Why CGI is the new guerrilla marketing
Why CGI is the new guerrilla marketing
Back in the 80s, a bloke named Jay Conrad Levinson coined the term ‘guerrilla marketing’. It was a renegade principle of competing with large corporations with low-cost ingenuity.
Today, a new form of guerrilla marketing is taking social media by storm, and it involves the kind of 3D product imagery we create at Insite.
But first, a bit about guerrilla marketing
The kind of low-cost ingenuity popularised in the 80s often took place at a street-level, and included things like:
– Attracting eyeballs outside a shop with oversized cartoonish versions of products (think, a donut the size of a small car)
– Attaching mysterious or controversial flyers to telegraph poles, inviting commuters to call a number (or later, head to a website) to find out what it’s all about
– Hiring street performers or erecting installations to attract a crowd, before revealing the product or service on offer (later popularised by flash mobs)
Over time, guerrilla marketing became so popular that large corporations began adopting it, to the point where it became a little tired and predictable.
Recently, though, a new form has taken root in social media – one that takes the renegade principle and adds tech innovations to create something surreal.
Some call this faux-out-of-home advertising, or FOOH.
What is FOOH and how does it work?
Faux-out-of-home advertising mixes reality with computer-generated imagery, to create highly shareable and BELIEVABLE content. It utilises the amateurish, on-the-street sensibility of social media videos, but adds photorealistic CGI elements to surprise and delight viewers.
When perfected, it can make us see something surreal take place in a realistic setting and ask: hang on, did that actually happen?
Take this viral campaign by womenswear innovators, jacquemus.
The video footage could have been shot by anyone with an iPhone and a steady hand, the CGI elements of huge handbags driving down a Parisian street look entirely convincing.
A viewer could easily wonder whether the company forked out thousands and conquered a logistical mountain to make this moment happen. When really, 3D product renders have been created and animated within the low-budget video.
It’s no wonder people are calling this kind of thing ‘guerrilla marketing, minus the risk’, and why brands of all sizes are flocking to try it.
Insite imagery and FOOH
Once you create a photorealistic 3D version of your product, you can enter the world of FOOH advertising. The benefits of this include:
Minimal logistical worries
With a single 3D product render, you can then animate it in any way you like without having to leave the computer. This means maximum control, limitless possibilities, and none of the risks associated with wrangling and production.
Quick turnarounds
You can put together a social campaign quickly, allowing for shorter time-to-market and the ability to act on lightbulb moments and trends.
Imagination let loose
You can achieve things that look real but would be either a nightmare or impossible to achieve on the ground. A current phenomenon is creating CGI billboards that explode, or mutate, or transform, or out of which products fall to the street below.
Significantly lower costs
Back to the jacquemus example. Can you imagine how much it would cost to achieve this in real life? You’d need a Hollywood director and major coin to make it work – something that even huge brands would be reluctant to do purely for social media.
The Insite difference
Our 3D product imagery is created by real photographers with over two decades of craft experience. To find out how we can help you create viral mixed-media content using CGI product imagery, contact an Insite expert today.