Launching a product requires a lot more than having the product itself ready. Before launch day, brands may need product detail page imagery, packaging, retailer assets, campaign creative, social content and lifestyle imagery ready to go.
But there's an obvious problem: what happens when marketing needs to start before the physical product exists? That's exactly where CGI product visualization comes in.
You Don't Need a Finished Product to Start Creating
CGI product visualization allows brands to begin creating marketing assets using the same digital information already being used to develop the product.
Typically, that starts with CAD files, engineering files or schematics.
Those files provide the foundation for building an accurate digital version of the product. From there, references for materials, finishes, and other visual details can be used to make the product look the way it eventually will in the real world.
The result is a photorealistic digital product that can begin appearing in marketing content before a production-ready physical sample is available.
Start With the Assets the Launch Actually Needs
Having a 3D model doesn't mean immediately creating every image imaginable.
The first step should be determining what content is actually necessary for the launch.
At TRG, that means looking at questions like:
- Where will the product be sold?
- Who is the audience?
- Does the product introduce a feature or use that needs to be explained?
- Will assets be needed for e-commerce, retailers, packaging, social, broadcast or B2B marketing?
From there, a media plan can define the assets needed across those channels.
For many products, that starts with the basics: clean on-white imagery for websites and PDPs. From there, CGI can expand into alternate angles, detail imagery, packaging and lifestyle content.
Put a Product Anywhere Without Putting It Anywhere
Once the digital product exists, it isn't limited to a blank background. CGI products can be placed into fully 3D environments, whether that's a kitchen, bathroom, living room, garage or something that doesn't exist in the physical world at all.
They can also be composited into existing photography.
That gives brands significantly more flexibility when developing launch imagery because creating another environment doesn't necessarily require finding another location, building another set or scheduling another shoot.
What Happens if the Product Changes Before Launch?
Spoiler: It probably will.
Product development is rarely completely linear, and changes made during that process can create headaches for marketing teams working toward the same launch date. CGI provides some flexibility here because the marketing assets and product development can evolve alongside one another.
If the CAD changes, the updated model can be incorporated into an existing CGI scene. Instead of recreating the entire image, teams can update the product while preserving the environment, lighting and composition already created. That can eliminate the need for costly reshoots simply because a product changed late in development.
The Goal Is Still Photorealism
Creating an image digitally doesn't mean it should look digital. Lighting, materials, texture and small imperfections all affect whether an image feels believable. Chrome reflects its environment differently than fabric. A pillow reacts to light differently than a hard plastic appliance. Those details matter.
At TRG, many of our CGI artists have backgrounds in photography, which influences how digital scenes are lit and composed.
As Anton, Production Director for the CGI, puts it: "If you can tell the difference, then I'm not doing my job."
Product Development and Marketing Don't Have to Happen One After the Other
Traditionally, a brand might finish developing a product, manufacture samples and then begin producing the imagery needed to market it.
CGI allows those processes to overlap.
While the product is being finalized, marketing teams can already begin creating the asset library that will support its launch.
And when the product is finally ready to hit shelves, its content can be ready too.
