positive feedback. It’s such a great storytelling technique and way of visually engaging our stakeholders. As you can imagine, with a company our size there is a lot of “noise” when it comes to communication – this is a great way to stand out."

Douglas Bremner

Global Quality & Food Safety

The Coca-Cola Company

Companies who trust The Sketch Effect

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Animation Services FAQs

How long does it take to create an animated video?

On average, between 6 and 9 weeks (depending on a variety of factors)

Do you help with scriptwriting?

Yes! We have a team of professional script writers who will draft an excellent script for your video (with input and approval from you, of course!)

How many revisions do we receive?

Our standard Scopes-of-Work include one round of revisions each for the scripting, storyboard, and final edit step. We can build in additional rounds of revisions if needed.

What type of animation style is right for my business?

This depends on a number of factors, including your audience, goals, message, and more. Our team will be happy to consult with you on what type of video will be best based on your needs.

What sets you apart from other animated explainer video companies?

First, we don’t use any stock imagery or assets pulled off the internet…everything we make is entirely custom! This includes our Whiteboard videos, which are created by a real human being in our studio. This makes each of our videos entirely unique and tailored to each specific client and their specific needs. Also, our price point is in the “just right” zone. We won’t be the cheapest (because our work isn’t cheap), but we also won’t break the bank.

Do you offer 3D animation services?

Not currently.

How do I know if my business needs explainer videos?

If you want your business to be successful, you need an explainer video!

How much do animated videos cost?

We price out each project individually based on a variety of factors (including style, timing, length, and more). Book a call with one of our sales representatives to get a more specific idea of how much your video animation project might cost.

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