Sky’s the limit on creativity. Then reality sets in as their ideas are weighed, scrutinized, and finally deemed possible or impossible. Too many terrific 3D advertising concepts wind up crumpled on the floor due to lack of technology, lack of resources, lack of sufficient time, or the inability to create what was imagined.
The “What-if” Era: 3D Advertising Redefines Feasibility
With the advent of wide format 3D printing, the unimaginable becomes not only imaginable, it becomes possible. This is big news for ad creatives, brand managers, retail owners, and business people who conceptualize 3D advertising ideas and campaigns in order to support their brands. The biggest ideas are now within their reach.
The question is, when they call their local print service provider to determine if their idea can feasibly be executed, will that printer be able to deliver? The following real stories showcase three big ideas that would have been considered impossible to achieve not so long ago, but now. . well, let’s take a look.
The supermarket
What makes a shopper choose one supermarket over another? Is it prices? Cleanliness? Location? What about a cool, fun experience and atmosphere to rip them out of their daily grind?
We can almost imagine sitting in at the brainstorming session that led to the spectacular, dreamworld supermarket seen here: “What if we had giant detergent containers? What if life-size characters lined the gateway to each aisle above the shelves? Giant vendors could be stationed just below the ceiling, as if in an outdoor market. What if larger-than-life colorful products greeted customers all through the store? It would create a unique and fantasy-like shopping experience…”
Then comes the inevitable question: How? How could we possibly achieve this? Who would we consult to see if this is feasible?
Fortunately, for this particular gang of creatives, there just happened to be a print service provider nearby that owned a Massivit 1800 wide format 3D printer. And voila!
Louis Vuitton pop-up store
Louis Vuitton’s artistic director, Kim Jones, wanted to leverage the trend of pop-up stores. He envisioned creating an exotic, African-themed environment pop-up store to sell the new men’s spring/summer collection. The execution had to be perfectly exquisite to match the premier brand’s image. It was a bold idea, and the timing was tight. Who could accomplish this?
That turned out to be a really good question.
Louis Vuitton called several businesses in Sydney, Australia, but didn’t get anywhere. It seemed this would be another idea that would wind up on the floor. Then they called OMUS (recently acquired by Seen Technology) and scored.
OMUS was able to accept the job because of their new Massivit 1800 printer. Robert Grosso, OMUS’s director, said that many fabricators knew they would not be able to deliver on schedule, using conventional fabrication processes. This awe-inspiring, 90 square-meter pop-up store was delivered on time and the result thrilled the customer and left those who had not believed it possible shaking their heads in disbelief.
Macy’s 3D printed flamingo
A similar story occurred on the other side of the world. Macy’s department store was preparing for summer. This high-profile brand intended to promote Carolina Herrera’s summer collection. They needed something attention-grabbing to accompany five mannequins wearing the new summer range.
“What if we included a giant, pink flamingo?”
The obvious next question: Who can create a giant pink flamingo?
Big Apple Visual Group, that’s who. With their Massivit 1800 printer, they were able to create a 2.5 meter-tall pink flamingo. It added the color, vibrancy and fun needed to make Macy’s front window display a summer spectacular and draw attention to the clothing.
Be Ready to Say “YES”
3D printed applications are growing and spreading, as is the demand for wide format 3D printed campaigns. 3D advertising is more prevalent in retail environments, but rapidly proliferating into adjacent visual communications market segments. Make sure you have the right technology to deliver the vision of millennial creatives, and to deliver it on time. Download one of our application catalogs to present to your customers and let them know that you’re ready to deliver their “What if?” big ideas.
