Monday, July 28th, 2008
I was recently asked where I see advertising going in the future. The person asking me had just announced to the room that “absolutely ALL companies who work in advertising or an advertising related field are going to fail completely in the coming months because of massive cuts in advertising budgets”. I made a mental note to contact Saatchi & Saatchi and let them know. I’m sure they’ll be gutted that a Stockport-based life coach has such dire news for them.
He wasn’t completely wrong though, there have been reductions in advertising budgets on the whole. But while traditional media advertising budgets are shrinking, digital and Internet advertising budgets have remained steady.
So the message seems to be that, in times of economic uncertainty, companies want to know exactly where their money is going and what a campaign is achieving for them. They want value for money and digital provides that.
As consumers, we’re finding it easier and easier to ignore brand messages and many people are cynical about the perceived interruptions advertising represents.
The most successful advertising happens when the line between entertainment and advertising is blurred. Engaging our audience and providing an entertaining experience means consumers will not only participate in the media but will involve other members of their social group in it.
The Adidas - Impossible Story viral campaign by Glue is an excellent example of an entertaining brand experience that communicates the brand message through participation with its audience. It combines quirky visuals with nifty technical execution and the results speak for themselves. (more…)
Tags: 3d, Advertising, digital, flash, interactive, interactive media, July, online, viral, web
Posted in Advertising, Digital Marketing, Interactive 3D | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
You’re probably familiar with architectural visualisation. Most property marketing teams know that they can use their architect’s CAD drawings and a specialist 3D visualiser to make some nice marketing images. They also know that having still images or animations which show the property development complete and in its best light, before the builder has even lifted a brick, vastly increases their chances of selling off plan.
But now that architectural visualisation is used by most property marketing teams, how do you ensure yours is the one potential buyers are looking at and talking about?
In my experience, it takes a combination of animation, stills and web-based, interactive media to make a visualisation really stand out. Combining web-based, interactive visualisations with stills and animation is much more effective than stills or animation alone. The stills can be used in print campaigns to drive traffic to the developer’s website where users will find the interactive visualisations. We have found that users spend longer browsing websites with interactive visualisations and are more likely to follow a call to action.
Interactive visualisations enable potential buyers to immerse themselves the property; they can watch the development evolve over time while exploring the space and room layout options. This heightened level of engagement means potential buyers are more likely to make an enquiry.
The interactivity also helps you to communicate the property’s features. So if the development boasts the best, most energy-saving insulation on the market, let the potential buyer click the walls and see inside them. If all the wood used in the property comes from a sustainable resource, give the potential buyer that information while they enjoy a seamless interaction.
Using an interactive visualisation also means you get double the value from the 3D design process. Your 3D artist can render stills and animation from the model they produce for the interactive visualisation, so you get three types of media from one process and engage with your potential buyers on a whole new level.
When you go interactive, architectural visualisation transforms from luxury to necessity; from a tool which is nice to have, to an indispensable means of meeting sales targets.
Tags: 3d, animation, architect, Architectural Visualisation, CAD, interactive, marketing, May, property, stills, virtual, visualisation, web
Posted in 3D Design, Architectural Visualisation, Digital Marketing, Interactive 3D | No Comments »
