Blending Technology and Tradition through Animation - Gold Shango Animated Promo
Going back to vintage in order to move a brand forward.
In this case study, you will about how a client was faced with the challenge of modernizing their marketing effort for a bigger, new audience while preserving their core values and the nostalgia that makes their brand special, a simple but creative approach.
All the way from storyboarding to figure out the story to tell, mood boarding to decide the style and finally the moving pieces, see how 30 seconds can be enough to tell a compelling message through animation.
THE MISSION
The client, Gold Shango, has a new cloud-powered drinking application that can allow people to share and save custom recipes and blends with anyone in the world, with a focus on drinking connoisseurs and fans of nostalgic, vintage drinks, a novel concept but hard to market in a modern way since the medium is so old school, therefore they felt they needed a new approach to spread the word about their product.
OUTCOME
Therefore, after some back and forth, we decided to create a 30 seconds promo video that would serve to inform their audience (drinking connoisseurs) about their service, by running it as a YouTube ad as well as incorporating it on their website, although it is a modern solution to rely on animation we decided that emphasizing their unique values through the visual style would go a long way into preserving their originality while still having a new medium.
SERVICES
Creative/Art Direction
Scriptwriting
Graphic Design
Animation
Video Editing
Sound design & mixing.
THE IMPACT:
In the end, we were all very happy with the result, the video itself takes the viewer through the journey of a customer choosing their drink, making it suit their taste then sharing it through the cloud with their remote drinking partners, all done in a rustic, rugged, hand-made style that is meant to evoke the nostalgia of the audience.
The client was happy, with minimal revisions needed just for some of the transitions and the sound design, thanks to the in-depth strategy that helps keep everyone on the same page as te project moves forward.
Disclaimer: This is a mockup project put together to showcase our process, Gold Shango is not a real organization.
Trying new things can be scary
Especially when you have an established customer base, but want to try new ways of bringing in new customers with no knowledge or previous experience, in this case, the client, Gold Shango, faced the challenge of expanding their business for a bigger audience through video marketing, without relying on hiring an expensive videography crew.
Therefore I proposed creating the whole project in an animated style, keeping their brand voice intact through the style, which we would come up with together through mood boarding, therefore no part of the process was left for guessing.
The client had the final say on every stage, starting with the script, then storyboard, designs and final animation work, below you will find some insights regarding the process and the decisions being made on every stage.
I presented the client with some storyboards:
Once the client approved the rough script I wrote for the project I presented them with this storyboard, with a general sketch of how the video would play out, this is the true step 1 of every project, where the client decides if this really will deliver their message appropriately.
Starting with a general interface mockup, then to showcase the drink variety, how the recipe creation works, and finalizing with strong cheers that would lead into the logo reveal, simple yet full of content for a 30 seconds animation.
It was approved so we moved forwards with the styling right away.
With 3 different options for style moodboards
Option 1: Vintage Tech
With a focus on a gritty, textured, traditional look, while implementing modern concepts like icons and the idea of simulating a fake UI interface while retaining that gritty look, this is the option the client decided to go with and the one I also agreed to be the best bet.
Option 2: Product focused
The idea behind this style was to use CG 3D images of drinks as well as implementing stock footage to drive the focus into the act of drinking and the social aspects more than the app concept itself, a more customer-centric approach but not one that can differentiate itself in the market.
Option 3: minimalist design
When presenting options to the client there is always the super-safe option that nobody wants, this is that option, not a bad route but probably fairly overplayed as every app is going minimal nowadays and the target audience that we are aiming for is not necessarily captured through this route.
Moving onto Design
With all of the boards approved, we were ready to begin tackling creating the actual design elements that would play into the video itself, the process was fairly straightforward as we already had a clear idea due to the previous steps, so it didn’t take long to move into production for animation.
To the left, an additional scene that was added to the project once we figured out we had the bandwidth for it.
A quick look into some of the highlights.
Establishing shot
Showcasing the drink variety as well as their names and dates to dig in the nostalgic, classic feel of the app.
My favorite shot
Made to showcase the idea of customizable and shareable recipes that you could store through the cloud.
Cheers: the turning point
This is the moment where the whole video comes together, as the drinks that were being made and shared through the cloud remotely are now being shared, of course this is happening over a long distance but the feeling of closeness and originality is the purpose of this app.
Ask me anything!
Zetanimo@pm.me