What makes a good ad? Let’s be honest, as consumers most of us probably get irritated by ads and do what we can to stop them popping up so we don’t have to look at them.

Which means that as marketers we need to do all we can to stop that from happening. What makes us presume that anyone would particularly want to see our ads amongst all the others they reject? What can we do to make our ads stand out from the crowd?

One way to do this is to use 3D ads. 

In this article we take a quick look at:

• What are 3D ads?
• What are the advantages of 3D ads?
• What is the best way to get into 3D advertising?

What are 3D ads?

3D ads enable customers to use the full graphics range of their computer or smart device and better understand how a product would look in real life. A 3D ad will stand out from the page and enable the product to be rotated and viewed from different angles.

3D making ads more impactful, and visually appealing. It also puts control of the ad firmly into the hands of the viewer, who is able to move, spin, rotate and zoom to find out all the product information they need.

The potential of 3D ads can be extended even further by enabling customers to place the product in their own environment using Augmented Reality. For example, the IKEA Place app, which enables customers  to preview how furniture will look in their homes. 

Whilst 3D ads are primarily used to present objects or products, they can also be made for virtual objects to provide customers with more information about the product they are looking at, such as the Google Rich Media eBalm example below:

 

3D ads can also be used externally for dramatic effect, such as the DeepScreen 3D ad platform used by Ocean Outdoor. Displays such as those shown in the video below could be used to advertise a particular product or service, or to enhance awareness of the brand.

 

 

What are the advantages of 3D ads?

There are three main advantages to 3D ads:

• Increased user engagement

The largest benefit of 3D ads is to increase user engagement. The visual appeal and interactivity of 3D ads can attract and hold attention for much longer periods of time than more traditional online ads.

As well as the specific product being advertised, users are more likely to have a favourable impression of a brand if they are enjoying engaging with that brand through the advert. There is also more chance of a positive purchasing experience as the consumer will be able to make a more informed decision after being able to become familiar with the product through the 3D model.

• Better product showcasing

A 3D ad gives your brand a much better opportunity to showcase its products or services. The facility to rotate and zoom enables customers to get a much better overall picture of the product than with a 2D ad. It also means that the customer doesn’t have to browse through various different product pages to find any additional detail they are looking for.

The 3D ad can also be designed to give consumers the opportunity to see what customised versions of your product would look like.

Overall, an immersive 3D ad is likely to result in a much better quality experience to customers, which in turn will lead to more engagement and higher sales. 

• Increased Profits and ROI

The natural result of both the above advantages is increased profits and better ROI for businesses that are using 3D ads. The 3D ad will help them to make better and more informed buying decisions, and lead to them becoming brand followers and long term customers.

 

How to get started with 3D advertising?

One of the most common technologies currently being used to develop 3D ads is Google Swirl. Swirl, which is an immersive display creative format, is available through Display and Video 360, part of the Google Marketing Platform. 

In very simple terms, the steps towards creating a 3D ad are:

• • As with any other type of ad, decide on your advertising goals. For example, selling a particular product or service or raising general awareness of your brand through increased engagement.

 

• • Create the different artwork needed for the ad. For example, a banner, animations, a physical 3D model of your product.

 

• • Decide on the types of interactions you want viewers to have with your ad. For example:
    • • • Scrolling/rotating;
        • Zooming in and out;
        • Viewing full-screen.  

       

  • If using Google Swirl, you then build the Swirl ad in Google Web Designer, either from scratch or by using a Swirl template.

 

• • Once your ad is completed, it will need to be published through the Google Marketing Platform.

 

Google Marketing Platform also has various insights to help you measure the success of your ad once it is published. The Display & Video 360 platform provides metrics such as number of impressions, amount of engagement and click-through rate.

 

We hope that this article has helped to give you some insight into the power and advantage of 3D advertising, and provided some practical tips about how to get started.

For further tips for your digital marketing agency, do check back here soon with us at Xcite Digital.