Outdoor advertising is typically exciting, as it has the ability to gently interrupt people’s day to day lives and make them think about a brand differently. Billboards are medium to large advertising formats that do exactly that, but 3D billboards have the power to transcend static and, sometimes even, digital billboards. Due to their dramatic visuals and pop-up book style techniques, 3D billboards are gaining more leverage in the world of outdoor advertising. Mediums such as bus shelters, vehicle wraps, and wallscapes also use 3D elements to enhance their advertising and create more memorable experiences with their targets. This post will detail the reasons why 3D billboards are so engaging, the types of mediums 3D billboards can be displayed on, how they can be used to market a new product, and how one 3D robotic billboard made it into the Guinness Book of World Records.
Characteristics of 3D Billboards
2-dimensional ads are great, but 3-dimensional ads seriously pack that extra punch necessary to attain consumer delight. 3D billboards add an extra ounce of texture because it looks as though you can almost reach out and touch the graphic that is propping out. In this way, it makes the billboard all the more experiential because it feels like you are a part of the overall observed experience.
3D billboards cause people to use more of their eye movements due to the fact that they’re larger than life and more pronounced than their static counterparts. This allows for people to visualize the message more clearly while also improving their retention rate of the information and image plastered on the billboard medium.
More on 3D Billboard Textures
A huge reason why 3D billboards are so engaging with different targets is because of the texture components they are made up of.
Optical illusions may be presented in 3D billboards using specific art styles that trick people’s depth perception. The ad itself is 2-dimensional, but the effect falls under the 3D category. These 3D ads also happen to be the most affordable because they’re not using extra pieces that are attached to the specific, rented billboard canvas.
Physically altered billboards are the epitome of a 3D billboard because they actually include bonus parts that stick out as objects springing from the actual ad.
Transparent or framed 3D billboards interact with the overall environment by embodying a window in which consumers can peek into. Take the Jaguar example below, the billboard hasn’t changed its shape but the transparency presented allows for a 3D effect in saying how fast the vehicle can go, making the tree in the back a blur.
3D Billboard Mediums
3D billboards aren’t just confined to your standard large scale canvas on poles and beams, they can also find refuge on other formats that better target audiences below.
Transit shelters take advantage of 3D billboards by using props and other elements that can attach to their glass and metal frames, creating social engagement among commuters simply waiting around. 3D elements can be built on top of, inside, or around the transit shelter, waiting for commuters to explore their standout effects.
Bus wraps may also include 3D elements by means of illumination in 3D vinyl or digital magic. These wraps specialize in creating a gripping moment with people boarding the bus, or just passing it by on street level.
Mobile billboards are becoming more popular. They are shown to have a 107% increase in sales vs. a 54% increase for static billboards, and this is partly due to 3D influences. 3D mobile billboards are great for promoting a new product, as they can drive by a given location with the realistic looking product example attached to its vehicle dimensions. The 3D element here is usually placed atop the vehicle, making it look as though the vehicle is carrying and presenting the ad on its shoulders.
Guerrilla outdoor advertising uses unconventional tactics to drive consumers inwards. These tactics usually take the form of 3D graphics which communicate bold messages/symbols to people in its proximity. This 3D billboard medium is probably the most obvious example of a 3-dimensional marketing ploy.
Why 3D Billboards are Great for New Product Launches
3D fabrication is useful to help launch new products on the market because it serves as a lifelike version of the product being advertised. It shows consumers what the product looks like in real life before they see it on the shelves. The larger frame of the product as a 3D graphic will make people remember its name or shape before they experience a smaller version of it in stores. 3D billboards allow for advertisers to get creative about envisioning the new product in different shapes or forms, which simultaneously creates a fresher experience with the brand and its newborn baby.
Robotic 3D Coca-Cola Billboard in Times Square
The Coca-Cola brand has certainly done a great deal of advertising since it began, but one of the most impressive feats took place in Times Square in New York City with the largest ever mixed reality robotic 3D billboard. This billboard grew 6 stories tall, and featured motion technology of over 1700 independent computerized LED modules that brought dimension, texture, and movement to the big city. A new software platform helped create this 3D billboard, which allowed the brand to upload, simulate, and broadcast 3D content on its surface. It allowed for versatility and multi-dimensional freedom which goes above and beyond other 3D billboards. In 2017, it was recognized as the world’s first and largest 3D billboard by Guinness World Records.
There you have it. 3D billboards are truly spectacular innovations stemming out of the outdoor advertising industry. By offering memorable qualities, versatility in format, and helping launch new products, 3D billboards truly are an important asset to our advertising world and help better create a grander image of brands both unknown and well known.
For more information about some of the best used 3D billboards in our history, check out that linked article.
