How much does a 3D billboard cost? A price guide for brand teams

The short answer

A 3D billboard has two costs: the screen and the creative. The screen is your media buy, and you probably already have it. The creative is the 3D film built for that screen, and that is what this guide is about.

At KOSMO®, an anamorphic asset for a corner screen starts at $15,000. That covers the concept, the 3D production for one screen, two rounds of changes and delivery to the media owner’s requirements. Adapting the same idea to more screens in the plan costs less than the first one, because the concept, the models and the animation already exist.

What drives the price up

Four things move the number.

The number of screens. One hero screen is one asset. A network of flat screens across a city is one idea adapted many times. The Miele HydroClean campaign ran on 81 screens in 76 cities from one concept, with more than 300 versions cut from it. The first version carries most of the cost; the rest is adaptation.

The type of screen. A corner screen gives the strongest illusion and needs a scene built around the real angle of the building. A flat screen uses a frame and depth effect and is quicker to produce. Both formats are explained in our guide to corner and flat screens.

The complexity of the scene. A product that steps out of the frame is one thing. A character with fur, water, glass or a crowd of objects is another. Realistic materials and physics take render time, and render time is money.

Versions and languages. Every language, every product variant and every screen ratio is a version. We rebuild text in each language rather than pasting it on top, which is why versions are planned at the start.

What does not change the price

The media owner. We deliver to each media owner’s requirements as part of the job, whether the screen belongs to JCDecaux, Cityz Media, Phi advertising, iDOOH or a local operator. Approvals and resubmissions are included.

Reaction videos. If people film the screen, that is your earned media, and it costs nothing. Our campaigns have generated more than 3B earned and owned media views so far.

How to budget

Start from the screens you have booked or plan to book, then add the creative. A useful rule: the creative is a fraction of the media, and it is the part that decides whether the media gets filmed and shared or simply seen.

If you want the social life of the campaign to go further, add a FOOH film: the same 3D scene placed in a real street and cut for social, produced from the same assets.

Timeline and rounds

A 3D billboard takes 3 to 4 weeks from the approved brief to delivery, with two rounds of changes included. Extra rounds are possible but they push the date, so we ask for one decision maker on the brand side.

What you get for the money

A concept built for your screen, the 3D film in the media owner’s exact format, a social cut of the film, and a team that handles the approvals. If a file is flagged, we resubmit.

Want a number for your screen?

Send us the screen and the brief and we come back with a free static concept within 72 hours, then a 15-minute call to walk through it and the quote.