What does 2022 hold for the 3D industry? Despite the continued uncertainty of our world, here’s one thing we know: The promise of 3D has never been greater for those who can harness it. This year, we’ve worked to provide guidance to our clients—helping them find their voice and capitalize on what makes them unique. It’s been a big year for 3D, and we’re going to continue to see that build in a few key ways.

Into the Metaverse

In particular, we’ll see the metaverse continue to take shape as the new frontier. Whether your business is in archviz or digital fashion, every 3D company should be asking themselves where they fit into the picture. As an industry, we’ve been playing the long game. Incredible minds have been building and refining 3D technology, and finally, we’re seeing it push into the mainstream. The path ahead is no different. The metaverse won’t take shape overnight. Most companies shouldn’t be thinking about how they can own it. But everyone should be thinking about how they can leverage their expertise to become an indispensable part of it.

Rethink Your Brand

Being successful in these spaces next year may require a reevaluation of your company and your brand. Just look at the workforce. People are questioning what they’ve done, and where they want to go next, leading to major shifts in what we do and how we do it. With many aspects of business having stabilized two years into the pandemic, it may also be a good time for a larger audit at the company level.

Right now, we’re helping companies work through this reevaluation by taking stock of the wants, needs, and impressions of employees, customers, and press. It’s an enlightening process and one many companies would be wise to do. At a minimum, take a step back and ask yourself: How has this year changed business (good and bad)? What can we learn from it? And what’s next? Don’t be afraid if those answers differ from what they’ve been historically.

At Liaison, we’ve gone through our own reassessment in recent years, and have significantly expanded our content wing, building out programs we’ve been planting the seeds for. We’ve seen our accounts grow as a result, and have welcomed new content-specific clients like Epic Games and Autodesk. We’re also constantly looking at how our clients can meet the moment. That means helping them assess how they fit into things like the metaverse, by way of their deep and specialized knowledge, wherever that may be.

We continue to be amazed by this industry, and it’s been a privilege to tell your stories in 2021. From everyone at Liaison, happy holidays and have a fantastic new year.

Heidi Lowell is the founder and president of Liaison. She has run Liaison for 20+years, building it into a world leader in 3D PR & marketing. She began her career promoting films for Miramax, MGM, New Line Cinema, and Orion before jumping to Waggener Edstrom to launch Microsoft Windows 95. Through her work with Softimage, Heidi discovered a lifelong passion for 3D.