It was hard NOT using the word \u201csynergy\u201d in the title of this post. It\u2019s one of those corporate-sounding throwaway buzzwords that\u2019s been done to death. Which sucks \u2013 because it does a good job summarizing what we\u2019re talking about today.<\/span><\/p>\n Synergy in your marketing<\/i><\/b> is two or more initiatives working together to create a response greater than the sum of the elements alone. That\u2019s according to a definition I found at <\/span>smallbusiness.chron.com<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n With traditional marketing methods, you end up paying twice for a marketing piece \u2013 once for its design and production, and again for the placement in the media of your choice (magazine, radio, trade journal). But you only get a single return from each effort.<\/span><\/p>\n However, done right, your marketing today can be paid for just once, but continue to provide you with returns virtually forever. That\u2019s especially useful if your company has a limited marketing budget\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n So how does this all apply to high-quality visualizations?<\/span><\/p>\n When you invest a portion of your marketing dollars on a few well-considered visual pieces \u2013 <\/span>details<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>animations<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>3-D renderings<\/span><\/a> of your product – you create synergies between your sales & marketing materials and your technical documents.<\/span><\/p>\n What that means is you\u2019re\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n To give you a better idea of what we\u2019re talking about here, let\u2019s take a look at how some of the larger building product companies have been successfully using videos and renderings in an expanding way.<\/span><\/p>\n Nichiha, the fiber cement product manufacturer, does a great job of re-purposing their <\/span>visualization<\/span><\/a> throughout their marketing, sales and technical documents.<\/span><\/p>\n Not only are they using animated installation videos on their <\/span>website<\/span><\/a> to demonstrate the installation of their product lines to architects and contractors\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2026They\u2019re also combining video screen shots with photographs and 2D details in their installation instructions to clearly demonstrate to installers every step needed to provide a great project\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n \u2026You\u2019ll also find their pulling 3D renderings into their brochures and other sales documents and weaving them between their sales copy and beautiful project photos.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s through this synergy that they effectively & successfully demonstrate how their products can work as part of the architects next project\u2026 While also creating a consistency that runs through all of their forms of communication with their clients and installers.<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at another great example: <\/span>Oldcastle\u2019s Echelon masonry product – Insultech<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n For their Insultech product line, since it is one of those \u201cbehind-the-scenes\u201d products, project photos don\u2019t do it justice. That\u2019s why it\u2019s critical that they use a variety of images to demonstrate the product\u2019s features and benefits to their clients.<\/span><\/p>\n It all starts on the website\u2019s product page, where they use a variety of 3D rendering and details to illustrate the product\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n If you happen to check out their <\/span>YouTube channel<\/span><\/a>, you\u2019ll find they use a combination of live product demonstrations with 3D renderings and CAD drawings to properly demonstrate their products value.<\/span><\/p>\n In their <\/span>Masonry Performance Upgrade catalog<\/span><\/a>, their also using similar version of these 3D rendering to explain each of their upgrade options. And, again, we see they\u2019re weaving the images together with sales copy, project photos and technical drawings.<\/span><\/p>\n Throughout their marketing and technical documents, Echelon is doing a great job of utilizing the many small pieces they\u2019ve collected and are using them effectively across their website, their leave-behinds, and the rest of their media sources.<\/span><\/p>\n For today\u2019s last example, I\u2019m highlighting the work that National Gypsum is doing. They\u2019ve spent a lot of time and effort developing a library of product drawing, details, and <\/span>animations<\/span><\/a> to clarify their product lines.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cBig doors swing on little hinges.\u201d \u2013 W. Clement Stone<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Nichiha<\/h2>\n
![\"Screenshot](\"http:\/\/www.visualconstructionmarketing.com\/2014\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Screenshot-01-Nichiha-Video-page-624x1024.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Screenshot](\"http:\/\/www.visualconstructionmarketing.com\/2014\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Screenshot-02b-KuraStone_InstallGuide-791x1024.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Screenshot](\"http:\/\/www.visualconstructionmarketing.com\/2014\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Screenshot-03-Kurastone-Catalog-1024x664.jpg\")
<\/p>\nOldcastle \u2013 Echelon Insultech<\/h2>\n
![\"Screenshot](\"http:\/\/www.visualconstructionmarketing.com\/2014\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Screenshot-04-Insultech-Product-page-418x1024.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Screenshot](\"http:\/\/www.visualconstructionmarketing.com\/2014\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Screenshot-05-Insultech-YouTube-page.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Screenshot](\"http:\/\/www.visualconstructionmarketing.com\/2014\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Screenshot-06-performance_upgrade_catalog_06-791x1024.jpg\")
<\/p>\nNational Gypsum<\/h2>\n
![\"Screenshot](\"http:\/\/www.visualconstructionmarketing.com\/2014\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Screenshot-07a-NGC_ConstructGuide-2up-1024x663.jpg\")
<\/p>\n