Corporate Animated Christmas and New Year Cards

Information

As we get closer to the end of the year, we begin to think about extending our best wishes and gratitude to our clients and suppliers who have supported and contributed to our business.

There are numerous ways to do this, and one unique and impactful way is through animated cards.

Animated cards come with many benefits. They allow you to –

  • Get your intended message across
  • Choose your theme (such as comical, thought-provoking or sentimental)
  • Incorporate your branding
  • Personalise and tailor it to your preference
  • Impress and stand out from the rest

Here is an example of our Slidesho animated card from last year.

If an animated card is something you would like to create for your business, then the following 8 tips will guide and support you through the process.

1. Your Idea

The first step is to decide on the purpose of your card. For example, you may wish to incorporate both Christmas and New Year sentiments into it.

Note: While Christmas and New Year appear close together on the calendar, they both bring different sentiments with them.  With Christmas, we are more inclined to think of the current year coming to an end, and with that, we want to acknowledge and thank clients and suppliers for their continued support.

The new year, however, is about new beginnings. It’s about looking forward, setting goals, making plans, and wishing people well for the future.

You may prefer to incorporate both Christmas and New Year’s messages into one card, or you may wish to design a card to be specifically sent out in the New Year wishing all your clients the best for the year ahead.

TIP: Sending your animated card out in the new year could help you stand out from the rest of the crowd who have already sent theirs out at Christmas time.

Once you have decided the purpose of your card, then this will determine the look, feel, and theme.

2. Your Message

Once you have locked in the purpose or idea of your card, then it is time to think about your message. If you are sending out a Christmas animated card, (incorporating Christmas and New Year) then you would think about the essence of what you want to convey to your reader.

Here is an example of the message Slidesho sent out to all our clients in December 2020 (which was the end of the year that the pandemic started). Our desire was to not only send season greetings but also acknowledge the difficulties of the year and thank all our clients for their support.

“It’s been a year of many challenges, but we are optimistic about the future and would like to wish you an AMAZING, prosperous, happy, and healthy new year. Thank you for all your support throughout 2020.”

TIP: Remember that everything else you choose from this point on (such as your cards assets, scenes and audio) must ALL complement your message.

3. Planning the Scenes

The world is your oyster when it comes to planning the scenes for your animated card! The options are never-ending.

This is where our complimentary storyboard will help you. Simply download our template and start planning and writing your thoughts.

Here is an example of a completed Storyboard to give you an idea of how it works. This is how we planned the scenes out for our 2020 animated card.

4. Gathering the Assests

After you have your animated scenes all planned out and locked in, it is time to gather all the assets you will require to bring your card to life.

For example, if you are setting a Christmas-themed scene you will need to source all the assets you will require to breathe life into that scene, such as a Xmas tree, Santa, or stars. This all depends on you and what you desire.

Assets can be sourced in various ways. You can –

  • Create them yourself (if you are an illustrator or know one)
  • You could get the team to get crafty and have an afternoon of drawing/painting to create the various assets
  • Purchase them from stock libraries
  • Use photos that you may have or have found in stock libraries
  • Use vector images from sites such as Freepik (https://www.freepik.com/)

5. Creating the Presentation and adding Animations

You are now at the halfway mark, well done! At this point, you will be ready to start creating your actual animated card. This can be done using different programs.  Some are-

  • Google Slides
  • Canva
  • PowerPoint

The decision is yours. It’s no secret that at Slidesho we love PowerPoint, and it is our preferred method for designing all our animated cards.

For this guide, we will take you through the process of creating your card in PowerPoint.

  1. Design the background (eg. Mountains, sky, ocean, etc.), you can use actual images or you can create it with vector shapes in PowerPoint. At this point you might also like to add your logo.
  2. Start adding in the assets you created/ purchased (eg. The stars in the sky, Santa on the bottom left hand corner of the slide, etc.)
  3. Add animations/ movement to the assets to bring them to life (eg. Make the stars twinkle with the animation tool, make Santa move from his current position over to where you placed the Christmas tree, etc.)
  4. Test the animations and timings
  5. Add your message/ text and animate that too so that it fits in with the previous animations and timings (more on this at Point 6 below)
  6. Play the entire presentation in slideshow view, make sure all your animations are set to animate automatically using the timings you’ve chosen
  7. Add audio (Refer to Point 7 below)
  8. Export to video (Refer to Point 8 below)

6. Adding Text

]When you add your text, you have the option to choose a font and style of your liking. You may choose to stay with your branded font or go with a font that better matches the seasoned theme of your card. With an animated card, the text (or message) is very important. The best way to draw the eye to the text is to add animation at the correct moment during the entire video.  To achieve this:

  • Select the text you want to animate
  • Click on the animation gallery
  • Select from the four categories available – (entrance, emphasis, exist and motion paths) and add an effect
  • Ensure to display the timeline and play around with the timings and effects so that everything is exactly as you’d like it to appear

7. Adding Audio

Don’t underestimate the importance of adding audio to your card. The audio can be the difference between receiving a nice-looking card versus one that is emotive. Adding background music or perhaps a personalised audio message from yourself or colleagues, makes your e-card more engaging, memorable, unique and powerful.

When selecting audio keep in mind any royalties that may apply to the rights of the song, ensure to include the source of the audio in small text somewhere on your presentation.

8. Output as Video and Share/Upload to YouTube

Once you’ve tested the presentation in slideshow view and you can see that it’s all working with the settings on automatic, you’re ready to export as video (Click on File > Export).

Congratulations, your animated card is ready to be uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo!

In addition to sending it out to the recipients it is intended for, remember to also share it through as many channels as possible. You can publish it on your website homepage or as a blog post. We also highly recommend you share it on all your social media accounts such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and lastly, don’t forget to include it in your Newsletter.

In Conclusion

An animated card can add a personal touch and make the client on the receiving end feel valued. So, our last piece of advice is to think about the day and time you would like to send it out to your clients.

When executed correctly, its impact and reach can be phenomenal.

Does this all sound too hard? Contact the PowerPoint

presentation design experts at Slidesho today!

Partner with us, and together, we will bring your vision to life and transform your presentations into unforgettable experiences.

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