In cross media marketing, we are always looking for new ways to communicate with higher levels of engagement. With 3D being the latest hype in visual entertainment (movies), will it also be adapted as an ingredient of engagement for cross media marketing in the near future?

With the mass release of hi-def 3D TVs this summer, 3D commercials are probably already in the making. Imagine watching a TV commercial and having the product or the website URL popping out of the screen.

We can assume that we are not far from the mass release of 3D computer monitors, laptops and netbooks. Now imagine checking your email and surfing the internet in 3D. Now let’s take it up a notch… imagine all the 3D elements popping out of your monitor are personalized. Your messaging will not only be composed of variable elements, but variable 3D elements. You will be able to specify, based on the customer data, which elements will appear in 3D. How much more engaging would that be?

So with all the fairy dust I’ve sprinkled in the air, the reality is there is one foreseeable flaw in all of this. You can probably imagine the kinds of issues and discomfort of putting on a pair of 3D glasses every time you check email or surf the web.

However, there is a medium that doesn’t require readers to put on special glasses to view the message in 3D… that would be print. I don’t mean holograms or the postcards with swapping images. A printed piece that gives the reader a sense of depth or objects that appear to be protruding into the physical space.

I received an event invitation email a few days ago, and one of the sponsors is SnapilyPro. Underneath their logo, a tag line states “breakthrough into the 3D dimension… print 3D!” SnapilyPro provides its customers with the ability to generate 3D print collateral over their website. A unique technology enables them to create printed collateral that conjures the illusion of physical depth in each piece.

As for objects that appear to be popping out of printed pieces, augmented reality makes this possible. A bitmap image on a printed piece, when scanned by a computer web cam, projects a 3d object that appears in the physical space. Check out this clip

Print, an essential medium of cross media communications, has successfully adapted 3D to enhance the level of personal engagement. Will the rest (web, mobile etc…) successfully adapt 3D and fully bring it into the realm of cross media marketing in the near future? We’ll see…

-Willv