We all know 3D DOOH is more effective than 2D. It captures attention and excites the viewer with a surprising experience that can easily be shared on social media challenges. But 3D DOOH has a big problem: the magical effect can only happen from specific, prescribed viewing angles.
3 Rock Global, an ad tech company specializing in Augmented Reality (AR) and 3D executions, claims they have figured out how to make 3D DOOH that keeps the 3D effect no matter the viewing angle, and without using a curved or L-shaped screen.
One of the key features of anamorphic advertising is that the illusion only appears correctly from specific angles. At other angles, the image typically distorts and doesn’t look quite right.
Ian Brookes, Managing Director at 3 Rock Global, says the company has created over 150 3D content pieces since January 2023, from New York to Melbourne, and most places in between.
How do they make their 3D executions work at any angle? Brookes says it’s their “secret sauce,” but that they put a lot of care and attention to detail into each project.
“We’ve been 3D modeling for over a decade,” Brookes said. “We do it differently, and we think you’ll like what we do.”
The company can work with creative briefs at any stage of the process, from conception to fully fleshed-out campaigns with mock creatives. Brookes says they can also accommodate just about any budget, from $25k to $200k, depending on the advertiser’s needs. They are flexible when it comes to OOH formats, as their 3D DOOH executions can work on any standard digital screen, creating perfect 3D images with no distortions.
Rather than running tests to ensure that a 3D DOOH execution works properly, they can demo the effect for clients on in-office screens.
Brookes says that while Digital OOH has historically been primarily for social media sharing, it can now be an amazing in-person experience from all angles as well.
“The biggest problem we’re solving is the lack of attention and the ability to stand out,” Brookes said.
The company, which started 12 years ago, was one of the first to explore augmented reality. From there, they expanded into other solutions, including 3D DOOH, which has now become their main focus.
The company went to market with its 3D offerings in 2023. Brookes says the reaction has been unbelievable.
“People are still looking at it as a gimmick, but there’s data now,” Brookes said. Some studies have shown as much as a 14% sales lift when using a 3D DOOH execution compared to a 2D one.
“We have a solution where others are starting to explore 3D, but they can’t do any-angle viewing like we can,” Brookes said.
Another key differentiator for the company is that 90% of its production department runs on renewable energy.
One of the biggest problems Brookes sees with current 3D DOOH executions is that advertisers want to showcase on the largest, most famous screens like those in Times Square or Piccadilly Circus, making the execution more of a high-impact social media play than a true OOH execution.
“It’s worth doing, but if you’re using technology where you need to stand in a certain position, then it’s purely for social media content,” Brookes said.
There are potentially 290k+ screens in the U.S. alone that could run 3D content. 3 Rock Global hopes that someday soon, 3D will be everywhere.