The use of new technologies in pharmaceutical marketing strategies has facilitated the creation of interactive formats which organically produce greater engagement. This innovative approach to teaching and informing creates a more effective method of retaining and understanding information. Redefining the way we communicate, ground-breaking technology builds a memorable experience and reimagines resources that, until a few years ago, were foreign to the pharmaceutical world.
This reimagining is what the so-called ‘phygital experiences’ are about. Phygital Experiences merge the elements of the digital and physical worlds. Here the two come together to create an immersive experience that awakens the senses for its users.
Within this digital trend, we find tools such as Mapping, which is made up of projections on physical models, whether organic or defined structures, allowing content to interact in an impressive way with reality and even allow the user to control what is shown.
What is mapping in advertising and marketing?
Mapping, or video mapping, is an audiovisual technique that consists of projecting images or videos, either in 2D or 3D, onto real surfaces to generate a movement effect.
Because each surface is different, we can take advantage of these variations to generate unique audiovisual effects, making each Mapping unique. The projection can be accompanied by music and sounds to enhance the result further, thus creating an immersive experience that awakens all the senses.
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Receiving the audio and the image simultaneously, creates a new sensory reality that involves using multiple senses for a comprehensive experience. Achieving harmony comes from each property contributing its own unique benefit. Meanings are enhanced as each sound corresponds to an image. By bolstering all senses, we achieve our objective – to improve learning and improve the ability to retain new information.
In terms of marketing and advertising, this infallible formula connects artistic techniques with the commercial purposes of a product or service, helping brands differentiate themselves from a sea of options to which users are exposed daily.
Mapping brings any concept to life and positions it in the receiver’s mind, leaving an indelible mark.
Benefits of mapping
Video mapping represents an important step in producing and using audiovisual content. This tool is undoubtedly the most advantageous if it comes to generating emotions. And it is not simply about projecting media but about “using” the projected media to expand, deepen, enrich or improve a physical space. The Walt Disney Company understood this many years ago when it decided to turn a Mapping staging into the central show of its’ parks.
With a projection over the castle of the Magic Kingdom, hundreds of people feel much closer to their favorite characters everyday thanks to a high-quality production, which plays with lights, colors, and sounds. The audience is transported to a “magical” world.
In recent years, the excellent film production company has gone much further. In 2020, for example, for the launch of Disney+ in Latin America, Mapping was utilized at the emblematic Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the WTC World Trade Center in Mexico City. Both heralded the platform’s arrival in the region, with vibrant sequences from Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars films and the vivid landscapes of National Geographic.
Undoubtedly, the immediate benefit of using this tool is nothing more and nothing less than creating an emotional memory in the mind of the viewer. The contents are processed in a much faster and more authentic way when they are accompanied by audiovisual and artistic effects out of the ordinary. An audiovisual experience at this level becomes an unforgettable experience for the viewer.
Types of mapping
One of the main features of Mapping is its versatility. Mapping creates incredible images full of color and fluidity, as if it were a breath of life for static objects.
The types of mapping, whether artistic or commercial, are divided into four functions:
Architectural mapping or artistic Video mapping
Architectural mapping or artistic video mapping projects images onto the surfaces of buildings, churches, or other structures to significantly impact viewers.
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In many cases, this audiovisual tool is used in icons of the architectural heritage to commemorate an important date or anniversary. Its purpose is to temporarily beautify the construction, telling the history or simply giving a incredible touch to that space.
It is also used as an alternative to creating scenographies of great plays, operas, and live music.
Advertising mapping
Advertising Mapping is utilized for product presentations, brand launches, or advertising campaigns. It focuses on giving a distinctive touch to what the user wants to impart on the market. Advertising Mapping seeks to expose qualities, benefits, or operations through a different format.
It also allows the disseminated content to go viral quickly since attendees of this type of event share photos and videos on social networks, generating free advertising for brands.
Table Mapping
Table Mapping consists of projecting a 3D image onto a mesa, changing the color, and giving life to food, dishes, and other objects, even to the table itself, transforming the perception of reality.
This is achieved through 2D or 3D animations. The elements are represented in their physical form and then transformed under an illusion of three-dimensionality that is achieved through the luminosity given to the creation, the texture, and the size of the objects. In this way, the person who is sitting at the table perceives the projection as if it were real, showcasing volume and dimension.
What equipment or tools are required for mapping?
The equipment or tools required for Mapping depends on the project’s specifics. Software elements such as mapping, modeling, animation, and projection programs like MadMapper are necessary to achieve the desired effects. This allows the projection of several videos on the same surface, which creates the effect of 3D images in motion; other well-known software include Resolume Arena, Qlab, and VPT 6.0.
No less important are the devices that facilitate the operation of mapping, such as lights, audio, cameras, and projectors, the latter classified by lumens: For small projections, under interior light, those of approximately 3000 lumens work, and for large-scale predictions, as in the buildings of the city, projectors with 20,000 lumens or more are used.
Role of mapping in pharmaceutical marketing
In the pharmaceutical sector, it is vitally important to differentiate yourself because audiences are much smaller and more specific compared to the whole of the industry. In addition, health professionals targeted by marketing strategies are constantly being “bombarded” with similar information.
Therefore, the best option is to stand-out in an overly crowded market, disseminating the strategy’s contents innovatively and strategically. By conveying knowledge in this fashion makes you a value-added resource.
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Mapping is part of those alternatives that go beyond the traditional to publicize or explain the benefits of products and services differently. One way to apply this audiovisual technique to distinguish the advancements of a company is to animate the mechanism of action of a molecule on a surface. In addition, to provide a greater dynamism to the experience, we can generate interaction with the viewers through other tools such as pushbuttons that allow users to see different stages of animation in the same physical element.
Success stories with mapping developed by Igloolab
Igloolab remains the pioneer of phygital experiences within Colombia’s pharmaceutical industry. Our trajectory and development as strategic allies to our clients have been marked by years of research and study of international markets, scientific societies, and recognized laboratories, allowing us to create a complete portfolio of dynamic formats that mix the digital world with the physical one.
Video mapping is part of our product portfolio. Using this technique with other tools to generate innovative and immersive experiences elevates user perception.
Applying it in events, this video mapping has made it easier to structure an explanatory form for our clients. This, in turn, allows them to show their audiences the benefits of a new product and how it acts on the pathology to be addressed.
We can combine an interactive wall with animation on a human torso or a to-scale liver through our innovations. By simply pressing a button, the stages of the molecule that is being discussed are projected as explanatory animated texts are displayed to guide the audience.
Each of our brands’ digital resource, made available to the public, create a truly distinct and impactful experience. At Igloolab, we make science simple. We generate content without neglecting a single detail and attach the extraordinary scientific research of each laboratory.
Luis Alfonso Ruíz
Igloolab– CEO
