Short video is, today, the most consumed format and the one people ask for the most. It makes sense. It grabs attention in seconds and shows at a glance what would take a full paragraph to explain in writing. But a format being consumed more doesn’t make it the right one for every job. An awareness program holds very different goals at once, and each one comes through better in a different visual language.
There’s a more useful question than which one wins, and it’s a little uncomfortable. What do I want this person to do differently after seeing this? Once you start there, the format almost picks itself.
An awareness format is the language you use to deliver a security message: video, comic, newsletter, interactive module, or game. It doesn’t change the message. It changes how it lands, how long it stays in memory, and when the person can actually use it.
What does each format do well in awareness?
Every format has a job it does best and a point where it’s better to let it go. Video stands out at attention and demonstration. The comic, at reading at your own pace and at being revisited. The newsletter, at consistency and reminders. The interactive module, at guided practice. Choosing well means matching the format’s strength to the goal of the piece.
| Format | Where it shines | Its limit | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short video | Grabbing attention, showing a step, emotional weight | Passive and hard to revisit or fix on the fly | Hooking people at the start of a campaign; showing what an attack looks like |
| Comic | Asynchronous reading, scanned at a glance, revisited without rewinding | Not suited for long procedures | Planting a simple idea and making it stick |
| Newsletter | Consistency, reminders, reaching everyone | Skimmed quickly; not for procedures or for training | Keeping the topic alive between campaigns; news and reminders |
| Interactive module | Practice and guided decisions | Needs a dedicated moment; no good for a quick look-up | Training a specific decision (report, verify, stop) |
No row in that table beats the others. They’re tools for different jobs.
When is short video the right choice?
Short video is the right choice when you need to grab attention fast or when something is easier to understand by watching than by reading. Showing what a real phishing email looks like, recreating the rhythm of a fraud call, or conveying the tension of a moment of decision. Video carries motion and emotion better than the written word or a comic panel.
Its strength is also its limit. Video is passive. The person watches, nods, and moves on with their day. If they later want to recall the second step of what they saw, they have to rewind and find it, and they don’t always bother.
That’s why video shines at the start of the journey, when the goal is to spark interest. To sustain a behavior over time, it almost always needs company.
What does the comic solve where video can’t reach?
The comic solves three things video struggles with. It’s read at your own pace, scanned at a glance, and revisited without rewinding.
There’s a cognitive reason behind it. When an image and a word tell the same idea at the same time, the mind processes them through two channels that reinforce each other. That’s the principle of dual coding, and it helps a well-made panel be remembered better than the same message in a loose paragraph. We go deeper into this in why comics work in awareness.
The comic also fits where video gets in the way. A person can read a strip in an open office without headphones and without pausing anything. And a short panel can appear right next to the mistake, at the instant the lesson matters most.
The Cyber Justice League comic, which we produced at SMARTFENSE, was born with that logic. A simple, scannable story makes a security idea stick better than a list of rules.
What is an awareness newsletter for?
The newsletter is the format that keeps awareness alive between campaigns. It reaches everyone on a regular basis, recalls a current risk, shares a piece of news or a recent case, without asking anyone to stop for too long.
Its value is in consistency. It’s skimmed in a few minutes, so it isn’t for explaining a long procedure or training a decision. But no other format keeps the topic present, month after month, with so little friction. It’s the thread that connects one campaign to the next.
How do you choose the format based on the behavior you want to change?
Start with the behavior, not the format. Define what you want the person to do differently and the visual language becomes obvious.
- To get them to pay attention to a topic they don’t care about yet, use video.
- To help them remember a simple rule at the right moment, use a comic or a visual nudge.
- To keep the topic present between one campaign and the next, use a periodic newsletter.
- To train a decision under pressure, use an interactive module or a game, as in game-based learning and gamification that changes behavior.
The honest answer is rarely a single format. A good program combines several across the journey: the video that hooks, the comic that plants the idea, the interactive module that puts it to the test, and the newsletter that keeps the topic alive. What matters is that each piece has a clear job and doesn’t repeat the one before it. That’s why the SMARTFENSE platform offers a catalog with several formats, so each goal finds its language.
So, which one do I pick?
The one that does the job you need at that point in the program. Video doesn’t compete with the comic, nor the newsletter with the interactive module. Each does a different job, and they all compete against one thing, a piece no one remembers the next day. If you start from the behavior you want to change, you’ll choose well most of the time, whatever format you use.
Frequently asked questions
Is video better than comic for awareness?
Not in absolute terms. Video grabs attention and demonstrates better; the comic is read at your own pace and revisited without rewinding. The best format depends on the behavior you want to change.
Why does a comic help people remember an idea?
Because it combines image and word telling the same idea at once, and the mind processes them through two channels that reinforce each other. That dual-coding principle helps the message stay in memory.
How many formats should an awareness program have?
As many as it takes to cover the different jobs across the journey. The usual mix is video to hook, comic to plant simple ideas, interactive modules to practice, and a newsletter to keep the topic alive.
When is a comic not the right choice?
When you need to explain a long or detailed procedure. For steps and configurations, an interactive module or a detailed guide works better. The comic shines with simple, memorable ideas.
Leave a Reply