Nancy Duarte’s bestselling book on marketing and presentations, Resonate, is subtitled ‘Present Visual Stories That Transform Audiences’.

‘Transforming audiences’ is the main goal of successful marketing.

That is, to transform someone’s thought processes from unawareness of your business, to awareness, to interest, to wanting, to eventually choosing to buy your product or service.

And there is no better way to do this than through a story.

But not any old story will do.

The best stories are where the main character (the ‘hero’) goes through a transformation of their own.

Nancy Duarte states that, as humans, we love to see others go through a positive transformation. This is because we also feel their triumph when they succeed over adversity.

Believe it or not, You are Yoda

But the important thing is this – as a business-owner presenting your idea to the world, you are not the hero.

The audience is the hero.  Your task is as their mentor, guiding them through the transformation.  This is similar to Yoda’s relationship with Luke Skywalker.

Which brings me to the point of this article – Superheroes.

Superhero movies are the most popular form of movie entertainment ever.

At the time of writing, Marvel’s Iron Man 3 is the 8^th highest-grossing movie ever, with $1.1 Billion grossed worldwide.  And it’s still playing in cinemas.

So what intrigues us so much about superheroes?

Simple – the transformation.  Or to be more exact, the journey that they have to take to overcome their personal challenges.

Here are some examples:

Iron Man – Billionaire industrialist Tony Stark, is kidnapped by terrorists.  He ends up with shrapnel embedded in his chest.  Builds a powerful metal suit to keep him alive and help him escape.

Spider-man – Teenager gains super powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider, but initially uses his powers to earn money.  Uncle killed by burglar whom the teenager allowed to escape an earlier robbery.  Driven by the motto ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ the teenager decides to use his powers for good.

Batman – Young boy’s wealthy parents shot dead by a mugger in front of him.  Boy grows up dedicating his life to fighting crime.

These are all excellent examples of positive transformation.

So how can you use transformation in your business?

We find that the most popular whiteboard videos are those which involve a story ‘frame’.

This is where the video introduces your ideal customer, who may be currently unaware of your business.  They then encounter a personal challenge, and overcome it with the help of your product or service.

Here’s an example of an effective whiteboard video storyline:

Let’s say you run an IT support company which offers an emergency phone service.

Your ‘hero’ could be Anne, a freelance reporter, currently writing an important article for a national newspaper.

But tragedy strikes!  She’s almost completed her article when her laptop crashes, and she hasn’t backed up her files.

Initially she panics, but then notices an ad for your emergency helpline in the paper.

After dialling your helpline number, one of your experienced technicians talks her through recovering her PC, and rescuing the article.

She submits the article just before the deadline and it appears the next day on the front page.  All is well in the world, thanks to your service.

Intrigue Your Customers with an Animated Whiteboard Video

Animated whiteboard videos like the above example take the viewer on their own hero’s journey, helping them to understand the features and benefits of your business.

Also, the fact that the video is in the form of a story encourages the viewer to watch until the very end to find out how the problem is resolved.

This means that they are much more likely to take your call to action at the end of the video, rather than clicking away after a few seconds.

And then they can become the real-life hero in your story.

Interested in having your own whiteboard video to boost audience retention and sales?  Just choose one of the options below to find out more about Cartoon Media’s whiteboard video production service.

Here is an example of our Whiteboard Animation Video:

Or contact us on +44 (0)8000 19 85 22 (UK) or 1-800-345-2064 (USA/Canada). We’d love to discuss how whiteboard videos can help you grow your business.