When it pays to switch off
Autodesk Maya and 3ds Max are the gold standard software for 3D modeling in the animation industry. Market share among major studios is consistently high, but with untapped potential among smaller studios and those with non-standard needs. Autodesk wanted to raise awareness that Maya and 3ds Max were great options for this audience.
Our initial research into the audience turned up a surprising insight that offered an ‘in’. Their perceived biggest barrier to entry wasn’t cost, as might be expected. It was a fear of their investment being wasted if there wasn’t enough work to justify it later down the line.
They were more concerned about being able to turn their subscription off than the price of turning it on.
Luckily, Autodesk already had the perfect solution. In 2021, Autodesk had launched Flex, a token-based system that meant that customers could access their software portfolio in a flexible, pay-as-you-go way–including Maya and 3ds Max. Unluckily, the audience didn’t know about it.
We needed to join the dots between Flex and both Maya/3ds Max for the audience and highlight its value. To that end, we created a campaign centered around the tagline of ‘Flex on/off’, emphasized by striking split between vivid product imagery and blank, black space. This immediately ensured the audience would identify the creative as aimed towards their field, while simultaneously being distinct from normal product campaigns.
At the heart of the visuals, we also used a toggleable on/off switch familiar from mobile UIs to convey the versatility of Flex–the unique proposition of the campaign-and stress the reassuring, zero commitment nature of it. This was also perfect for translation into an animated format, especially relevant for catching the attention of the 3D studio audience.
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VFX, animation, games refresh
