At Magpie, we use creative storytelling and animation to make complex topics clear and sensitive issues accessible. Animation is an effective medium for behaviour change. It helps break down barriers to understanding. Whether it’s tackling mental health, public health messaging, or driving social change, animation brings clarity, emotion, and engagement that traditional formats can’t match.
The Power of Movement
We all know how hard it is to look away from an engaging video. And that’s what we want for our campaigns. We want people to stop, listen, and genuinely connect with the information we’re sharing. When something moves on screen, it instantly captures attention. It helps viewers absorb and remember what they see. Animation takes this even further by combining visuals and motion. It turns tricky ideas into something clear and memorable. Layer by layer, it builds understanding. It helps audiences grasp complex topics in a way that a poster or static graphic simply can’t.
- Viewers retain 95% of a message when watching a video, compared to 10% when reading it. (Insivia)
- Motion design increases engagement metrics by up to 157% compared to static content.(SingleGrain)
- 73% of people prefer to watch a video to learn about a product or service over reading text. (TheLeap)
Animation is a key part of any campaign because it drives higher engagement than static assets. It helps audiences remember information and take action. We can reach more people and make a bigger impact, helping those who need it most.
Crafting an Impactful Animation
To create an impactful animation, you need storytelling, strong visuals and a clear call to action. We start by working with the Behavioural Insights team to understand our audience. We identify the barriers and what motivates them towards action. Weaving in everything we’ve learned into our script.
Next up is storyboarding. We’ll design the different scenes with notes on how they could be animated. This gives a flavour of how everything can come together. The creative concept used for the design is usually tested or co-created with the audience. This ensures the output is something they would engage with.
Finally, is the edit, pulling everything together. The script, music, voiceover, sound effects, and storyboard come to life with motion. The end result is a video encompassing everything our audience has told us. It resonates with them to ensure it will engage our key audience, and ultimately create impact. It moves us towards behaviour change.
Examples of our work
Beyond its ability to capture attention, video is an excellent way to simplify complex information. It allows you to break down key messages into digestible formats. These include digital ads or explainer videos. They guide the audience to understand a problem and take meaningful action. Animation can make messages more accessible. It includes the option to deliver content in multiple languages, ensuring it reaches a wider audience.
These are some examples of our videos. They cover a wide variety of animation and video formats, motion graphics, 2D animation, stop motion, explainer videos, and tutorials.
Covid Explained
The Covid Explained campaign was to make information about COVID-19 simpler and more accessible. It targeted people that are less likely to comply with regulations or be vaccinated. The campaign was translated into 12 languages. Video was a key part of the campaign deliverables. We created lived experience videos, explainer videos, and tutorials.
- 838,000 people viewed the video
- Most people watched to 80% through on average
Impact area: Health & wellbeing
Style: Illustrative explainer video
Audience: The UK public
Are your medicines working for you?
The Are your medicines working for you? campaign had 2 phases. In phase 1, we focused on educating people on the importance of regular medicine reviews. The visual direction, tested with the audience, lent itself to a bold stop motion style of animation. It helped to bring these messages to life and capture the audience’s attention.
We manually photographed every frame, nudging the pills around on a piece of paper a couple of millimetres at a time. The result is eye-catching, nostalgic, and entirely different from usual NHS comms. It brings the sometimes dry topic to life.
In phase 2, we focused on over-ordering and helping people understand the complexities of changing or removing items from their prescription. There are multiple ways this can be done, and it can be confusing to navigate. So, we decided to create an explainer video. It splits these out so it’s really clear, depending on how you order and manage your prescriptions. For this video, we digitally created the stop motion. We learned how to make it slightly imperfect, mimicking a real stop motion.
Impact area: Health & wellbeing
Style: Stop motion, explainer video
Audience: People living in the North East & North Cumbria
Check the Vibe
Check the Vibe was a campaign focused on sexual violence prevention for young people. It encouraged reflection and self awareness. The design direction was co-created with the audience, mirroring how they communicate online.
We created an animated video with kinetic type, using digital UI elements. A VO positioned as a ‘trusted role model’ brings some of these complex emotions to life. The end result is an engaging and powerful video. It feels authentic and supportive.
Impact area: Harm reduction & Safety
Style: 2D motion, kinetic type
Audience: Young people aged 13-18
Cancer Voices
Cancer Voices was a co-created campaign with lived experience. It encouraged more people to join the Cancer Voices community. This is a patient representative panel which helps feedback on how best to support patients undergoing treatment in Greater Manchester. As a part of the toolkit, we created an animated video. It could be shared to raise awareness of the community and its benefits.
The animation brings to life the shapes from the brand. This helps tell the story of the Cancer Voices community. It helps make the role of a patient representative easy to understand.
Impact area: Health & wellbeing
Style: 2D motion
Audience: Cancer patients, former patients, carers or have supported someone through cancer, nurses & clinicians in Greater Manchester
Get in touch
Have a message that matters? Let’s work together to bring it to life though motion.
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