12 January 2024

Revolutionise your ads with 3D Swirl

In summary

• 3D Swirl is an innovative and immersive display format incorporating an interactive 3D model for mobile users to explore
• 3D Swirl provide users with complete control to navigate around a responsive 3D view of your product, empowering brands to create engaging narratives
• Engagement and interaction metrics can be reported via Display & Video 360 (DV360)

What is a 3D Swirl?

3D Swirl is an ad format that offers an interactive 3D model where users can engage with on mobile devices. It allows brands to deliver innovative ads that are immersive, high impact and engaging. The format was launched in 2019 in Google Ads Manager and was offered to users of DV360 in 2020.

A 3D Swirl is comprised of three assets:

• The 3D Model: The main component of the creative and how the user interacts with the format to explore all angles. The model should be exported from your preferred 3D modelling program such as Blender, as a glb file.
• Images: Background images or the company logo should be formatted appropriately and be provided with the banner ad.
• Text: All relevant copy such as headlines and CTA can be included on the banner ad.

How a 3D Swirl may appear on a website along with the key elements.

A user can explore a 3D rendering within a mobile banner by rotating and interacting with the various features.

3D Swirl example

The Louder team have been working with 3D Swirls for a while now. Have a play around with our working example of a 3D Swirl coffee cup.

As you can see, the user has complete control to explore the 3D Model of the cup, as well as interact with the buttons to change the cup’s colour.

Key specifications

Dimensions

The Swirl is available in three dimensions:

• 300 x 250 (expanding banner option available to 336x280).
• 300 x 600

Note: portrait only

Environment

• Mobile-web (both iOS and Android supported)

Required resources

• Google Web Designer
• 3D modelling software (eg: Blender, Maya, 3DS Max, Cinema 4D)
• Display & Video 360
• Campaign Manager 360 (CM360) (optional)

Required platforms

Unlike other rich media HTML5 formats, 3D Swirls cannot be pushed from Studio to CM360. This is because they include a 3D Model in glb format, which is not supported in Studio or CM360.

This format can only be uploaded/published directly to DV360. From there, it can be run across all Google inventory and use CM360 trackers for reporting clicks, impressions and conversions.

End to end workflow

From conceptual development to trafficking, 3D Swirl campaigns typically take 4 to 6 weeks to complete, depending on the complexity of the creative. The workflow is outlined below:

Benefits of the 3D Swirl

Engagement

• Capture a user’s attention and improve engagement with an interactive ad experience that they have control over
• Offer users a 3D perspective of your product, allowing them to delve deeper for additional information through interactive zoom features

Immersion

• Empower brands to craft a compelling immersive narrative surrounding their products

Measurement

• Track the duration of engagement and various interaction types (rotations, expansions) directly within DV360
• Key reporting metrics
  • Impressions
  • Engagement
  • Expand to full-screen
  • Click-through rate
  • Time spent

Limitations

• 3D Swirl must be built using Google Web Designer (GWD)
• The 3D Model must be built using a 3D modelling software before exporting into GWD. Therefore, knowledge of a 3D modelling software, such as Maya or Blender, is necessary
• Google Web Designer does not have the same rendering power as other 3D modelling programs, so rendering realistic transparent models can be challenging. Keep that in mind when previewing.
• To ensure optimal ad experience, 3D Swirl creatives can only be delivered to users on high bandwidth networks

Next steps

If you would like to learn more about how to incorporate the 3D Swirl (or other interactive ad formats) into your upcoming campaigns, get in touch with the team at Louder. Want to read more on creatives? Read our latest creative article on Ads Creative Studio vs Google Studio!

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