Impress Your Clients with High-Tech Ad Previews: The New Standard for Agencies

The world of marketing is getting more competitive every day. It’s vital to grab the attention of potential clients fast in order to keep up with the competition. 

One of the hardest ideas to sell as a marketing agency is a billboard design. Sure, you can show the client a mockup of the design, but a view on a screen is a far cry from how your billboard will look in the real world.

Even if you do sell the client on your design, there’s always a risk that they’ll decide they don’t like it after going to print. Luckily, there’s an innovative mockup tool for billboard ads that will change all that: 3D billboard renderings.

In this guide, you’ll find out how 3D simulation is revolutionizing billboard design. We’ll examine the benefits and use cases for 3D billboard mockups and how you can get started.

Why Polished Presentations Matter in OOH Advertising

When you pitch a marketing strategy to decision-makers, one of the most important things to avoid is guesswork. Until you see what a billboard design looks like from the road in a real-world environment, it’s hard to determine whether it will be effective.

Plus, placing a billboard is an expensive undertaking. Clients want to know the billboard will be effective before they commit to a design. Using a 3D rendering in your presentation will instill confidence in your client and position you as an authority in the marketing industry.

What Are 3D Billboard Renderings?

3D renderings are powerful billboard design tools for marketing professionals. They allow you to get clear ad visuals in a simulated, realistic setting. 

When you look at just the flat mockup of your design, you don’t get a feel for real-world variables like lighting, weather, and the surrounding environment. There’s also the angle and speed of traffic to consider — it doesn’t matter how good your design looks if passing drivers are going too fast to read it.

Drive Your Art is a one-of-a-kind platform that uses 3D simulation to show you what your billboard will look like in the real world. We offer two types of 3D renderings:

• Real World simulations: Use street-level photography to visualize an existing billboard all over the world. 
• Virtual World simulations: Allow users to build custom environments like rural highways and interstates and adjust environmental factors like lighting, weather and driving speed.

Not only do 3D billboard renders help you tailor your design to any environment, but they also add professionalism and visual intrigue to your client pitch presentations.

Key Benefits for Marketing Agencies

Here are some of the reasons marketing agencies should consider adding 3D simulation to their arsenal of design tools:

• Win more pitches: A strong visual aid helps you sell ideas to clients and stakeholders.
• Streamline client approvals: Showing what the finished product will look like helps reduce back-and-forth with your clients by setting clear expectations.
• Stand out from competitors: Drive Your Art’s 3D simulation is a revolutionary technology available only to our customers, so adding it to your presentations gives you a distinct advantage over other agencies.
• Faster buy-in for bold concepts: When you have a stronger advertising choice in mind, a high-impact ad visual helps bring creative ideas to life.

Real-World Use Cases

There are plenty of situations where a 3D rendering can take your agency to the next level. You can use simulations for:

• Pitch decks for prospects: Writing up a marketing proposal or RFP? Add a billboard preview to wow your prospect and earn a new client.
• Client review meetings: You can also use mockups in live presentations to show a variety of options for ad placement.
• Campaign storytelling: With a 3D simulation, your clients can visualize their message in a real-world location like Times Square, airport terminals or busy local highways.
• Social proof: Include 3D mockups in case studies and social media to attract new business without the cost of a real billboard.

How to Get Started With Billboard Mockups

Drive Your Art makes it easy to see how your designs will look in the real world. Here’s how it works.

Virtual World

• Choose the environment for your billboard (e.g., city downtown, suburban street, etc.).
• Enter the dimensions of your billboard.
• Upload your design.
• Select a road configuration (number of lanes, elevation, turns).
• Choose a vehicle from which to view the billboard.

Once you have the simulation set up, you can view your billboard as if you’re on the road and adjust everything from cloud cover to the time of day.

Real World

• Enter the coordinates of the billboard where you want to see your design.
• Select the area of the billboard once you see it on the screen.
• Upload your design to view it on the selected billboard.

After setting up the Real World environment, you can zoom in, record the screen and adjust the speed to track minute details.

How to Choose the Best Environment and Perspective

Billboards look their best in good lighting and clear weather. However, in the real world, you can’t always count on the weather to make it easy for drivers to see your billboard. The 3D simulation is your opportunity to see what your billboard will look like in less-than-optimal conditions. This way, you can test how your design will stand up to rain, fog and high-speed traffic before going to print.

To get the most out of your virtual environment, you should test out factors like:

• Extreme angles
• Inclement weather
• Low light
• Sharp turns

If you know where the billboard is going to be, even better! You can set up the Real World environment to test out your design in the exact location the client has in mind.

3D Simulation: The Future of Billboard Design for Marketing Agencies

3D billboard mockups may be relatively new, but now is the time to start implementing them in your client acquisition strategy. Getting ahead of the curve will set you apart from other agencies that haven’t caught on to this revolutionary tool. By improving your visual storytelling, you can win more clients, get designs approved faster and build your brand.

Ready to try Drive Your Art? Sign up today to get started!