3D advertising emerged in various parts of the world a few years ago. It became a mainstream outside advertisement in Tokyo, attracting attention in places where people gather, such as Shinjuku and Shibuya. In fact, from the perspective of tourism, its potential to attract visitors can be an effective marketing weapon for tourist destinations.
I had never given much attention to 3D advertisements, but I recently realized that the more I understand the characteristics of the city and the intentions of the ad creators, the more I am drawn to their ads. This week, I will examine the locations where 3D advertising can be seen in Tokyo and its effects.
What is a 3D advertisement?
3D advertising, recognized as three-dimensional advertising, involves creating marketing content that utilizes three-dimensional elements to engage and captivate viewers. It goes beyond traditional flat, two-dimensional ads by adding depth and dimension to the visuals. It can be achieved through techniques such as holography, 3D modeling, or augmented reality to create more immersive and eye-catching advertisements that stand out and leave a lasting impression on the audience.
The appearance of this type of advertising was very impactful as a new type of advertising that surprised people passing by on street corners. It is reported that more than 140 3D advertisements have appeared in China alone in the past few years.
The technology of 3D advertisement
The reason why the cat at the east exit of Shinjuku Station appears three-dimensional is as follows, according to Cross Space, the operating company. Please use translation since they don’t have an English page.
The relationship between the "room" in which the cat is located, and the "cat" has also been ingeniously designed. By placing the cat's ears and tail in front of the white room in the background, the human brain perceives the depth on its own and feels as if the cat jumped out. Furthermore, the curved LED vision also induces an optical illusion in the human eye.
Necessary elements for success
There are several conditions to appear three-dimensional to the viewer as if it were popping out of the screen. Content creators should keep the following points when producing quality content.
There must be a "sweet spot" where there is a specific angle that provides the stereoscopic and realistic feeling you get when viewing a giant 3D image.
There must be a place where pedestrians can stop and stay for a certain period.
The contents must be high-level and attract viewers.
From that point of view, the Shinjuku Station East Exit Plaza is an ideal place to install this type of advertisement and it has been so successful since it started. In recent years, this 3D advertisement collaborated with a large 2D monitor of Studio Alta at the near building. The composition of the 3D advertisements shows a cat poking its head into a wall and emerging from another 2D monitor.
New benefit of 3D advertisement
The benefits of 3D advertising are not limited to its impact on attracting people passing by. It has also made it possible to measure the effectiveness of the advertisements, which had been considered a drawback of outdoor advertisements.
In addition to the number of times the content appears on social networking sites, it is also possible to determine the age group and gender of the people who spread the content. In addition, it is also possible to examine the degree of association with other words. Therefore the development of social media in recent years has made it possible to measure and quantify the effectiveness of even outdoor advertising.
3D advertisement as a tourist attraction
The following two outdoor advertisements have made their presence in the two major downtown areas of Shinjuku and Shibuya. It is important to keep in mind the airing times.
A cat at the Shinjuku Cross Vision
Operating hours are 07:00-25:00. and you can be sure to see the "Neko Channel" section, which airs four times every hour (00 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 45 minutes). This program is a series of two or three short films which are aired in succession. The airing schedule of 3D videos including cats is also available on Cross Shinjuku Vision's official Twitter page.
Located in the plaza in front of Shibuya Hachiko, this is one of the largest digital signage for single-sided advertising in Japan. Located on the roof of the building behind the bronze statue of Hachiko, the signage shows a video of a realistic Akita dog playing with a floating clock every hour, unless there is an advertisement from the client. They play this version every top of hours.
Summary
As an attraction, it does not have the same impact as the night light in Shinjuku or the scramble crossing in Shibuya, but if you choose the right time to visit, it is possible to take Instagram-worthy images and videos. Why not include it as part of your Tokyo sightseeing?
More such outdoor advertisements may appear in the future, and content never seen before may appear in the future.