21 Juni 2021 | Written By: Dhamma | Edited By: Evelyn
Motion Branding: What is it and How important?
"Motion Branding can be identified as visual branding, one type of sensory branding. This article defines what is motion branding, and how important is motion branding."
Motion Branding. An art of Motion Branding. | Picture By: Karina
Nowadays, there are lots of brands that use motion graphics in their content. Motion graphics are more preferred by brands, which turns them into a new trend in the world of marketing and branding. Whereby, it can be said that it is almost a requirement for a brand to include motion graphics in their content.
The advantages that motion graphics have, compared to static graphic elements (or usually called graphic design) are located in the visual uniqueness and also the clearness of information that can be delivered. You can compare, when we see a poster that is dynamic and comparing it to a poster that is static,
it’s totally different, right?
But going back, what is it really, the goals of using that motion graphics?
There are lots of brands that use motion graphics only to beautify their visuals. Where this can actually cause them a problem which is the experience that the audience gets when they see the visual is just a one-time experience only, and this experience that’s imprinted in their mind does not give a positive contribution to its brand equity. Whereas, motion graphics can do much more than that. Then, how should it be?
The use of motion graphics should be customized with the branding and clear goal of the brand. Whereby, branding is not only about the visual, design, tagline, and others that are visible from the brand. There are lots of unseen aspects of the brand that should be understood in making motion graphics. So that the motion that is created, can be helpful and give a positive contribution to the brand equity.
Collecting data and deep analysis of the brand, which acts as a foundation in creating motion graphics are very much needed. Moreover, the strategy of the brand on motion graphics itself should also be precise. Use motion graphics for branding purposes, not only to impressing the audience. This is what we called motion branding.
What is Motion Branding?
If you are asking about what is motion branding. In short, motion branding is how a brand uses motion graphics in a strategic manner, as one of the elements in the brand, in order to achieve a clear goal in its branding and marketing. Motion branding prioritize achieving clear goals of the brand, not just impressing or giving a one-time experience for the audience. Motion branding is powerful!
Unlike compared to motion graphics which have mainly been used by many brands. Motion branding is still very rarely used. There are still lots of brands and their creative team (motion graphics designers) that consider motion graphics only in terms of visuals. The motion needs to be beautiful, the motion needs to be attractive, the motion needs to be complicated, the more complicated it is the more it’ll look good. Motion graphic that is created not as a brand element.
In the eyes of motion branding, those things are a big mistake. It is true that the motion graphics that are created need to grab attention. But from those attention, are the motion graphics that are created can impact positively on brand equity? The answer is, not necessarily.
The one-time impression does not impact positively on brand equity. Therefore, it is totally different from normal motion graphics, motion branding focuses on achieving the clear goals of the brand, and of course integrating it with strategy inside the motion branding itself.
For a simple example, when a brand has a goal that is to create “friendly and helpful” imagery, then the motion branding that is created should be able to communicate the message that can create “friendly and helpful” imagery. Besides that, motion that is created on motion branding, should be meaningful for the audience, draw attention, easy to remember, and other factors as brand elements should be.
Outside that, motion branding also sets strategies for after the motion is created. For example, we take an example from one of our motion branding methodology's methods, we understand the touchpoint of audiences and maximize it on a digital platform that is owned by the brand.
So that the motion that is created can be appropriate and make an impression on the minds of the audience. There are still lots of strategies for after the motion is created, in motion branding.
How Important is Motion Branding?
Talking about how important is motion branding especially in branding, motion branding is a new tool in branding that is powerful to conquer “strong opponents”.
Looking at the trend that happens in the world of branding and marketing, it is possible for motion branding to be included in every touchpoint of audiences, either in Instagram, youtube, Linkedin, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, Tv ads, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, etc. Experiences that cause an impression from the motion itself, turn the audience stunned while seeing them. Motions that are moving, deliver a message of the brand, making the audience unconsciously shaped a real memory on their minds. Those memories are then kept as an image or perception about a brand.
Therefore, indeed motion branding is not the only way to do branding, but motion branding is the only new and powerful way in conquering “strong opponents” in branding.
Same with the example above which is in creating imagery. Motion branding can easily create imagery for the brand in the audience's mind, compared to another brand element.
Motion branding can enter precisely every touchpoint of audiences, and because of the experiences that cause an impression, motion branding can easily attract attention and be remembered by the audience.
Motion that moves dynamically, unconsciously enter to deliver the message and shaping real memory in the mind of the audience, as if saying that “this brand is your friend, and will always be your help".
Resulting the imagery of “friendly and helpful” right attached to the brand, and when the audience needs a brand with characteristics of “friendly and helpful” in this line of business. The Brand will become Top of Mind. It is one of the examples of many things that can be strategized with motion branding, which is of course in a brief explanation.
But actually, it is not easy to strategize those things, remembering that motion branding is a new tool on branding. Additionally, a characteristic of branding theory itself is social sciences, which cannot be estimated with certainty. In branding, 1 plus 1 may not equals to 2. Therefore, it requires a framework, or in mathematical terms, we know that as a “formula”.
The framework must be a framework that really considers the characteristics of the social sciences itself which is “uncertain”, so it can really work well in solving the “uncertainty”.
Motion Branding. Framework in Motion Branding. | Picture By: Karina
How is the framework?
As discussed above. Of course, a framework is needed to do motion branding strategically. Same thing with graphic design that needs research, GSM (graphic standard manual), guidelines, etc. Motion branding also needs those.
We, Sculpt Visual as a motion branding consultant create our own framework called Brand Existence. A framework in the form of methodology, to understand motion branding and use motion branding strategically to achieve clear and strategic goals.
Brand existence is an authentic methodology owned by Sculpt Visual, to do motion branding strategically to achieve clear and strategic goals for a brand. Brand Existence has theoretical basis that are brand equity, psychology, anthropology, graphic and motion design, etc. Brand Existence strategize motion branding perfectly.
Of course, Brand Existence can also solve the "uncertainty" of branding itself. That's one of the reasons why we designed this methodology by involving one of the best social sciences such as anthropology.