The power of animated explainer videos for healthcare startups

If you're building something in healthcare, biotech, pharma, medtech, or digital health, you already know this: your ideas are often too complex for a slide, and too important to be misunderstood.

You’ve got seconds to earn attention. Most people won’t read. Even fewer will understand. That’s where animated explainer videos come in.

Studies have shown that animated videos increase viewer retention by up to 95%, making them one of the most effective ways to convey complex ideas to the target audience.

At M’idea Hub, we’ve worked with healthcare founders who needed to explain breakthrough devices, research pipelines, and platform technologies to a non-technical audience, investors, partners, or patients. And time after time, we’ve seen animation make the difference between confusion and clarity.

Let’s break down why that is.

The Real Communication Gap in Healthcare

Modern healthcare startups face two massive challenges:

1. The short attention span of the people.

Today, countless things, from entertainment to sports, are trying to grab people’s attention on the internet and elsewhere. And today’s short attention span makes everything more competitive than ever.

Research by Microsoft shows that the average human attention span has dropped from 12 seconds to just 8 seconds – shorter than that of a goldfish!

2. The complexity of healthcare concepts.

Healthcare concepts and procedures can be really complex to understand.

While the written form can explain the complexity of healthcare concepts and business, it is ineffective. It is time-consuming and, more importantly, cannot make an impression. When constantly fed up with new, exciting things, people can easily forget what they’ve read.

Add to that the 52% of U.S. adults with low health literacy, and you’ve got a problem: your audience might not even realize what makes your solution valuable.

The result? Missed meetings. Confused investors. Potential partners walking away.

Why Animated Explainer Videos Work

When it comes to healthcare sectors, communication is key!

An animated video for startups in healthcare is one of the most effective ways to communicate with your audience. It has the edge over all other traditional marketing methods. These short and informative videos for healthcare hold power to convey the message in the most effective way possible, thereby helping startups in;

1. Creating more engagement

Compared to other methods, explainer videos are fun and exciting to watch and can hook the viewer and spark interest. When people get interested, they are more likely to spend more time knowing about it and will have more confidence in making an informed decision.

2. They’re proven to improve retention

Viewers retain 95% of a message when delivered via video, versus 10% through text. That’s not just a stat — that’s memorability you can’t afford to lose.

3. They create trust

Polished visual storytelling signals professionalism. And that’s exactly what you need in regulated, high-stakes sectors like healthcare.

4. They scale

You can repurpose your animated explainer across pitch decks, landing pages, investor outreach, and even FDA/partner intros.

In a nutshell, an animated explainer video is a powerful tool for healthcare startups. It simplifies complex ideas, grabs the audience’s attention, establishes your brand, and leaves a lasting impression. It also saves time and resources while increasing conversions.

Two Types of Healthcare Animation That Drive Results

There are two main types of videos: Explainer videos and Product Demo videos. Each type has its own unique purpose and design components.

1. Explainer Videos (60–90 seconds)

Explainer videos often used to introduce a new product or service to the market or explain complex medical concepts in a simple and easy-to-understand manner.

There are many ways animated explainer videos for startups can make concepts easy to understand. Some of them are:

Iconography

Icons are one of the best ways to highlight important features of a product or service. The simple nature of icons helps viewers understand and remember things quickly without much effort.

Characters

Use of characters can help describe a wide range of healthcare processes that involve human interaction. A short scene with characters can describe a long process effectively in just a few seconds. Using characters makes viewers feel more connected to the Problem/Story.

Biological Processes

Anything involving biological processes is often hard to understand because of its complexity. This is where animation can be extremely helpful. A scene with well-conceptualized elements and animation can help anyone understand even the most complex processes in a matter of seconds.

2. Demo Videos

Product demo videos are curated platform visualization to walk your customers through a technical process, which might be hard to understand otherwise.

These videos are often used to demonstrate the features and benefits of a new medical device or software in detail. They can be particularly effective in providing a hands-on experience for the viewer. A demo video eliminates the need to explain the same thing repeatedly, helping your sales team save time and resources.

Bottom Line

At M’idea Hub, we specialize in high-stakes visual storytelling for complex ideas. Our team brings together animators, designers, and storytellers who understand healthcare — and how to communicate it to real-world audiences.

If you're a founder or marketer in biotech, life sciences, pharma, or medtech, we can help you:

• Simplify your science into compelling stories
• Translate features into investor-friendly narratives
• Create reusable, scalable assets that support your raise and beyond

Book a discovery call to see how animation can unlock your next growth milestone.