Scribe videos versus talking heads

Or how the closing bell was only the start for one US worker

Sparkol, makers of the software VideoScribe, decided to put whiteboard animation to the 

test. They pit it against a talking head video. Straight up, gloves off, no funny business. 

Sparkol sent 2,000 viewers either a talking head video or a scribe at random in a blind A/B test. 

In both videos, the same business coach made the same pitch for new clients. Two videos 

- one talking head, one scribe. But exactly the same audio, exactly the same length and 

exactly the same pitch. You'd expect a similar impact, right? 

After watching the video, the participants answered a set of questions about what they had seen, testing their comprehension, retention of information, enjoyment, and how likely they were to respond. 

Sparkol suspected that the scribe video would have the edge

But it didn't. 

It had the whole shebang. 

The hard facts of scribing 

The scribe video outperformed the talking head video at every level

• Those who had seen the scribe performed better in 4 out of 5 memory tests 
• The scribe video was three times more likely to be shared 
• The scribe video was over twice as likely to be recommended 
• 4 out of 10 scribe viewers would have bought the service described in the video - 
• twice as many as the talking head viewers 

The scribe video came out on top in all age brackets and for both sexes. 

Beyond the power of video, beyond the effect of multimedia presentation, there is something about whiteboard-style animation that gets through to people. 

Sparkol regularly hear from people who have won competitions with scribe videos. Winners like Mark Lawler, whose elevator pitch scribe was chosen from hundreds of 

entrants to promote Infoblox. It won him an all-expenses-paid trip to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange

Mark is a convert. He now has his own YouTube channel, where he publishes regular scribe 

videos.

It's over to you 

Scribing is bigger than ever and being used in every sector you can think of. When popular 

tech blog Mashable told the history of Facebook to mark the social network's tenth birthday - they did it with a scribe. 

Illustrators use it to showcase their work. Schools use it to make exciting educational resources, flip classrooms and stimulate the next generation of IT-literate students. 

Corporations use it to speak to their employees in a way that entertains and informs, and small businesses use it to get their voices heard in the crowd. 

People the world over are discovering that scribing lets them give voice to the thoughts and ideas that might not otherwise be heard. It can turn your scribbled thoughts into a powerful message and write it in the sky. 

Ten-year olds can do it. Harried schoolteachers can do it. Charity workers can do it. 

So can you

Where once we drew pictures on the cave wall for a few of our kin to see, we now have the whole world just a few clicks and shares away. 

The question is - what will you scribe?  Click here to watch sparkol