What you need to know about the new direct marketing guidance note
Nadine Mather and Chloë Loubser
The new B-Class cruises into cinemas with 3D Radio
Traditional in-cinema adverts for cars typically include aerial shots of long, winding roads in exotic locations and an extreme close-up of sparkling rims at every gracefully executed turn. But when it came to spreading the message about the new B-Class, Mercedes-Benz moved away from the traditional with the help of Three D Radio.
In partnership with Cinemark, Three D Radio co-founders, Louis Enslin and Cameron Naidoo, have given advertisers an innovative new platform to engage with consumers in an unusual way, albeit in a familiar place.
"The unique thing about 3D Radio is that it maximises the cinematic power of sound and doesn't rely on visuals, giving consumers the opportunity to use their imagination in an environment where anything can happen - at the movies," says Naidoo.
With uniqueness in mind, the duo set out to create an ad that would encourage consumers to 'break the mould' with the Mercedes-Benz B-Class. "What starts out as a pitch-black screen coupled with classical music, quickly works itself into a crescendo of emotive and glass-shattering titles describing everything one could possibly be behind the wheel of the B-Class," says Enslin.
Naidoo adds, "What turns this 30-second 'radio ad' into an acoustic experience for the consumer is the 5.1 surround. It paints a picture with nothing but sound and a few simple words that flash across an even simpler background. It says everything there is to say about the B-Class - and Mercedes-Benz loves that that's all it took to get their message across in a way that will resonate with their target market."
Describing Mercedes-Benz's appetite for cinema, demonstrated by a disposition to adopt the latest advertising innovation, 3D Radio, as incredibly noteworthy, Enslin comments that seeing an advertiser that one would expect to opt for a solution that is more visually driven says a lot about the future of 3D Radio as an advertising platform. "Consumers want to experience something different in cinemas - something that takes how they experience a brand to a new level - and 3D Radio is that something."
With the ad currently playing in Ster-Kinekor theatres around the country, 3D Radio could very well be an advertising platform that Mercedes-Benz never trades in. For any further queries on 3D Radio visit www.3dradio.co.za.
