Looking for 2D animated explainer video examples to serve as an inspiration for your next video marketing campaign?
Well, you are in the right place!
The term “Explainer video” got coined by the success of the Dropbox explainer video back in 2009. It resulted in 10 million users and 50 million dollars of added revenue.
Since then, it was a natural progression, with more and more businesses starting to leverage the power of explainer videos.
Not only the big brands that we are familiar with but animated videos are being used by a lot of lesser-known brands as well. Why? Because most of the time, a quick easy explanation of how your product or service can help, is just what your customers need.
Recent research by HubSpot found that video is the most preferred form of content and people enjoy video content that is both informative and entertaining at the same time.
We have also witnessed a splurge in the inception of several explainer video production companies who have helped in the evolution of the genre.
So, before you start planning your own video, it is a good idea to gather some inspiration from brands that did it right.
Today I will list down the 20 most successful 2D animated explainer video examples in chronological order since 2009.
1. Dropbox explainer video – 2009
Website – https://www.dropbox.com
Industry – Web Technology
For the first year, the Dropbox website home page featured only two components. The Dropbox explainer video and a download button. So, when you land on the home page, there is only one thing that you focus on – the explainer video. There’s nothing else that distracts you from the video.
With the help of the video, Dropbox was able to get their audience to clearly understand what their service is and how it worked. Within a short span of 5 years, they were able to go from 0 to 100 million users. Estimated to generate a revenue of $4.80 per customer (based on estimates from 2011), the calculation was an extra $48,000,000 in revenue per year.
While the Dropbox video cannot be stated among the best 2D animated explainer video examples, it definitely sets a benchmark for future explainer videos.
2. Mint – 2010 – Animation video examples
Website – https://www.mint.com
Industry – Finance
In just 2 years of its launch, Mint’s user base grew from zero to 1.5 Million. Eventually, it got purchased by Intuit for $170 Million. I wouldn’t say the success was solely due to the animation video example they created but of course, the video was an important part of their overall content marketing strategy. The video attracted lakhs of views and served as an easy explanation of what Mint is and how it can help solve financial worries.
3. Crazyegg – 2013
Website – https://www.crazyegg.com
Industry – Web Technology
Crazy Egg had a very efficient marketing team on board who were already doing a wonderful job since 2006. However, after the Crazy Egg explainer video was added in 2013, it helped them $21,000 per month additional revenue.
Crazy Egg had placed the video prominently on their home page along with a compelling headline which generated a massive click-through rate.
CrazyEgg used analytics to keep track of the video’s effect on revenue and conversion rates, and Wistia (our favorite video hosting service) to monitor video engagement. You can use A/B or split testing to try new variations of your video (e.g. different call to action, different voice) or placement on your website (e.g. front and center on the homepage, below the fold).
Many believe that the Crazy Egg video was the most successful among the 2D animated explainer video examples.
4. Wizzki Recruit – 2014 – Animated video examples
Website – https://www.thehirelab.com
Industry – Recruitment
Here’s a cool animated video example by a recruiting company called The Hire Lab (formerly WizZki). The video is a great example of fun-storytelling, a feature that explainer videos are often appreciated for.
Combined with the creative rendering of voiceover by voice artist Jordan Reynolds, the video was an instant hit due to its fun-filled, creative and inspirational approach.
5. Lettuce App – 2014
Website – https://lettuce.money
Industry – Sales
The Lettuce explainer video does a wonderful job of explaining how the app can help its customers streamline their sales process. Created in a simple infographic-style this video helped Lettuce equip their marketing team with the right ingredient to hook their target audience.
Following the success of the app, Lettuce was acquired by Intuit for $30 Million on 8th May 2014.
6. Panda Doc – 2015
Website – https://www.pandadoc.com
Industry – Web Technology
Since the launch of the first Panda Doc explainer video in 2015, the success of the videos was phenomenal. Over the next few years, they created several animated videos catering to different features of the software.
You can take a peek at their other videos in the series on their YouTube channel.
7. Ahrefs – 2016
Website – https://ahrefs.com
Industry – Web Technology
Rolled out in May 2016, Ahrefs was able to generate quite a stir with the cute looking video that was entertaining yet informative.
The most appreciated part of the videos was the unique style of illustration that was used by the designers. Combined with highly detailed animation, the video clearly highlighted the pain points of the customers and how they can solve it with the help of Ahrefs. If you are looking for similar style 2D animated explainer video examples, check out our portfolio here.
8. TraQtion – 2016
Website – https://www.traqtion.com
Industry – Food Supply
Traqtion is a cloud based quality and compliance software for the food and manufacturing industry. Backed by parent company NSF International, Traqtion was launched in the market with this explainer video.
The video successfully explained to its target audience, the purpose of the software with the help of simple 2D animated illustrations and infographics.
9. Wine Country Gift Basket – 2016
Website – https://www.winecountrygiftbaskets.com
Industry – Gifts
‘Wine Country Gift Baskets’ is a California based company that sends customized gifts. They created beautiful 2d animated explainer video examples that immediately sets you in an emotional mood. Crafted with finesse, the video used detailed artwork that is colorful and soothing to the eye.
Quite obviously, the video was well appreciated and served its purpose of creating an emotional connection with the audience.
10. Prescribe Wellness – 2016
Website – https://www.prescribewellness.com
Industry – Health
Prescribe Wellness, LLC took a very aggressive marketing strategy by creating a series of 2d explainer videos.
The videos were showcased on their website home page. Created with the same look and feel as the website the videos flaunt creative graphic stylization that could be seen on the website design as well. Everything was part of a unified whole that gave the essence of good branding.
Do take a peek at their website. You will fall in love with their creative approach.
11. Diabilive -2017
Website – https://www.diabilive.com
Industry – Healthcare
Created by video production company PixelGenio, the Diabilive video was made primarily for a press conference and received instant appreciation from the audience. In the next few months, the company witnessed a steady growth in subscribers. To cover the worldwide market, they even created several language versions of the video. Because you are interested in 2d animated explainer video examples, you might also want to take a look at the Diabilive case study.
12. Mailchimp – 2017
Website – https://mailchimp.com
Industry – Email marketing
Almost an instant hit, this explainer video just nailed it with its undeniably unique graphic style. The video became extremely popular and was in trend for quite some time. We appreciate Mailchimp for taking such a creative approach in their marketing campaigns.
13. Hubspot – 2017
Website – https://academy.hubspot.com/courses/artificial-intelligence-and-machine-learning-in-marketing
Industry – Online education
On Jan 30, 2017, Hubspot released this creative explainer video that grabbed a lot of eyeballs in the 2D animated explainer video examples category. While the video was served as a knowledge resource on the understanding of Artificial intelligence, Hubspot was able to generate thousands of sign-ups on their academy platform.
14. Chat Class – 2018
Website – https://en.chatclass.com.br
Industry – Education
New York based company Edusim launched a powerful English learning solution called Chat Class. They used this explainer video to convey their idea to their target audience. The video was reproduced in three different languages.
I should say that the video was fun to watch and did a wonderful job is explaining how the solution worked.
15. Alltrails – 2018
Website – https://www.alltrails.com
Industry – Travel
Within a week of the video launch in Feb 2018, Alltrails witnessed increased traffic on their website. With the help of the video, customers were able to clearly identify how Alltrails app can help them make their travel campaigns much easier and secure.
16. Miinto – 2018
Website – http://www.miinto.com
Industry – Fashion
Miinto, an e-commerce fashion platform based in Europe, was found in 2009. However, it was only in 2018 that they realized the benefits of using an explainer video. With the release of their business explainer video in 2018, they not only witnessed a 30% higher engagement but also attracted a handsome amount of funding from investment professionals.
17. Etsy – 2018
Website – https://www.etsy.com/seller-news#etsy-plus
Industry – E-commerce
This video was produced by Etsy to launch their new service called Etsy Plus. The goal of the video was to generate curiosity and awareness about their new subscription plans.
The video did not go into the detailing of the features offered but served as an inspirational overview. With the help of this video, they were able to generate a lot of awareness, and sellers on Etsy were quite curious about what Etsy Plus was all about.
18. Hootsuite – 2018
Website – https://hootsuite.com
Industry – Social Media
Everyone was in love with this Hootsuite video just like their software platform. Filled with vibrant colors and entertaining animations, the video was also very informative about how Hootsuite can help make social life easy for businesses.
19. DoctorsInItaly – 2019
Website – https://www.doctorsinitaly.com
Industry – Healthcare
When you are searching for 2D animated explainer video examples, you cannot just miss out on this video.
Just as the lovely service they are providing, Doctors-in-Italy produced this lovely 2d animated explainer video to explain their service.
The video was presented to almost all English speaking doctors in Italy and they loved it. They signed a lot of new contracts with doctors. The video was indeed a masterpiece both in terms of its effectiveness and quality of design and artwork.
20. Contract AI – 2020
Website -https://contractai.apporchid.com
Industry – Software Technology
Apporchid had already created several explainer videos for their different products. However, the Contract AI video was the one that yielded significant results.
Created with the design touch of a tech atmosphere, the video looked gorgeous and served as a perfect fit for the subject matter. Clean illustrations and simplified graphics make you keep focused on the problem explanation and the consecutive solution offered.
Conclusion
The chronological success pattern of 2D explainer videos since 2009 gives us enough proof that animated videos are here to stay. Businesses small and big, all are going to leverage the power of business animations.
However, it is always wise to do some research before you are trying to create a video animation for your business. Sometimes it can just be for inspiration and at other times it can be for finding out the right design style or else. I believe this collection of 2D animated explainer video examples would help you gain a lot of confidence in your next video production initiative.
If you are planning to do a video for your business but not sure how to go about it, feel free to reach our professional 2D explainer video production team. We can definitely help you create the masterpiece that you are looking for!