Nexus to deploy 3D anamorphic screens at five malls by 2025

Nexus Select Trust REIT launched a 3D cuboid anamorphic screen at Nexus Seawoods, its mall in Navi Mumbai, yesterday. Named Aayam (dimensions), the company claimed that 15-feet wide and 9-feet high cuboid is Maharashtra’s largest in-mall 3D cuboid anamorphic screen.

Nexus has installed a larger, twin-cuboid at its mall in Hyderabad, which measures 17 feet x 12 feet (larger piece) in addition to a 12 feet x 9 feet (smaller piece). It has also installed a 3D anamorphic screen at its mall in Chennai.

Suspended at the center of the atrium using strong iron cables connected to the roof-edges—dangling at more than 12-feet height from the ground level—Aayam at Nexus Seawoods aims to offer a 360-degree brand experience to mall visitors without them having to wear 3D glasses. The company has installed this 3D DOOH cuboid in partnership with S&O Investments, which specialises in developing and managing ambient media solutions for shopping malls in India.

Sanjyot Vaidya, founder and director, S&O Investments said that a lot of planning including architectural and structural considerations went into Aayam’s installation. "The cuboid shape was envisaged to offer visual experience from all angles and from all the levels of the mall,” he added.

Nexus operates the digital OOH (DOOH) screens in partnership with various players. Talking about partnering with S&O Investments for Aayaam at Seawoods, Nishank Joshi, chief marketing officer at Nexus Select Malls told Campaign that the partner invested in the DOOH cuboid, while Nexus invested in the infrastructure. The company will initially operate on 60:40 ad revenue sharing model with S&O, which, after a few years, would be 50:50, Joshi informed.

< Nishank Joshi

Describing the thought process behind this move, Joshi said, “3D anamorphic screens is an established technology in the developed world. However, its adoption started in India recently. When we discussed the idea of in-mall 3D DOOH screens with brands, they were instantly supportive but encouraged us to deploy it at multiple locations. With a network of 3D DOOH screens across different cities, brands can offer immersive 3D visual experiences to their target consumers pan-India, running their campaigns simultaneously.”

Over the next two years, the organisation also plans to open new malls in eastern India, as it has only one mall in Bhubaneswar (Odisha), in this region. While Nexus plans to expand its mall network in the coming years, its focus will be on upcoming towns.

“India presents a huge opportunity for organised retail due to rapid pace of urbanisation. We will select strategic locations in multiple tier-2 and tier-3 towns over the next few years,” Joshi said.

Campaign spoke with DOOH industry veteran, Durba Mandal, former head of DOOH at Cheil India about the potential for 3D anamorphic media installation and the opportunities it provides to advertisers and global brands alike. She noted that only a few L-shaped media have been launched so far, that, too, primarily on key roads.

"The installation of a 3D cuboid anamorphic media in an ambient space has been done for the first time in India. A cuboid offers at least two distinct angles of 3D display, helping consumers experience the 3D creative better,” Mandal stated.

She anticipates new opportunities to open up for brands with the arrival of 3D DOOH media options in Indian malls. The task for brands and advertisers, will now be to “focus on creative concepts that will enable the 3D output at its best. OOH medium can be used as the lead medium for creating impact and long lasting impressions,” she said.