Nate Ruff, founder of Odd Projects, sat with Open Influence to discuss the nuances, processes, trends, and benefits of animation in the creator marketing space. Ruff has been at the forefront of this dynamic industry for years, he began as an early member of the digital team at WME before founding Odd Projects in 2020.
Odd Projects is a creator management company that was recently featured on Business Insider’s Top Talent Managers for YouTube Creators list in 2022. At Odd Projects, alongside founding the company, Ruff works as an active talent manager. With a deep understanding of his clients and the animation space, Ruff built a hub for creativity that values quality over quantity.
Ruff shared a peek behind the curtain of crafting captivating animated ads. The animation journey follows this general timeline for composing a video: one to three days of scripting, three to five days to create a rough draft, and another three to five days to deliver the final draft. The art of seamlessly integrating the product or service with the creator’s unique art style is where the magic happens. Maintaining the creator’s style is preferred and often paramount to ensuring the outcome feels authentic and engaging.
When a creator’s unique animation artistry shines through, it has the ability to tell stories that may not be as easily conveyed through acted-out content. By nature, animation is an attention-grabbing medium, making it an excellent medium for brands to leverage. Animation has the ability to simplify complex topics, allows brands to explore limitless creative possibilities, and can tell a full story in a matter of minutes or seconds.
“It is important for advertisers to remember that animation is a medium, not a vertical. So, there are animation creators who share animal animations and ones who share fashion! Animation is a distribution format solution within creator marketing for endemic and non-endemic partnerships, alike. We love pushing the boundaries and innovating on the ways to garner and maintain audience interests. Animation (creators) is an amazing choice!”
– Katie Plattner, Head of Talent Relations at Open Influence
Animation has the power to evoke emotions of intrigue and amusement, often provoking genuine laughter, inspiring people to share the content more frequently with their friends and family, and boosting campaign performance to higher levels.
Ruff explained that animation is a versatile medium that can fit into a multitude of verticals. Animation can complement many industries including mobile gaming, delivery services, technology brands, snack and beverage companies, and much more. Additionally, animation holds a special place in the hearts of nerd culture and gaming-related verticals.
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Working with animation creators versus an animation team also poses a unique set of benefits including brand usage being easier to negotiate, merchandising, and having valuable data about the product and performance.
With animation creators, brands can begin to form longer-term relationships and uncover even more benefits including stable and cost-efficient partnerships, more efficient creation periods, and building trust among audiences.
Animation is a fun and unique way to connect with audiences through comedy, joy, and intrigue. When done right can resonate with audiences on a meaningful level and drive them to connect with a product or service.
Open Influence is a global marketing agency dedicated to creating engaging and effective campaigns. Reach out to us today to learn more about the benefits of animation creators and how you can get started on an exciting animation campaign.
