Jim Brown

One-to-One: Consumer Marketing and PLM have a Baby - 3dswym
July 11, 2008

I had the chance to attend ... a Dassault Systemes' event recently to learn about the direction DS is taking their business. One point I touched on in my writeup but didn't cover in any depth was a new venture called 3dswym (for 3D "see what you mean"). It is interesting enough to devote a bit more time to here.

Who are They?
Imagine if PLM and consumer marketing got married and had a baby, what would it look like? 3dswym is that baby, a joint venture between PLM heavyweight Dassault Systemes and marketing powerhouse Publicus Groupe. For more on Dassault, you can see my previous blog entry. Publicus Groupe is a very large (over 4 billion euros) marketing and advertising firm, that works with a "who's who" of consumer-oriented companies.

What do they Offer?
What they offer, in short, is the ability to use lifelike simulations to simulate customer experience. This can take a number of forms, but examples given were using 3D models to simulate a customer's trip to the store, which can be used to determine and validate such important things as product placement and how attractive a product is on the shelf. The key is that this is not a canned walk-through, it is a live simulation that the consumer can control (and the company can monitor). Which product will they choose? If the product is packaged in a different shape or color, will it be viewed more frequently? This is really the marriage of gaming technology and lifelike simulation of the physical world applied to consumer marketing.

Note that this goes way beyond advertising. 3D in advertising is becoming much more commonplace. Interactive 3D is increasing as well. This technology applies there as well, but goes further because it leverages DS' efforts to make the virtual world match the physical world. And just like digital manufacturing solutions (these simulate a virtual 3D product being produced in a virtual 3D plant), it allows companies to make multiple iterations in the digital world before committing to more expensive physical prototypes or making expensive mistakes in the real world.

What they plan to offer (I expect this will evolve as they find their sweet spots):

• Virtual product tests
• Store layout simulation
• Putting products or packaging in context (in store, at home)
• Simulated shopping experience

Why Should you Care?
I imagine many of the people reading this are (like me) primarily focused on application software for the manufacturing industries. Other than the fact that I think this is pretty cool, I also think that this is still about the product lifecycle. It's about the customer experience with the product - and simulating it digitally. It leverages existing 3D assets and simulation technology that can be used to enhance manufacturability. It is all a part of a large continuum of technology helping companies develop and manage more profitable products. And that is something we should all care about, even if the upfront marketing doesn't fall into our daily activities.

What you Should do?
First, run the demo. You will have to load the DS 3DVIA player to run it, but it will give you a good idea of what this is all about. There isn't much explanatory audio, but the I have seen it before and you can read the screen around the demo. The demo shows the consumer having the chance to experiment (in 3D) with what the packaging, logo and labeling will look like and see there results in real-time. You can change the shape and resize it, pick between different graphics, etc. You can also click on the shopping cart to try different store layouts and the "home" icon to see what the product looks like in your home.

Maybe share it with a buddy from Marketing if you have one. I know it's a stretch, but I think it's important for all of us to stretch into adjacent areas to see what's coming next. And it's pretty cool.

So that's what I heard from DS and 3dswym. I hope you found it useful. What do you think?

Posted by Jim Brown on July 11, 2008 | Comments (0)