You Don’t Need 1,700 LED Screens to Create an Awesome, 3D Ad

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PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

In addition to being the brand behind one of the world's most popular soft drinks, Coca-Cola is now in the Guinness Book of World Records, twice, for an impressive Times Square billboard.

Comprised of 1,760 individually programmable moving screens, the fluctuating 3D advertisement syncs the screen movement with the display. The imagery also changes based on the time or the day of the week.

Orchestrated by Radius Displays Limited, the billboard took several years to create. Coca-Cola has not revealed details about the cost of the project but has highlighted how the brand prides itself on being a thought leader in inspiring advertising. This billboard is no exception, but even without knowing the dollar amount, it's probably outside the budgets of many companies.

Let's take a look at how to achieve similarly exciting effects through large-format printing methods, without blowing your entire marketing budget.

1. Use a surface that already moves

Elevators are prime places for advertising because people have to stand in them for at least several seconds. Coming up with something noticeable typically generates hard-to-forget results and makes people smile. It's even better to plan a huge print ad that ties into a brand's image.

Gold's Gym did that with printed pictures of a bodybuilder on elevator doors. The exterior featured his hands positioned to pry the doors apart. When the doors opened, viewers saw the strongman's image printed on the back wall of the elevator, proudly grinning as if he'd successfully opened the elevator to let riders inside.

Although this approach requires more than one print ad used simultaneously, it'd be cheaper than the approach Coca-Cola used because the motion is part of the advertising platform in this case, and doesn't require outside programming.

2. Use visual tricks to create a 3D effect

Billboards are everywhere you look, and that's why Coca-Cola knew how important it was to come up with a concept that would capture attention. A boring advertisement gets lost in the background, but a memorable one stands out and hopefully causes other positive reactions.

SpeedPro Imaging created a 3D effect for one of their client's signs, a concept including a shaped piece of printed material that protrudes above a foundational portion of the sign. This gives the impression that the top part is extending towards the viewer, almost like the Coca-Cola billboard does. Of course, this strategy is much less expensive to implement (and saves electricity).

Mazda took this approach to another level and hired an advertising firm to build a billboard with Post-It Note-like portions that could be attached and removed. The idea behind that campaign was to gradually remove the yellow notes, revealing a new car from the automaker underneath all of them after a three-stage process.

This billboard was the first of its kind and installed on one of Los Angeles's busiest freeways. Due to the forward-thinking nature of the print work, it was probably a pricey project in its own right. However, there are many ways to work with three-dimensional ideas to suit various budgets.

3. Use an ad that already has depth

An empty shop doesn't look engaging, and it gives the impression that business in a particular area of town isn't booming. Some companies -- particularly those in the real estate sector -- depend on specialty vinyl decals that cover the windows of empty stores and give people glimpses of new potential uses for the location.

For example, one of these stick-on ads might feature racks of clothing and cases of accessories, showcasing how an empty building could transform into a boutique apparel retailer.

Some firms that offer this kind of print advertising take a full-service approach, while others make it possible to choose a graphic and have it printed from a file and installed by your preferred company, which could be significantly cheaper.

The Coca-Cola ad in Times Square is impressive, but so are the three methods we've covered here.

Although they're not as technologically complex as Coca Cola's video ad, they still make a memorable impact, and for a fraction of the cost.

The post You Don’t Need 1,700 LED Screens to Create an Awesome, 3D Ad appeared first on inc-asean.com.

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