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What Makes an Explainer Video Bad?

August 13, 2020

What Makes an Explainer Video Bad?

The question “what makes an explainer video bad” should have an obvious answer, shouldn’t it? Well, not all the time. There are two ways to look at an explainer video when determining the quality, and that is as a piece of art and as a piece of marketing. Ideally, your explainer video should hold up in both aspects, however if you decide to work with a “plug and play” company that offers video on the cheap, chances are your video won’t hold up in either aspect. 

So let’s get into the nitty-gritty of this. Here’s what can make an explainer video BAD.

No Strategy = No ROI

The one thing we noticed about the companies that end up going with the cheap option is that they’re all just looking to check a box. They believe that as long as they have a video, any video, they’ll be good. Then when the numbers start rolling in and their ROI is far from satisfactory, they realize that somewhere, they went wrong. 

The issue here is you need video, yes, but your video needs to have a purpose. It must be strategic and focused first and foremost on achieving your business goal. You can’t expect to see results from a video that is only created to check a box. 

We have a lot of potential clients who come to us looking for a video, but back out because they can get one for much cheaper from the “other guys”. And many times they come back to us later wishing they had just gone with us in the first place with a video they don’t want to use and a couple of grand poorer.

Doesn’t Last

An explainer video is like a pair of boots. Weird start to this section, we know, but just hear us out. A quality pair of boots may be more expensive, but they’re going to last you so much long than a cheap pair. In fat, you’ll end up saving money in the long run, since you won’t have to keep buying crappy boots.

It’s (kind of) the same thing for explainer videos. A quality explainer video will last you 6 years or more. Why? Because we format all of our videos with that goal in mind. Art style, animation, even the technical aspect of our videos are all created to last. We find the perfect balance of customization and generality to create a beautiful branded video that lasts for years to come.   

The plug and play guys? Well, their videos will maybe last you a year at best. The illustration and animation styles they offer are lazy and dated, and that will only become more obvious as time goes on. Plus, your videos aren’t custom, so after a while you’ll most likely notice another brand has a suspiciously similar video to the one you got. 

There’s No Care

Typically, production studios that offer cheap animated explainer videos only see you as a lump sum of money. They don’t take the time necessary to understand the workings of your business, and how to best represent that in your video. Thus, you end up with an off-brand, off-focus video that you won’t want to use. 

We’re gonna level with you here. We love making cool stuff, and we hope that shows in our videos. However, that isn’t our main goal at Digital Brew. First and foremost, we want your video to achieve your business goals, and if it doesn’t do that, well, we don’t consider it a win (even if it wins an Emmy™)!  We care about you, your business, and your goals, and we’re confident that’s apparent in every video we make.  It’s a win win really.  If we can help your business be successful, then you’ll get a return and so will we, because you’ll likely come back for more.

We’ll leave you with this final question. What’s one client worth to you? A rush job, cheap explainer video? If so, you may need to re-evaluate your objectives.

Questions? Comments? Think we got something wrong in this blog? We want to know! Set up a time to chat with us here!

Let’s Brew This!