Last year Google launched the beta version of Swirl, “an immersive 3D ad format that allows people to interact with an ad in a new way.” On July 9, it announced that it would now be available to all Display & Video 360 customers globally.
The advantage of ads in Swirl is that viewers have more engagement options than just watching a 2D video. They can rotate, zoom, and expand what they see in the ad to highlight particular features and functions of the products shown.
For example, you can read the tiny details on the product you plan on purchasing to see if it’s the exact item you’re looking for:
From cars to dogs
Google shared test cases that show the adaptability of the format for a wide range of products, from cars to pet food. The tech giant reports that interactive ads can garner 8X the level of engagement of other media ads for the industry, as with the example of Nissan below.
Nissan Spain was looking to increase the engagement of users with their creatives for their compact crossover SUV, the Qashqai. The creatives would highlight the new driving features that were difficult to show in a static display ad. Nissan Spain and their agency Nissan United partnered with the creative agency QReal to create Swirl ads. They built the 3D creative to showcase new features like Lane Intervention, Intelligent Cruise Control and Lane Keep Assist. Nissan saw an engagement rate that was 8X higher than rich media benchmarks for the automotive vertical.
See the Google Swirl 3D ad unit for Nissan below:
One somewhat surprising use of it was for pet food. Pet food company, Purina hired the production company, MediaMonks, to create a Swirl ad that illustrates healthy pet behaviors customers should be able to see 4 weeks after feeding their pet Purina ONE.
The ad allows viewers to engage with the 3D dog in the ad by playing fetch with it. “‘The use of this format led to a 6X increase in engagement (versus 2D ads) through its interactive experience,” Google reports.
“Brands are seeing great success using Swirl ads for various campaign goals,” Google reports. “This includes increasing consideration by showcasing product features, building brand awareness and delivering a great mobile experience.”
Cool + engaging = better branding results.
