The Metaverse, NFTs, Web3 - these are some of the hottest buzzwords around. But the one I think you should care about above those? Digital Twins.
What are Digital Twins? It’s important to understand that they’re not simply CGI assets that the industry has seen before. Digital Twins are a 3D reproduction of physical products that can be accessed on demand. The reason Digital Twins are so exciting is because they can replace physical products when it comes to the creation of most commerce and marketing collateral. This includes digital spaces, marketplaces like Amazon, and also in-store promotions, billboards, and broadcast spots too. Automotive, fashion, electronics, beverage and architectural industries have been early adopters of the technology.
This is an exciting new area for brands and an opportunity to start harnessing the technology’s diverse potential. Digitals Twins are particularly useful in instances where a photo just won’t suffice - think augmented reality (AR), virtual try on or training applications. It’s also worth noting that most emerging platforms require 3D, not 2D, assets. Once rendered, A Digital Twin of any product becomes ready for platforms that do and don’t exist; it’s then one way to futureproof a brand’s content development capabilities.
With digital twins technology, products in the above advert could be rendered and deployed, infinitely, and on any platform.
A library of 3D Digital Twins allows the product owners to maintain consistent visual standards across all platforms and mediums, including third party sites. This is a huge benefit as visual branding standards aren’t always easy to maintain across the multitude of platforms products appear on today.
Once rendered, Digital Twins can be accessed on demand from anywhere and by anyone, making them an incredibly agile solution in a fast-paced marketplace. They also present even more of an opportunity to create marketing assets before physical assets exist, which is useful while supply chain issues are on-going - it’s incredibly easy to swap out or update products in ads and campaigns with Digital Twin technology.
As the Metaverse is being built continuously, brands need to start thinking about it in more concrete terms, like Spatial Experience (SX). Digital Twins of your products will be the ones populating the worlds of the Metaverse. Getting your Digital Twins ready for this next stage now means that no matter which platform customers use to connect to the digital world, your products’ Digital Twins will be present and waiting.
Updating packaging with seasonal or event-specific designs (like the World Cup) and adding new model features in ads becomes easy with Digital Twins, without the need for reshoots as the assets can be altered fast by the Twins’ owner. They also make Dynamic Content Optimisation (DCO) easier, allowing brands and marketers to deploy this technology with more frequency.
A Digital Twin of a product needs to only be created once; it can be iterated on almost endlessly from that point onwards. It’s less costly to produce and iterate on a Digital Twin, thanks to its digital existence, reducing the need for endless shoots and re-shoots when it comes to campaigns, ensuring continuity at scale.
Digital Twins present brands with an economical and agile solution to the challenges of the rapidly evolving marketplace. Innovative brands are already using the technology to overhaul their online and social media presence while also thinking of the future and how they will transition part of their marketing to the Metaverse. Digital Twins present the perfect opportunity to supercharge a brand’s marketing effort today while ensuring it’s also ready for whatever may come tomorrow.