HPS Group creates Chrismagraph site to raise awareness of cinemagraphs through social sharing

Tim Hamstead, head of social and content at HPS Group, said: “A cinemagraph is a GIF /video hybrid piece of content which is starting to be embraced by brands and digital agencies alike. In simplest terms, a cinemagraph is a traditional still image, with movement then added to one element of the image, or a traditional video which then has movement removed. Done well the cinemagraph can be absorbing, hypnotic and very striking.

“There’s some interesting human science at play behind the effectiveness of the cinemagraph. It’s deep rooted in out predator-prey history as a species. When our ancestors surveyed a scene for dangers such as snakes, we evolved to zone in on any movement as a potential threat to be considered and assessed. Cinemagraphs play on this innate skill by providing a still scene on first appearance and then adding the movement which draws the viewers’ attention. “

In addition to tapping into the social sharing potential of the festive season, the Chrismagraph campaign to designed to highlight the benefits of the cinemagraph as a marketing tool.

Hamstead said: “Cinemagraphs are growing in popularity among brands for good reason: they’re cheaper to produce than video, they’re multi-functional in that they can be appear on websites, emails or social media and they typically have a click through rate five times higher than still images.”

HPS is a full service marketing communications groups, headquartered in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Clients include PETRONAS, BMW, Mazda, Stabilo, Huawei and 3M.