3D IN A 4D WORLD.
First, I want to get one thing clear. All marketing is unwanted. Right? Brands targeting customers to get them to buy something only works when it’s done in a way where advertising doesn’t feel like advertising.
One of the most commonly used mediums to do that is billboards. They’ve been there for years and years. They should offer brands a lot of visual awareness. However, they have the tendency to disappear in a world where people mostly watch their phones while they’re out and about in city centres.
Until now.
3D digital billboards might be thé way for brands now to stand out from the crowd. They do so much more than just visualising a story. It becomes an actual, quite immersive, experience. They actually make people stop walking and start watching. They won’t put their phone down though, because most people will be filming the whole thing.
This brings me to the fact that the power of these campaigns actually lies within the shareability of the medium. It’s a visual experience that can be witnessed by few people in real life, but experienced by many many more through online content. It drives a conversation because of its stunt factor.
So, while we’re already creating so much 3D for the metaverse or other virtual realms, we might as well do it for the physical world as well. Below I’ll talk about some brands jumping on this trend in a really cool way.
1. Balenciaga
Last year, Balenciaga and Fortnite teamed up by creating a pretty spectacular immersive 3D billboard experience. The OOH visualisation showcased Fortnite’s favourite Doggo wearing Balenciaga apparel. So they literally brought their digital collaboration to the physical world, looming over sidewalks in a larger than life way.
2. Netflix
Netflix brought Piccadilly Lights to a standstill with this 3D billboard campaign to launch Zack Snyder’s movie, Army of the Dead. A proper tiger is not something you see on a daily basis in London’s city centre, so it made people stop and watch. And film. Because this Youtube video has been shared thousands of times on various social media.
3. MAC Cosmetics
Sorry people, I have to do it. We’re very proud of our work with MAC Cosmetics. This one was quite special, to say the least. Riyadh Boulevard offers not just one 3D billboard. But 82 interactive screens, creating an opportunity for orchestrating an actual visual show. And while the show only lasted 60seconds, it was quite overwhelming and people needed a minute to process after they watched it. Believe me, I was there. 8000 square metres of massive screens will do that to you.
So yes, 3D digital billboards are quite the pioneering concept. They don’t just throw an ad in people’s faces. They create an actual visual experience for the public. Creatively, these things need to be thought through really carefully. There’s a lot of physics that comes to the 3D effect of these visualisations as well. But a good team of creatives, scientists and producers will make this very real for lots of brands.
