How to choose a 3D billboard agency: the eight questions to ask
Every studio shows the same showreels. Here is how to tell who can actually deliver a 3D billboard to your screen, on time, approved first time.
Why the showreel is not enough
Every 3D studio has a reel of screens breaking. Some of those campaigns ran. Some were made for the reel. Some ran once and never got approved by the media owner for the second flight. The reel tells you the studio can animate. It does not tell you the studio can deliver to your screen, in your timeline, in the media owner’s format.
Here are the questions we would ask if we were on your side of the table.
1. Which screens have you delivered to?
Not which cities. Which screens, with which media owners. Every operator has its own pixel map, file rules and approval process. A studio that has delivered to JCDecaux, Cityz Media, Phi advertising or iDOOH knows what will be flagged before it is sent. Ask for one recent campaign and what the approval process looked like.
2. What do you need from me to start?
The right answer is a list: the screen layout, its real size, a photo from where people see it, the media owner’s specs. If a studio starts from the idea rather than from the screen, the idea will not fit the screen. Our own list is public: the screen brief checklist.
3. How long does it take?
Ask for a date from the approved brief. We say 3 to 4 weeks, with two rounds of changes included. A studio that says one week is skipping something; a studio that says three months is padding.
4. What does the price include?
The number should cover concept, 3D production for the screen, rounds of changes, delivery in the media owner’s format and the approvals. Ask what happens if a file is flagged. Ask what the social cut costs. Our price guide explains how we build a quote.
5. Corner screen or flat screen?
A studio that only does corner screens leaves most of your inventory unused. Most of what brands book are flat screens: facades, atriums, station panels. Ask how the studio adapts one idea to both, and read our guide to the two formats.
6. What happens after the screen?
A 3D billboard is filmed and shared. Ask who cuts the social version, whether a FOOH film can be produced from the same assets, and how the studio handles the reaction videos. The campaign’s second life is where the value is.
7. Who am I talking to?
One producer, one point of contact, from brief to delivery. If the studio routes you through an account manager who cannot answer a technical question, the timeline will suffer.
8. Can you show me something for my screen before I commit?
This is the fastest filter. A studio confident in its process will show you a concept for your actual screen before any contract. We do it as a free static concept within 72 hours, followed by a 15-minute call.
What we would add
Ask to see a case with the numbers, not just the film. The Miele HydroClean case study shows what a campaign looks like from brief to 81 screens in four countries, with what the client said at the end.
If you are an agency looking for a production partner rather than a brand looking for a studio, the partners page explains how we work white label.