Interactive Visualization Tool Shows Steel Products Everywhere

Zekelman Industries | Manufacturing

Challenge

Every marketer wants their product or service to get noticed and recognized for the value it provides. But for Zekelman Industries, it’s a tough task, as nearly all of their steel pipe and tube products are “hidden” underground, within walls, above ceilings, or machined and hidden within other machines, making them invisible to the most discerning eye. Out of sight and out of mind.

What they needed was an interactive product demonstration tool to showcase the breadth of the company’s branded product offerings and the widespread nature of where those products are used. Their sales team is focused on distribution, so they wanted a tool that would reach decision-makers and influencers in the construction and OEM industries, and even educate the general public. Something that clearly demonstrates the value their products provide to support, protect and enable the structures where we all live, work and play.

World of Zekelman Website

Solution

We recommended the creation of an animated 3D “world” that would demonstrate the vast array of applications for products manufactured by Zekelman Industries. The World of Zekelman features each major type of structure that one would find in their own city, from multifamily housing to hospitals, bridges to train stations, farms to greenhouses, and everything in between. Each structure can be explored to see how each of the company’s seven product categories is used in the structure. Using a BIM or CAD-lite approach, animation depicts how the products are used in the structure.

This 3D city is now a central feature of the website, used during executive keynote presentations and available for visitors to interact with on giant touch-screen TVs at Zekelman office locations. As an interactive tool, the experience is optimized for use on any desktop or mobile device.

World of Zekelman view through Mobile

Results

This interactive content has created the increased engagement Zekelman sought to achieve. The experience drives thousands of page views each month and continues to grow, already showing a 158% increase in page views over the last 7 months. But more important than user interactions with World of Zekelman itself is the growth the interactive content has driven in overall engagement. Boasting the lowest exit rate of any page on the site, users of World of Zekelman spend 3 minutes on average exploring the products on the page. It functions as a “cul-de-sac” where users dive in to learn more about the product and then loop back to spend even more time on the main site. Visitors to World of Zekelman spend 3x more time per session engaging with the brand overall.

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