When Conservative Clients Approve Innovation: What We Observed From the Technical Side

Every agency knows this moment. You’ve found the perfect technology to bring a campaign to life. It’s exactly what the brief needs. The creative team is excited. Then you sit down with the client. And the room goes quiet.

This happens often with 3D DOOH campaigns in Australia. Conservative clients aren’t being difficult when they pause. Instead, they’re protecting their brand and budget. The real question isn’t whether your idea is brilliant. It’s whether they can justify the spend, manage the risk, and prove value to their own bosses.

From the technical side, we’ve watched many innovative campaigns move from concept to production. Some get approved quickly. Others stall for months. Usually, the difference isn’t the technology itself. It’s how teams build the business case.

Two large 3D DOOH campaigns in Australia caught our attention. First, ANZ’s Falcon activation ran across 2,100+ screens. Second, L’Oréal’s 30-second execution lit up Emporium Melbourne. Both brands had good reasons to be cautious. Both said yes anyway. Here’s what stood out from the technical side.

ANZ Falcon: Australia’s First National-Scale 3D DOOH Campaign

ANZ put 3D content on 2,100+ screens across Australia. That’s a big production task. What must it have been like pitching that to a major bank? New technology at national scale carries real risk. Finance teams need to weigh that carefully.

Why the Risk Was Manageable

From our view, several factors likely helped win approval.

First, the technology had global precedent. By late 2024, 3D DOOH wasn’t experimental anymore. Big brands had already run successful campaigns in Times Square and Piccadilly Circus. That track record matters. As a result, the question shifted. Teams asked whether the infrastructure could handle Australian deployment. They didn’t debate whether the concept worked at all.

Second, scale changed the maths. When you run across 2,100+ screens, you spread the asset cost across massive reach. Therefore, the cost per screen drops close to traditional DOOH creative. Meanwhile, the impact per view goes up. That business case works on numbers, not just creativity.

How Measurement Built Confidence

The campaign tracked real outcomes beyond looks. Teams measured dwell time, social shares, and brand recall. Because they had concrete KPIs, stakeholders could judge the spend objectively. From the technical side, that meant we built analytics into the system from day one.

Additionally, phased rollout helped manage exposure. The campaign didn’t go everywhere at once. Teams tested performance and checked engagement before the full launch. If problems showed up, they could fix them before national exposure. That approach matches how careful organisations make decisions.

The Infrastructure Behind It

The production system had to handle problems at scale. Quality checks, format changes for different screens, live control across locations, sync management. Audiences don’t see these things. However, they’re vital for reliable delivery. Having proven infrastructure matters when brands weigh risk. You can read more about how we approach complex campaign builds on our site.

The result? ANZ came back for more. In January 2025, they added interactive elements with Falcon Lens. Brands that approve one innovation gain confidence for the next. That’s how knowledge builds inside organisations.

L’Oréal Kérastase: Premium 3D DOOH in Australia’s Best Locations

By mid-2025, the landscape had changed. ANZ had proved national scale could work. However, L’Oréal took a different path for Kérastase Gloss Absolu. They invested deeply in premium spots rather than broad coverage.

Smart Location Choices

From the technical side, their location strategy stood out. Emporium Melbourne draws 18 million visits each year. City of Sydney’s transparent panels sit in high-foot-traffic areas. The production spend went where the target audience actually walks. Teams didn’t spread thin across hundreds of sites. That’s smart media buying that links production cost to strategic value.

Furthermore, thirty seconds of full-motion 3D takes real production effort. Short animations are simpler. But beauty products need to show texture, movement, and change. Therefore, the format solved a communication problem. It wasn’t just about standing out. That’s technical work serving a strategic goal.

Lower Risk Through Proven Systems

By this point, asset pipelines and rendering tools had been tested in production. Quality processes had proved themselves on earlier campaigns. As a result, the risk profile had shifted. The question wasn’t “can we build this?” It was “does this serve the brand?”

Competitive pressure probably helped too. Other brands were already exploring 3D DOOH by mid-2025. Being a fast follower in premium spots offered good positioning. It also avoided first-mover technical risk. That trade-off makes sense when the infrastructure has matured.

Patterns We See in Approved 3D DOOH Campaigns in Australia

Looking at campaigns that moved from concept to production, clear patterns emerge. These come from what we observe on the technical side.

Mature Production Systems Speed Up Approval

When asset pipelines, QA processes, and control systems are proven, technical risk drops. This moves the conversation forward. Teams shift from “can we build this?” to “should we build this?” Both questions matter. However, the second focuses on strategy rather than feasibility.

Measurement Enables Future Investment

Campaigns with built-in analytics create lasting confidence. When brands can check results objectively, they learn what works. That shapes future decisions. From the technical side, we plan measurement systems from the start.

Scale Shifts the Economics

Production costs that seem high for one location become reasonable at scale. The economics change based on reach. That’s worth knowing when teams check what’s possible within budget.

Global Examples Cut Perceived Risk

Technology that big global brands have used carries less perceived risk. The technical problems are better known. Failure modes are documented. Best practices exist. That knowledge speeds up Australian deployment.

Phased Testing Fits How Organisations Decide

Careful organisations don’t approve everything at once. Pilot runs, checkpoints, and milestones match their risk style. From the technical side, we build systems that can scale. But we also test performance before full rollout.

Technical Questions to Ask Early

When you’re checking out new technology for a campaign, here are questions we explore from the production side.

What’s Actually Proven?

Knowing the maturity level helps assess risk and timeline. Technology that’s run at scale elsewhere differs from truly experimental stuff. Both might fit your needs. However, they need different levels of investment.

What Systems Do You Need?

Asset pipelines, QA, monitoring, control systems. This invisible infrastructure makes campaigns work under pressure. Knowing what’s needed helps teams check whether production cost matches campaign value. Our technical services cover these requirements.

How Will You Measure Success?

Not just “did it launch?” but “did it hit goals?” Building measurement into the technical setup from the start lets teams evaluate and optimise. That ability shapes future investment choices.

What Could Go Wrong?

Technology that works in demos sometimes shows issues at scale. Format variations, network problems, device differences, timing sync. Understanding potential failures helps teams judge production risk.

What’s the Total Cost?

Maintenance, monitoring, support, updates. Technology doesn’t stop when the campaign goes live. Knowing the ongoing commitment helps teams judge whether the spend makes sense for duration and reuse.

What This Means for Your Next 3D DOOH Campaign in Australia

We see innovative campaigns succeed when teams understand and manage technical risk well. That doesn’t mean only picking safe technology. It means knowing what’s proven, what needs work, and what systems reliable delivery requires.

This is where deep technical skill matters. Understanding how technology works at the engineering level helps teams tackle new challenges reliably. It’s not just about having built the exact same thing before. It’s about understanding systems well enough to adapt them.

Campaigns that move smoothly from approval to production usually have this understanding early. The agencies and brands involved have done their technical homework. They know what they’re signing up for. They’ve checked whether production cost matches strategic value.

The Bottom Line

Conservative clients aren’t against innovation. They’re rightly cautious about risk, cost, and unproven claims. Successful 3D DOOH campaigns in Australia show three things. The innovation serves strategy. The technical risk is manageable. The investment matches expected returns.

We can’t speak to pitching strategy. That’s someone else’s expertise, not ours. But we can share what we see from the technical side. Campaigns succeed when everyone knows what’s proven, what needs building, and what reliable delivery requires.

Both ANZ and L’Oréal have expanded their use of innovative formats since. That didn’t happen by luck. It happened because their first campaigns worked reliably, delivered results, and built internal confidence. We see this pattern often. Well-run innovation creates appetite for more.

Your goal is getting that first yes. After that, the next one gets easier. And the technical foundation from your first campaign often becomes the system that makes future work faster and cheaper.

Simon Paul is a Business Solutions & Technology Specialist at Code Brewery who’s spent 25+ years working where creative ambition meets technical reality. After building systems for everything from conservative financial campaigns to cutting-edge retail work, he’s developed a reliable sense for what matters most when checking out innovative technology. Reach out to Simon to discuss technical needs and risk for your next campaign.