So I was at IAAPA 2019 and stumbled across something that nearly made my jaw drop to the floor. It was a life size Mario throwing a fireball out of his hand, and it wasn't on a screen. He looked like he was THERE. The vendor giggled, pressed a button, and then slowly the Mario faded away as 4 large fan blades slowed down. This company had created a hologram using spinning fans with LED's to create a picture. Here's a video:
I recommend at least watching 2 minutes of what this thing can do, it's actually amazing.
A whole bunch of businesses are now getting into creating these and they keep getting better and better. Not only used by businesses now, every day consumer can grab one for around $100 depending on the fan, and can download scenes or cool designs to the fans, or create their own.
The fans come in all sizes, from a little portable size to a giant building size fan. The opportunities this provides is amazing, because um, when I open my coffeeshop you better believe there is going to be a large floating coffee above my shop.
Which led me to another idea: this could be a great small business idea! Creating a company that purchases these fans and creates advertisements for local businesses. For example, I create this business. I buy fans, and create a couple of samples of what I could do. I go to local businesses and offer them a fan of their size with a animation of their choosing, and depending on the length of the animation and size of fan would determine the cost.
Local business, and big businesses, would love this. Jewelry stores with floating rings they are trying to sell, real estate agents with awesome animations drawing people in, donut shops with large floating donuts. The possibilities are endless.
What do you think? Are holograms in the future of advertising?