Video vs Animation: Which is better for medical device companies?

Maybe you’re not sure which medium will best help you to convey your message. This can be a particularly difficult decision in the medical device industry, where a lot of complex scientific information is involved.

Don’t worry, we’re here to help!

In today’s fast-paced digital environment, capturing the attention of your target audience is key. Effective communication requires a considered selection of mediums that engage and resonate with viewers.

That’s where live footage and animation come into play, offering two distinct pathways for conveying information and captivating audiences.

In this article, we’ll help you unravel the decision-making process, providing valuable insights and a handy checklist of questions to help you figure out what works best for your company.

We’ll explore the benefits and considerations of these two powerful mediums. So, let’s dive in and explore the essential questions that will lead you toward the right choice for your medical device company.

When discussing live footage, we basically mean videos filmed live through a camera – for instance this might be interviews with patients, or maybe product demonstrations. Either way, something is happening live which is being captured on video.

On the other hand, animations are computer generated and don’t actually require any live actions to be displayed.

Although both produce a video to be watched at the end of it, the way they are created and what the video looks like differs.

Let’s look into the advantages of incorporating live footage into your marketing strategy.

In a world flooded with staged content and polished visuals, live footage stands out by providing an authentic and relatable experience for viewers. By featuring real people in your videos, whether it’s patients, healthcare professionals, or satisfied customers, you create a genuine connection with your audience.

This authenticity fosters trust, as viewers can see the real faces and emotions behind your brand. They can relate to the experiences and stories shared, leading to a stronger sense of credibility and establishing a deeper connection.

One of the most compelling aspects of live footage is its ability to showcase your medical devices in action. By capturing live demonstrations, you can effectively highlight the functionality and effectiveness of your products.

This hands-on approach allows potential customers to witness the practical applications and benefits of your devices firsthand.

Incorporating testimonials from real users adds another layer of credibility and influence. When viewers see actual individuals sharing their positive experiences with your products, it builds confidence and instils a sense of reliability, making it more likely for potential customers to consider you.

Live footage can evoke emotions and create a lasting impact on viewers. When people see the genuine emotions and reactions of real individuals in your videos, it humanizes your brand and story.

Whether it’s the relief on a patient’s face after using your medical device or the joy expressed by a healthcare professional when discussing its efficacy, these emotional moments can leave a profound imprint on the audience.

Emotions drive engagement, making viewers more likely to connect with your brand, share your content, and ultimately take action.

By harnessing the benefits of live footage, medical device companies can tap into the power of authenticity, demonstrations, testimonials, and emotional impact. These elements combine to create a compelling narrative that engages your audience, builds trust, and positions your brand as a reliable and relatable authority in the industry.

Let’s explore these considerations to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the challenges associated with incorporating live footage into your marketing strategy:

Capturing high-quality live footage requires careful planning and execution. It requires appropriate equipment and skilled videographers who can effectively capture the essence of your message.

You also need to consider the logistics, such as location, lighting, and sound. These must be carefully managed to ensure a professional end product. Balancing these production challenges with budget constraints and time limitations can be a daunting task.

Working with experienced professionals and leveraging their expertise is always an option to help you overcome these obstacles.

Filming days can be tough so you have to make sure that you’re prepared, if you want to learn about the best way you can prepare for your filming day have a look at our article on how to prepare for a videography day.

When featuring real individuals in your live footage, it’s crucial to respect their privacy and obtain proper consent. When operating in a medical setting, the ethical and privacy considerations surrounding live footage become even more critical.

Given the sensitive nature of medical procedures and the potential exposure of internal organs or personal health information, you must prioritize privacy and have explicit consent from individuals featured in their videos.

This means following strict ethical guidelines and legal requirements to ensure compliance with privacy regulations and maintaining the confidentiality of patients. Collaborating with legal advisors or seeking appropriate permissions can help ease any potential legal or ethical risks associated with using live footage in a medical context.

By upholding these standards, you can protect the rights of individuals, maintain trust with their audience, and safeguard their brand’s reputation.

Unlike animation, live footage offers limited control over the captured content. Unforeseen events, technical glitches, or unscripted moments can occur during filming, which may require adaptations or compromises.

Editing options are more restricted with live footage compared to animation. While editing tools can enhance the captured footage, they are limited in altering the original content. It’s crucial to carefully plan and storyboard your live footage to avoid potential challenges during the production and post-production stages.

Producing high-quality live footage can be a significant investment. Costs can vary depending on factors such as equipment, location, crew, talent, and post-production requirements. You can learn more in our guide to video costs.

You should evaluate your budget constraints and weigh them against the potential return on investment (ROI). Careful planning, cost estimation, and resource allocation are necessary to ensure a successful live footage project that aligns with financial considerations.

By carefully considering these production, ethical, control, and budgetary considerations, you can navigate these challenges and transform your marketing.

Animation provides boundless creative possibilities. It allows you to visually illustrate complex concepts, procedures, or product features that may be challenging to capture through live footage.

With animation, you have the freedom to create dynamic visuals, explainer videos, or even 3D simulations that vividly depict your medical devices and their functionality. The power of imagination knows no bounds in the world of animation.

Animation offers unparalleled flexibility and adaptability. You can easily modify, refine, or update animated content to align with evolving requirements or changing market trends.

This kind of flexibility would enable you to keep your communication strategies fresh and up to date without the need for costly reshoots or extensive post-production editing. Additionally, animation can be easily localized or translated, making it ideal for global audiences and markets.

In the realm of animation, precision and consistency reign supreme. You can gain full control over every visual element, enabling them to ensure accuracy, consistency, and the ability to emphasize specific details or features.

Animations can highlight crucial aspects of a device, zoom in on intricate mechanisms, or demonstrate step-by-step procedures with absolute precision.

By maintaining control over the visuals, you can guarantee a consistent representation of your products across different marketing materials. This consistency instils confidence in viewers and reinforces brand credibility.

Let’s explore these considerations to ensure a well-informed decision:

Creating high-quality animation requires specialized skills and expertise. Finding skilled animators who understand your industry, medical terminology, and visual storytelling techniques is important to ensure a high-quality end product.

Collaborating with professionals who have experience in medical animation can help ensure that your message is conveyed accurately and effectively. Conduct thorough research, review portfolios, and seek recommendations to find animators who can bring your vision to life.

While animation can be more cost-effective than live footage in some cases, it still requires significant investment, especially for complex projects.

Factors such as animation style, duration, complexity, and revisions can influence the overall cost. Check out our article on medical animation costs to learn more about this topic.

It’s a good idea to research and consider the costs of animations thoroughly before starting a project so that you can set a realistic budget based on the long-term value the result will provide. Working closely with experienced medical animators to establish clear expectations and timelines can help manage costs effectively.

Another consideration when using animation is striking the right balance between realistic representation and engaging visuals.

In the context of medical devices and complex procedures, accuracy and realism are of utmost importance to convey information effectively. However, it’s equally crucial to engage and captivate the audience through visually appealing animations.

Achieving this balance requires a deep understanding of both the clinical aspects of the device and the principles of visual storytelling. It’s a good idea to collaborate closely with animators who have a comprehensive understanding of the medical field to ensure the animations align with scientific accuracy while being visually compelling.

By considering factors such as authenticity, demonstrations, testimonials, emotional impact, production challenges, costs, legal compliance, creativity, flexibility, and expertise, medical device companies can harness the full potential of live footage and animation to captivate audiences, build trust, and drive meaningful engagement.

To help you, we’ve created a quick checklist of questions to ask yourself before making a decision. We encourage you to consider these questions carefully and have a clear answer to each of them, as it will help reduce costs in the long run.

1. What are my specific communication goals and objectives for this project?
2. Who is my target audience, and what are their preferences and characteristics?
3. Does authenticity and relatability play an important role in conveying my message effectively?
4. Do I need to showcase demonstrations and incorporate patient testimonials?
5. Can my message be better illustrated through visually engaging and creative content?
6. What are the logistical challenges and costs associated with producing high-quality live footage?
7. Are there any ethical or privacy considerations when featuring real individuals in videos?
8. How much control and editing flexibility do I require over the captured content?
9. What is my budget allocation for this project, and what long-term value can each medium provide?
10. Do I have access to skilled animators or videographers with expertise in the medical field?
11. Should I prioritize realism or engagement in visually representing my medical devices or procedures?
12. Which medium aligns best with my brand identity and communication style?
13. What resources and timeframe do I have available for production and post-production?
14. Have I evaluated the pros and cons of both video and animation based on my specific needs?
15. Have I sought professional advice or collaborated with experts in the industry?

By answering these questions and carefully considering your specific requirements, you can make an informed decision regarding whether video or animation is the best medium for your medical device company’s communication strategy.

We believe in empowering our clients to make informed choices that align with their unique requirements. If you would like to explore your options further or have any lingering questions, we invite you to contact our team. They’re more than willing to share their knowledge and experiences, providing you with the information you need to make the right decision

Podymos is a healthcare marketing agency specialising in downstream Medical Device marketing.

We’re more expensive than non-specialised agencies and freelance teams because we only work in the Medical Device space so we have specialist knowledge and experience that other agencies may not be able to offer you.

If you want high-quality, compliant campaigns that help achieve your business goals, we’d love to hear from you. Simply leave us your contact details below, and we’ll get back to you very soon for a no-obligation chat.