The world of 3D lives in our pockets, time to take advantage of that
By: Havas Mango
Tags: AR, 3d, Tech, Experiential, VR

The world of 3D lives in our pockets, time to take advantage of that Havas Mango Follow Jun 8 · 6 min read

How to reimagine your brand’s activations by David Turk

On April 2021, the cover of TIME magazine featured 3D artist Mike Winkelmann, aka BEEPLE, along with the software Cinema 4D and OctaneRender. To a 3D enthusiast like myself, this cover felt like the official introduction of 3D to the world. TIME magazine made it clear, 3D has arrived and it’s here to stay.

2021 May cover from TIME Magazine.

Seeing our fearless leader of 3D, BEEPLE, on the cover of an iconic publication, under the headline “The Future of Business,” made it evident that the game has changed for all brands and creators.

So long are the days of brand media plans limited only to print, radio, and TV spots. Here to stay is a brave new world featuring Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), 3D web, and non-fungible token (NFT) smart contracts. Say hello to leveraging the intersection of physical and digital formats, to deliver a “phygital” experience.

The disruption begins

15 years ago, the idea of independent artists creating 3D started to gain steam, but the required hardware and software to create complex 3D scenes carried a heavy cost. Thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours of render time, and the need for the highest-end studio hardware to function meant that 3D creation was limited to a few.

Fast forward to 2021 and this hardware and software are readily available to studios from all around the world; access to 3D creation has seen such massive democratization that most people, without realizing it, have access to it through their mobile devices.

Augmented Reality, 3D objects, Web XR, and interactive 3D experiences can be experienced at our fingertips. Our devices aren’t just portals for viewing and experiencing content, they can help us create 3D as well. In a decade, we went from flip phones to smartphones that are, well, actually very smart.

“Warm and Fizzies,” an in-house Mango experiment to test out 3D products.

At Havas Mango, we leverage 3D software and technology every day to produce social content, interactive AR executions, recreate physical objects for VR, or even design NFTs. We love to explore and take campaigns and creativity to places yet ventured, helping brands think beyond traditional activations and create experiences that extend both to the physical and virtual worlds.

During the past year, we have been working on a variety of explorations that introduce new experiential moments, forms of content, and ways of interacting with spaces from home. Here’s a look at what we have been up to in the 3D world.

Extending the life of a physical activation

Did you know every new iPhone and iPad (models 10 and up) can scan the “3D mesh” or geometry of your home in as little as 2 seconds!?

We decided to test out this piece of tech to design more intuitive workflows. Using the latest LiDAR (light detection and ranging) application on an iPhone, we scanned a mesh of a real-world object and brought it into 3D software to be fine-combed, manipulated, and tested in various forms of content.

Overview of scanning a real-world object with LiDAR.

In the example above, we scanned a real-life sculpture (physical element) and brought it into Cinema 4D (as an editable 3D model) to create an entirely new piece of content ready for social, print, and other visual executions.

What’s the benefit of this workflow? The ability to bring a physical space into the digital realm seamlessly.

This technology opens up the possibilities for brands to scan spaces, objects, products, and have them ready to be experienced in a digital format. In a real-life application, people visiting a brand’s physical experience could easily scan a QR code with their phone — and access a virtual portal that recreates the space they were just in. This gives users the opportunity to experience it again in AR, VR, or Web from the comfort of their home.

Recreating interactive 3D products

The ability to extend physical products into the digital realm offers consumers the opportunity to interact with a product virtually before physically interacting with it.

AR virtual fitting for Dolce & Gabbana Summer Glasses.

Instead of being limited to browsing product photos, you can pick up your phone — and see the 3D version of the product appear in your physical space. Imagine scanning a print ad that features a pair of sunglasses with your phone and the glasses you are looking at jump off the page and onto your face…things like this are possible! You can now visit a website and see a product in full 3D, explore it in AR and even try it on; you can even put on a VR helmet and “hold” the product in your hands.

We tested out this approach by recreating a physical product in 3D and creating different touchpoints within the environment that delivered key product information.

Additionally, upon click or touch, the 3D product rotates to a specific angle, allowing visitors to maneuver around the product, learn more about it, and visualize the product from every angle, on mobile and desktop.

3D Product demo with informational annotations and a 360° view.

Modeling physical spaces

The ability to recreate physical spaces in 3D is more important now than ever. As some people readjust to being comfortable among crowds or show hesitation to be part of large-scale activations, having the possibility to experience a physical space from your home is game-changing.

Imagine if you were able to take any physical space, recreate it in 3D and allow people to visit, hang out and enjoy the experiential moment from…their own couch.

Imagine if, imagine if, imagine if! Those two words are music to our ears here at Mango, utilizing emerging tech to show what’s possible to the people who can’t see it just yet.

In the example below, we scanned a block of street art in Wynwood, Miami, and brought it into 3D Web to be experienced. Leveraging Sketchfab’s annotation system, we can highlight certain parts of the physical location with embedded informational blurbs (both with audio and text).

Digital scan of a physical art activation brought into 3D via sketchfab.

Exploring the next frontier of 3D

The name of the game is thinking ahead, and that is something we love to do. The future of 3D is where it gets exciting. The question we are all asking is: Who is going to be the first company to fit a small computer into wearable glasses?

This next jump in technology will enable glasses to become the device to view 3D and turn our world into an augmented grid. Companies like Facebook, Apple, Snap Inc, and Samsung are already competing for this space.

Are you using your phone for AR already? Imagine that tech, hands-free, on your face at all times. The technology already exists in our smartphones, it’s just a matter of who can be the first to bring that experience to our eyes.

That time is coming soon. In May 2021, Snap Inc announced their first set of AR glasses called “Spectacles”. It has begun. Creating experiences that are tech-ready and able to transfer easily to be first in line for this new era is more important than ever.

Imagine the ability to physically geo-locate a specific area so when people with AR Glasses approach it, a 3D experience occurs right in front of their eyes. Creating an experiential activation without any physical on-site needs. Imagine giving the consumer the ability to show off their exclusive NFT product created by your company to all their family and friends. Imagine if you and your colleagues could work together on a 3D experience from different locations…imagine if! The possibilities are endless.