Fighting TL;DR syndrome with visuals
Grabbing attention is key in all forms of content marketing. Unfortunately humans are easily distracted. This explains why marketers are looking for visuals — illustrations, graphics or animation — to hook potential customers. Visuals simply engage more than the written word, no matter how much useful information exists in your copy.
Why visuals work
Visuals, including animation, infographics, brand illustrations, video, and more, can connect with customers in three ways. They’re able to see your brand, hear it and understand it in a way the written word doesn’t allow. Complex ideas can be shared with a benefits based message, brand logos, and colors are reinforced, and in the case of video animation, you can talk directly to your audience.
Visual styles for 2021
We don’t want to keep talking about the pandemic, but medical inspired graphics have been key to getting across complex ideas about infection spread, testing numbers, and the importance of social distancing. While COVID will still be part of 2021, expect illustration trends to be centered around ideas of optimism, diversity, and nostalgia.
Digital privacy
Each year there are more concerns about user privacy when it comes to the digital platforms that make up your daily routine. Recent incidents have shown that data collected for one purpose can always be used for another. One of these other purposes is police investigations — the Singapore government also mentioned this possibility with the citizens’ TraceTogether records recently. Already, in America, a ‘keyword warrant’ and smartphone usage has been used to uncover witness intimidation in the R. Kelly case while requests are rising for overheard conversations recorded by smart speakers.
Private health data
Catching criminals via data is one thing, but using private health data for commercial ends is another. Amazon Pharmacy selling medicine at an 80% discount and Google’s purchase of Fitbit for US$2.1 billion show big tech has more than a passing interest in our health data. This information is of interest to employers, insurers, and governments, but are customers aware they’re sharing this information when they log their fitness records or purchase the medicine they need?
Pandemic data
COVID-19 has created data privacy concerns of its own. Checking into a bar or restaurant is now commonplace. Once large-scale vaccination rollouts occur, data vaccine status data will be collected and employers will want to know who is and isn’t vaccinated. To curb the spread of the pandemic, trust in these data collection platforms is vital. If this data is used outside of controlling COVID, what will the reaction be?
It’s no secret that data is transforming the world, even farming. The recent video for Microsoft shows how AI is automating the physical side of farming.
Surf clothing brand Vissla shows off its green credentials with some awesome stop motion graphics. Eco clothing to help keep the beaches clean.
Pixar shows how storyboarding works to bring alive its latest feature, Soul. A nice, side-by-side comparison.
Porsche tells the inspiring story of a female entrepreneur in Saudi Arabia, with a story that covers stock trading, music, and flying. #DriveDefinesHer
Lego’s younger sibling, Duplo, has been around for 50 years. This origin story tells how an educational and choke proof toddler toy was created.