As many of us were looking forward to the return of the January Furniture Show in the New Year, we were disappointed to hear that the show has now been postponed until April. Due to the rise in UK Covid-19 cases, the show being postponed was disappointing but not surprising. As we can only control the controllable, the furniture industry is faced with a difficult dilemma. Not only have many of the 2022 trade shows been pushed back or cancelled, but there has been much talk in the last couple of years about whether or not trade shows will soon become a thing of the past. So how is the furniture industry going to launch new products successfully? The answer - 3D product and interior visualisation - our bread and butter. As the new JFS dates are in late April, many manufacturers feel it’s too late in the year for product launches. Just before Christmas, most of our conversations with clients revolved around JFS; whether that being organising a catch up or discussing the unmatched amount of work that goes into getting things organised, manufactured, upholstered and prepped for the show. As many factories have faced staff and supply shortages, getting new products ready for the show has been a struggle for almost everyone we’ve spoken to.
To now have the show pushed back by almost a third of the year, many manufacturers seem lost in how to get these new products out there for retailers and designers to review and order. The good news is that there is still a way to get your products out there to your customers, without having to ship them up and down the country. Our unreal team of creatives are experts in creating photorealistic, true-to-scale, 3D furniture models - speed to market is significantly faster, cheaper and more beneficial, especially in the long run. Many of our clients who attend JFS often come to us ahead of the show with their new products so that we can get them built and rendered in all of their applicable fabrics/ materials, along with placing them in a photorealistic roomset for lifestyle imagery to sit alongside their stands at the show. This is a great way for customers to see what’s available, as products are often only seen in one or two fabric variations at the show, having this offering available straight away can be a deciding factor to whether your product is the right fit for them. With no trade shows, CGI and 3D rendering is essential in showcasing new products. Not only can you show models in all available materials, but you can also show off your new products in animation form, as a 3D 360 model, and in a room setting that fits specific customers' branding.
All of that hassle and money that’s spent on preparing for trade shows is removed with CGI, and the possibilities are endless. Not only do you have great imagery for yourself to share with current and potential customers, but you also have the 3D assets to revisit and reuse. Want to launch twenty new fabrics on a best selling sofa? With CGI, this is quick and easy, you can even test the market before getting anything physically built or upholstered. Wanting to launch some seasonal promotional imagery? We can easily reuse your existing roomsets from a previous project to add in some festive props. Wanting to reverse engineer your products and test out what they will look like before physically building anything? We can do that for you! We’ve worked with many clients who came to us with design drawings and sketches which we’ve built models from. Not only do you have the assets to revisit for your own benefits, but your customers can massively benefit too. As showing a product in all available materials, and at multiple angles, is now a global expectation when online shopping, retailers expect manufacturers to provide these for them. You are able to share these marketing assets with your customers and even supply brand specific lifestyle imagery that can’t be found anywhere else on the web - increasing sales and improving business-to-customer relations.
There’s never been a better and more crucial time to embrace and make the most of CGI. Don’t let another cancelled trade show impact your product launches and sales, our team is ready to provide you with a complete digital sales and marketing package.