While there were lots of unprecedented circumstances that have developed in 2020, not everything has been negative. Global pandemics aside, there have actually been some interesting societal shifts that could bring growth and positive developments going forward.
Government officials and concerned friends and family urge a continued self-isolation at home to protect the health and function of our hospitals and people, and there has never been a better time to do that. Our access to information through the use of the internet has allowed most job functions, revenue streams and relationships to continue and sometimes even thrive in a physically isolated society. On top of that, these relationships and business opportunities have been leaning more heavily than ever on the use of video— whether it’s digital animation, social media marketing, or corporate video productions, people need to get their message out now more than ever.
Luckily, since people are relying on staying home and using screens and technology, video is the perfect medium to communicate directly to consumers. Even Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook believes video is a critical part of our future as he shifts his platform increasingly to video stories and video ads. According to Wyzowl in their annual State of Video Marketing Survey for 2020, 92% of marketers say video is an important part of their marketing strategy. This is up from 78% in 2015. This growth has a lot to do with 88% of marketers saying video marketing provides them with a positive ROI, or return on investment. That stat has grown from just 33% in 2015, which means both marketers and consumers are transitioning to video consumption to educate themselves on the market and communicate to consumers.
Jonathan Barnard, Head of Forecasting at Zenith, spoke up about his thoughts on this trend: “The consumption of online video is growing rapidly, and the average person will spend half as much time viewing online video as they spend viewing conventional television this year. This fast-expanding supply of audiences is fueling rapid growth in demand from advertisers, making online video the fastest-growing digital channel by advertising expenditure.”
CONCLUSION
This is great news for us and our clients as opportunities for well-produced video grows. There have been limited opportunities to produce live video content local to our home base in Richmond Virginia due to distancing requirements, however our clients have continued to demand online marketing and animation material. We have been able to find creative solutions for producing what our clients need, and that includes character animation, 3D rendering and modeling, remote interviews, and video editing from existing material. From our perspective, the need for a strong message communicated through moving images and audio has not decreased— it’s becoming the new standard in digital advertising.