XO3D Studio · Use Case
CGI for Paid Social Advertising.
9:16, 1:1, 4:5 and 16:9, planned from one approved product build.
Here CGI means computer-generated product imagery for paid social, not the IT company. If you are new to it, start with what product CGI is. XO3D helps keep the product consistent across paid social placements. Performance marketing teams running campaigns across Meta, TikTok, YouTube and Display need product visuals in several formats, and need to test and refresh that creative regularly. Suitable product assets can support later creative versions, with scope and review agreed for each placement.
Selected clients
Sony work via ImageNova. Ferrari and Burberry work via KCD.
One build, every format
Four social formats. One 3D asset. Same visual direction.
One product, planned for several frames
These four loops come from XO3D's launch work for Nanuskate's modular skate ramp. The lead 3D artist planned the film in a square composition, with guides marking the landscape and vertical areas. Checking those frames during production kept the important action inside each format, without reanimating shots for the vertical cut.
Two of the files above are native: the 1:1 square and the 4:5 portrait. The 9:16 and 16:9 frames are the square file, cropped by this page, so you can see how much of a square-planned frame survives each crop. In the delivered project, the 71-second film and its cut-downs came from one Master Asset in 16:9, 1:1 and 9:16. A crop is a decision, not a free extra: some placements need their own composition.
What CGI changes for paid social
Format, testing, refresh and retargeting, planned at the asset level.
Format Delivery
Four frames, planned together
- 9:16 vertical, Reels, Stories, TikTok
- 1:1 square, Instagram feed, Facebook
- 4:5 portrait, Facebook and Instagram feeds
- 16:9 landscape, YouTube, programmatic
- One approved product build, with each frame composed or checked for its placement
Creative Testing
Creative variants with a defined purpose
Choose which message or visual variable each version tests. Approved product geometry can be reused where suitable, while new environments, finishes and compositions receive their own creative review.
Seasonal Refresh
New creative from an approved asset
When Q4 campaign creative needs to look different to Q2, the approved product model can sit in a new environment, grade or composition. An approved product asset can support later campaign versions, subject to the new treatment, formats and review scope. A new environment is new creative work, and it is reviewed like any other.
Retargeting Creative
Variant renders for product ads
Product ads that show the variant a shopper viewed need a render of each variant. Four kinds of work sit behind that. Approved geometry can be reused where variants share it. Each new finish needs its own material development and review. Each format needs a composition decision. Then each version is rendered.
The Performance Marketing Case for CGI
How an approved product asset fits a paid social programme.
Plan the source footage and campaign variants together. A new format may need a different composition or opening message; it should not automatically be treated as a crop of the hero edit.
CGI changes this production structure. The approved 3D asset becomes a reusable foundation for new formats, colourways, environments and seasonal edits. For brands with continuous demand, a Visual Content Partnership keeps that foundation active across each campaign cycle. Performance marketing teams can plan a broader testing library without restaging the product for every variation. Media results still depend on the offer, audience, placement and creative strategy, so each concept should be measured on its own evidence.
| Creative Need | Photography Approach | CGI Approach |
|---|---|---|
| New aspect ratio (9:16 to 1:1) | Crop or re-shoot depending on composition | Recompose and re-render at the new ratio from the same build |
| New colourway variant | New photography session | New finish reference and material review |
| A/B test: background A vs B | Two separate setups and shoots | Two environment renders, same product asset |
| Seasonal creative refresh | New shoot with seasonal styling | New environment and grade on the approved model, reviewed as new creative |
| Dynamic product ad per SKU | Photography per SKU required | A render per variant: shared geometry reused, each finish developed and reviewed |
Planning
Plan each frame as a creative decision.
Treat vertical, square, portrait and landscape as four creative frames, not four exports. For each one, agree what the viewer must understand, what they see first and who signs it off. The table is a starting point for that conversation. It does not set platform rules: check each platform's current guidance for sizes, lengths and the areas its interface covers, and plan video delivery specifications before the edit.
| Intended placement | Product detail to retain | Opening message | Composition decision | Reviewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vertical 9:16 | The one feature the ad is about, large in frame | Product and message together from the first moment | Compose for the tall frame, or plan a square master with vertical guides | Creative lead, with the product owner for the feature |
| Square 1:1 | The whole product silhouette, recognisable without sound | The product, then the headline | Centred product with room for copy | Brand or marketing owner |
| Portrait 4:5 | Silhouette plus one close detail | Product first, message close behind | A taller crop of the square plan, or its own composition | Brand or marketing owner |
| Landscape 16:9 | Product in context, or a sequence of features | Can build to the product over a longer edit | The widest frame: plan what fills the sides | Creative lead and product owner |
Testing
Hand over a test you can read.
Creative tests are easier to read when each version changes one thing and the product stays the same. Keep a short record for every test, so the result can be traced back to the creative. XO3D makes the versions. Media planning, platform setup and measurement sit with you or your agency, as agreed in the scope.
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Hypothesis | What you expect to change, and why |
| Changed variable | The one thing that differs between versions: message, background, opening shot or colourway |
| Unchanged product reference | The approved model, finish and revision every version uses |
| Placement | Where each version runs, and in which frame |
| Audience | Who sees each version |
| Test dates | When the test starts and ends |
| Metric and owner | What will be measured, and who reads the result |
Before you brief us
Send the product, the message you want to test, the placements and frames you need, the launch date and the source files you have, such as CAD, finish references or an existing model. For one launch, plan launch visuals. For creative that keeps running across campaigns, see the Visual Content Partnership.
FAQ
Common questions, answered.
How quickly can XO3D produce social format variants once the asset is built?
Can CGI match the energy and motion quality needed for TikTok and Reels?
Can you produce user-generated content (UGC) style CGI for social?
What is CGI advertising?
Your next project
Plan a testable set of creative.
Change one meaningful creative variable at a time and record the audience, placement and result. Agree which edits need a new composition and which can use approved footage.
A route to consider
Visual Content Partnership
Ongoing creative direction and production for a defined sequence of campaigns, product updates and agreed deliverables.
Bring these three things.
- Which message are you testing?
- What placements and runtimes are required?
- How will creative performance be evaluated?
Start with an outline. We review the product, intended outputs and timing before agreeing the production scope.