Boart Longyear was rightly proud of the groundbreaking design technology of its
new 4200 surface coring rig, and was eager to start a buzz about it in the mining
industry. The company was particularly eager to show off its new hoist spinner and
rod-handling system, but there was just one obstacle: No prototype existed.
Still, Boart Longyear couldn’t pass up an opportunity to introduce the new technology
at the MINExpo® International trade show, so in addition to a broader
industrywide product intro that would include advertising and public relations,
the company charged Two Rivers Marketing with the task of showing the industry how
the new rig worked.
We rose to the occasion with three animated demos: one showing a rotating display
of the entire rig, one providing a close-up look at the rod handler as it moves
rods into drilling position, and one showing how the hoist plug spinner pulls a
rod up the mast and unscrews the hoist plug. In addition, we created a virtual product
tour that highlights the benefits of some of the rig’s key features.
The animations were created in a program called Cinema 4D. Using client CAD files,
we worked with Boart Longyear marketing, engineering, and product management personnel
to texture the 4200 model and apply movement. The animations were wrapped into a
client presentation given to more than 30 editors from industry publications and
more than 40 key client contacts from major accounts.
Despite the difficulty of applying animation to a machine that has yet to be manufactured,
the result was a professional rendering that played a major role in the success
of the launch. Media response was very favorable and a number of trade publications
published material on the machine. Similarly, customer response confirmed that the
animation helped create the desired industry buzz. The product tour was deployed
to Boart Longyear’s public website and generated significant interest.