3D Advertising--Flash in the Pan?

According to a leading producer of stereoscopic 3D commercials and recent studies from multiple independent sources - including ESPN, Xpand and Texas Instruments- the use of 3D in advertising yields:

• 92% total recall of an ad 
• 68% of that number showing a higher likelihood of following through with a purchase of the product advertised
• average increase in viewer retention of 15% for 3D commercials

Did this catch your attention? Perhaps I ought to bing blogger.com to find a way for these words to magically pop out of the screen for you and then perhaps you will take notice. Those statistics are phenomenal. What advertiser would not want to be part of that? Of course, that explains the rush of sorts for certain brands to jump on this and for us as media providers to find ways to leverage such value. Statistics like that indicate that 3D is not some tiny trend which is here today and gone tomorrow. The silver screen is certainly using this as a way to revive sluggish box office sales and freshen things up for movie goers, so why not a deeper push within advertising to this point? 

For a nominal increase in cost but a huge jump in statistics that all advertisers want to see such as high retention rates, high brand recall and increased likelihoods for future purchases, it seems like a no brainer.

However, there are some good reasons as to why things have not taken off completely just yet.  The first one is certainly technology related and its limitations to date. Namely, I strongly suspect that the technology is good enough for home viewing but it has not penetrated deep enough via home equipped television sets, glasses. The second issue is the home programming. Of course there are some good examples of 3D programming such as the Discovery Channel, ESPN and others, however as a whole we still have a ways to go before networks will invest consistently in wholly 3D based programs.  Until this happens, most advertisers will not jump off their tried, tested and true 2D and accompanying huge metrics for this tiny--albeit a growing one--niche segment. 

In essence, I really feel that 3D advertising is like that rolling snowball analogy. It simply takes motion and a persistence in the beginning to get things moving. Before you know it, that tiny little snowball has picked up what was needed and is now boulder sized and thundering down the hill enveloping all in its path. It is at this point in which the advertisers will fully jump on. One has to look no further than 3D in movies for that type of thinking to be validated. 

My confidence in this is really based on knowing and understanding that the purpose within advertising at its simplest and core is providing cut-through to a targeted segment. 3D certainly offers the cut-through and now its merely allowing the channels to develop which will allow advertisers to reach out (pun intended) and attract.  Therefore, I do think it is here to stay and it is not even close to being a flash in the pan phenomena. Given time, you will see 3D penetrating even deeper into other forms of media via AR, billboards, other 3D optical illusions and of course more television and commercials. All sorts of fun stuff is on its way! 

An Inside Look at the State of Advertising in Japan: Post disaster

Where is our ad industry in Japan right now? Are we within a state of solidarity and unity? Do we possess a state of common resolve with a plan as to how to maneuver this trying time? Sadly enough, it seems that such notions despite being inevitable are somewhat premature. I think the one common element most ad professionals could agree on at the moment is that we find ourselves in a complete state of uncertainty and confusion.

This tragedy which took place just under a month ago has certainly impacted many on both the personal and professional level. In so many ways, this disaster has been unprecedented in scale and reach. On a business front, we are alerted each day of new challenges that many industries—both domestic and international—face as disrupted manufacturing schedules wreak havoc.

To this point the ad industry has not had a lot of press coverage as to it's state. However, the effects are quite clear to anyone living within Japan at the moment. Television CM’s are just starting to make their way back aside the social messages brought to us by AC (Japan Advertising Council) http://www.ad-c.or.jp/eng/ .

Digital signage which had been one of the hottest media tools within Japan has been virtually wiped out for the time being due to power conservation issues.

OOH ads, posters and billboards as well have been affected too. For quite some time it has been common place on any major train or subway line to be presented with an array of ads within the stations or even in the train carriages themselves. However, this has been severely curtailed too. One reason for this lies with the over-reliance on key supplies in affected areas. Hydrogen peroxide is a key ingredient in paper bleaching amongst other things and two companies which supply this key substance were severely affected. This is in addition to six paper plants and a Maruzen Petrochemical factory—a major supplier of the nation's printing ink—which were rendered useless after the quake and tsunami. For a solid take on the over reliance of companies on limited suppliers see: http://www.terrie.com/

It is not hard to see how and why the advertising industry has been affected simply based on these cold and sobering facts. However, there is another reason which is just as pervasive and powerful at the moment. This one however, lies with a cultural explanation.

The Japanese people unfortunately have experienced devastatingly hard times before and one has to look no further than post WWII and the re-building efforts that took. The psyche of reserve, restraint and a pure willingness to dig in and re-build were qualities which certainly helped Japan to recover. Once again, these qualities will be put to the test.

How this affects advertising is that such unnecessary or outward displays of excess or distraction to tasks at hand are generally frowned upon. According to many, it is or should be a time of restraint and self control out of respect for those suffering and/or lost and also for the task at hand of re-building. This explanation explains why the few ads we are starting to see trickle out are based more around low key FMCG such as beverages and other everyday goods. It is safe to say that agencies are putting those luxury goods campaigns on hold for the moment.

Of course as we all know, time is a healer and things will come around again. The question for all of us in the ad industry right now is a matter of when? When will it be okay to return to normal advertising campaigns? When will it be safe to advertise without running the risk of offending target audiences? For many agencies, these questions move into things like, “How do we effectively target whilst also contributing to charitable efforts. How can an advertiser tie in its own altruistic efforts for the common good?” These are all questions which are being tossed about by many brands and agencies at the moment.

Make no mistake it is a time of confusion and uncertainty within advertising. The next few months will be a challenge for all of us. The one thing we must all tap will undoubtedly be our ‘creativity’ in balancing and navigating around these issues. Thankfully, that is an intrinsic quality all of us within this industry should have in abundance.