Through a new partnership with an ecommerce technology firm, Meta Platforms Inc will make it easier for brands to run three-dimensional ads on its Facebook and Instagram social media platforms.
According to a press release issued by VNTANA, the collaboration would allow marketers to submit 3D models of their products to Facebook and Instagram and convert them into ads.
According to VNTANA chief executive Ashley Crowder, the move is a stepping stone into advertising in the metaverse, a futuristic concept of a collection of virtual worlds that can be accessed by devices such as headsets.
Meta has staked its future on its ability to contribute to creating the metaverse, which it estimates will take up to a decade to accomplish.
Meta teamed with augmented reality (AR) companies Modiface and PerfectCorp to make 3D and AR advertising more accessible to beauty and cosmetic brands.
“The metaverse is basically the spatial internet,” Crowder said. “It is a whole world of possibility that starts with having the right 3D models of your products.”
Users who see a 3D ad while surfing on their PC or phone on Facebook or Instagram can interact with an image of a handbag, for example, and move it about to view it from all angles.
“In a way, this offers a glimpse of what you might expect on future devices like AR glasses,” said Chris Barbour, director of augmented reality partnerships at Meta’s Reality Labs unit.
Advertisers would have to restructure 3D files to make them compatible with Meta’s ad systems before VNTANA’s integration. But, according to Crowder, without technical experience working with 3D pictures, marketers can now use VNTANA to effortlessly upload and turn files into ads.
