Feb 16, 2016 | By Kira
Zoetis Inc., the world’s largest producer of medicine and vaccinations for pets and livestock, recently ran a Canada-wide educational campaign to teach veterinary staff and their clients about the risks of flea infestation and preventative measures. Looking for a unique way to get this important message across, Zoetis teamed up with advertising agency CHM Communications and 3D printing service MatterThings to add their own technological twists. The end result was a successful educational campaign that could serve as a model for how other companies, or even educational institutes, might use emerging technologies such as 3D printing to deliver important messages to key audiences in a fun and interactive way.
The campaign, installed in veterinary clinics across the country, consisted of 3D printed model houses—440 in total—complete with miniature 3D printed furniture, TVs, and household pets. Each 3D printed house contained illustrations and facts about fleas on pets, and how they can wreck havoc inside your home.
Each 3D printed house was also designed with a handy slot containing brochures about tick control and even a designated holder for tick removers that clients could take home.
MatterThings, marketed as Canada’s first dedicated 3D print shop, devoted over twenty of their 3D printers to completing the 440 model homes. Each room took 4.5 hours to 3D print and 309g of PLA bio-plastic using the MakerBot Replicator 2.
And it wasn’t just the Replicator 2: MatterThings said that they had every single generation of MakerBot desktop 3D printer working around the clock over several months to complete the project. These include two of MakerBot’s oldest models, the Cupcake and Thing-o-Matic, which were used for 3D printing mattresses and armchairs. It just goes to show that in many cases, you don’t need the most state-of-the-art technologies to get good results.
However, the 3D printed model houses were just one aspect of this multifaceted, countrywide interactive campaign. CHM Communications, a full-service strategic advertising agency also based in Montreal, came up with the idea of adding yet another of the hottest tech trends today: Augmented Reality.
Users simply had to download the Blippar app and then hold their smartphones or tablets up to the image on the back of the 3D printed house. The app automatically recognizes the image and launches an educational video about the risks of flea infestation, as well as different methods for prevention and control. You can see this AR aspect in action in the video below:
Overall, Zoetis’ educational campaign proved to be a simple yet effective way to communicate important information that, if delivered through more traditional means, such as plain old brochures or a PowerPoint presentation, just wouldn’t deliver the same punch.
As one of the first, and potentially the largest 3D printing and AR educational campaigns ever run, this project is a real-world example of how 3D printing, AR, VR, and other hands-on, interactive technologies can be incorporated into various campaigns—be they educational, promotional, or otherwise—to create unique experiences for clients and customers to enjoy.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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