Do you want to engage with your audience more, allow them to immerse themselves in your brand or service more than any other medium? With the biggest slate of 3D films being released in the next 12 months, you have the perfect opportunity to reach out to them and give them an experience they will never forget with 3D advertising. Every brand wants the audience to experience their product or service, no matter what it is, and the closest way to do this is with 3D cinema advertising.

3D advertisements can often be seen as an expensive and difficult process to go through to create a campaign, however understanding the 3D technology and how costs can be only marginally more than a 2D shoot means brands now have the chance to be innovative and allow their audience to come as close to the product without actually being there.

Relatively few brands worldwide have produced advertisements in 3D, let alone in Australia and NZ, which means those that are creating this exciting content are not just engaging their audience but they are also achieving a great cut thru in audience recall. Simplot’s first 3D advertisement for their Bird’s Eye brand achieved a 20% increase in Fish Finger sale with a cinema media spend only. James Stewart, from Geneva Films in Canada who have produced 3D advertisements for the likes of Lexus and Sprint, says advertising yields eye-popping returns in memory retention…”In studies from multiple independent sources – including ESPN, Xpand and Texas Instruments, the data shows an average increase in viewer retention for 15%. For a minimal increase in production costs, you get a 15%-20% increase in ad recall. Who doesn’t want that?”

Tourism Northern Territory wanted to create an innovative and creative campaign beyond anything they had done before and worked with Sydney based production company, Vinyl Productions, to create the first stereoscopic 3D advertisement shot and produced in Australia. Alongside the great impact that ad had in the cinema, shooting in 3D also meant they had a 2D version they were then able to use across other platforms like web and TV, so while it was made for cinema it was also able to be played on television, web and used as a demonstration piece for 3D television at point of sales locations globally. The above coupled with the PR they received from industry press for being at the forefront of creative innovation meant their coverage was wider than planned. 

In regards to costings, the improvements and developments in 3D technology have meant the cost of shooting and producing a 3D advertisement has come down in recent years. Stewart believes that shooting and producing a 3D advertisement is only 15% - 25% above shooting a typical spot in 2D. “For bigger budget campaigns, 3D will cost less because you’ve already invested in higher production value”, says Stewart. Simon Thomas, Director of Vinyl Productions, says the challenge is to find solutions that deliver great 3D and not compromise on quality within those budgets. “Stereoscopic production still requires a broad number of considerations to make sure the final delivery works for the viewers eye so developing the creative around the technology is still vital. It is absolutely possible to create 3D advertisements for a range of budgets, including those under $100k,” Thomas says. 

The past 12 months has seen 3D films drive the cinema box office to new levels with exhibitors investing in 3D technology and now there are over 680 3D cinema screens in Australia with 80% of screens to be digital by June 2012.  This roll out is crucial to the audience experience as the next 12 months will see an incredible slate of 3D blockbuster films (over 40 expected for 2012), and they are not all animated productions with John Carter, Battleship, Men in Black 3 and The Amazing Spiderman all coming to the big screen and expected to bring in big audience numbers. 

So why not take your clients brand above and beyond where it has been before and invest in the production of a 3D advertisement? Val Morgans new content creation unit, Brandfit Productions, is able to assist you in your 3D campaign be it in creative, production or advice on the best way to go forward on this.

Please contact Philipa Murphy – pmurphy@valmorgan.com.au or on 02 8113 5616 for any assistance.