3D Marketing adds a 3-dimensional, interactive, layer to a regular 2D advertisement. Customers are able to interact with the 3D product through dragging and orienting the object.
Imagine buying a new pair of loafers online. Swiping through a gallery of angle shots of the product is frustrating. In this case, customers would rather go in-store to look at the shoe and the show brand potentially loses a sale. 3D Marketing fixes this problem, providing advertisers the ability to promote their products using a 3-dimensional layer which allows customers to engage with the product interface.
Now imagine seeing all angles of this pair of loafers; it’s much easier to make a purchase.
Is 3D Marketing new?
The concept of 3D Marketing is not new. Years ago, marketers began finding alternative and interactive ways to increase their brand recognition.
For example, physical 3D buildable objects, “Pop-Up Mailers”, could be found in magazines and newspapers.
Other common examples of 3D marketing fall in the direct marketing category: pop-up calendars, pen holders, or miniature models of products. For example, IKEA advertised their famous, cheap square table by adding a pop-up paper table in their catalogs. This was a way for customers to interact closely with product mock-ups or brands.
But with changing technology, new tactics have emerged: 3D Marketing on the web.
Where does Augmented Reality fit in?
This year, we’ve seen a huge jump in support for augmented reality across popular mobile devices. It’s great news for advertisers exploring 3D marketing because it allows customers to not only experience 3D, but also place products in their environment.
By already having 3D Assets, marketers will be able to reuse this material for potential AR Campaigns or combine the experiences together.
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What does this mean for marketers?
Marketers should jump on the opportunity to engage with their customers through 3D marketing. Show them what they want to see: everything.
Next steps marketers can take to approach 3D marketing for their next campaign:
1. Invest in 3D Assets
Identify the brand assets that will benefit most from a 3D mock-up. These may include products that need to be examined before purchasing or a branded character that a user wants to play with.
We provide several examples (clothes, shoes, food) below. Preview already existing 3D models, from sources like Sketchfab, to see if your model already exists. If it doesn’t exist, contact us to build your 3D model.
2. Build the 3D Ad Unit
First, define the intent of the 3D Ad Unit: Are users clicking to another immersive experience? Does it lead directly to purchase?
After identifying the goals of the ad unit, the right components can be designed. OmniVirt will help create your 3D Ad Units to align with your goal.
3. Distribute your 3D Marketing Campaign
Now it’s time to distribute your campaign and reach your target audience. The key is being able to work with a technology partner that can embed the ad unit on targeted websites and successfully render across all devices and browsers to get maximum reach for your campaign.
4. Track your results
Calculate relevant KPIs and metrics to track your campaign’s effectiveness. Interactive marketing generally sees a strong uplift in click-through rates and viewability, and 3D is no different.
By responding to mobile gyroscopes, 3D ads are more attention-grabbing compared to a flat banner ad. As a result, the time spent with the 3D product is significantly longer than the time spent scrolling through a 2D ad.
Top Use Cases/Examples
3D marketing, while new, has compelling use cases within several industries to help advertisers make a stronger impact with their campaign. From retail markets to the auto industry, we find that 3D products change the way consumers perceive products.
By visually implanting products in our environment and exploring every angle in 3D, users are able to place the product in the context of their lives.
A few examples of 3D products that would be game changers:
- Clothing/Shoes — Explore more than the side profiles that online shopping stores provide.
- Food — Give consumers a full perspective of what they are missing
- Education — Learn about geography in 3D or have an explorable human body model
- Everything Else and More — Combined with AR technology, the potential of 3D Marketing is infinite.
Our work with Takis, a chip brand from Barcel, is a prime example of placing a product into customers’ hands. Users will see this ad across their devices, scrolling through a news article or browsing social media.
The visually accurate and compelling Takis chip bag, spinning in the ad, convinces users to click and play with the 3D product. With its launch, the campaign was able to reach millions; and this is just the beginning of 3D marketing campaigns.
Getting Started
Explore our past ad campaigns and demos for help on idea generation and contact us for inquiries to get you on the road to your first 3D advertisement!
Originally published at www.omnivirt.com on June 13, 2018.
