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Creative Simulator software for out-of-home media owners and agencies

A creative simulator shows an ad creative where it will actually hang. It sits in correct perspective on real footage of a billboard, a City-Light poster or a digital screen. We supply the software as a ready-made platform, in your branding, with an API and video export.

Request a demo Try the live Creative Simulator

What a creative simulator needs to do

A poster creative looks different on screen than it does on the street. Type that seems generous in the layout is hard to read from twenty metres away. Colours that look rich on a monitor lose depth on a glowing LED wall. A creative simulator shows you this before anything goes into production.

It differs from a mockup file in three main ways. The surface sits at an angle, so the creative has to be fitted into its perspective. Digital surfaces show motion, and no still image can show that. And if you want to show a second variant in a client meeting, you do not have half an hour to build a new file.

VirtualCampaign is the platform behind simulators like this. Media owners and agencies use it to run a tool of their own, with their inventory, in their design and on their domain. We set up the surfaces for you.

Creative simulator: real creative placed perspective-correct in the footage
Example content from the platform

What the platform brings

  • Correct perspective

    The creative sits inside the surface at exactly the angle the ad surface has in the footage. It looks the way it will on site.

  • Creatives stay in the browser

    The simulation runs on your own machine, and for the preview the creative file never leaves it. That matters while you are working with client artwork that has not been signed off yet.

  • Real surfaces in real surroundings

    Everything is based on footage of real locations, such as a billboard, City-Light poster, digital screen, station concourse or shopping centre. Passers-by walk in front of your creative just as they do on site. If you like, you can show a location from several angles or by day and by night.

  • Photo and video

    Still creatives as well as moving image, as a file, via a link or as a live stream. Photos of advertising sites play with a slow camera move towards the surface. You export as MP4 or JPG, photos in original size if you like, and can present or send the file straight away.

  • White-Label and tenants

    The simulator carries your colours and your logo, and every tenant has its own area. Your clients see your tool.

  • API and iframe

    Your developers query products through a public REST API, embed the simulator via iframe and control it via postMessage.

Four steps to a preview

  1. 1

    Pick a creative

    Drag a poster or video creative into the browser, or take one from the media library.

  2. 2

    Pick an ad surface

    Choose the surface from your inventory that the conversation is about. In large inventories you find it through optional search and filters.

  3. 3

    Adjust live

    Set the crop and fine-tune brightness, saturation and contrast. You see every change immediately.

  4. 4

    Present and share

    Export as MP4 or JPG and drop it into the presentation, the proposal or the approval e-mail. If you like, collect several surfaces and share them as a PowerPoint, PDF, video or link.

Build it yourself, mockup file or platform?

CriterionIn-house buildMockup fileVirtualCampaign
Perspectivefeasible, but costlyfixed, often inaccuratefitted into the surface
Moving imageneeds its own video technot possibleMP4 export included
New variantdevelopment efforta new file per formatinstant in the browser
Maintaining inventoryneeds its own systemone file per surfacecentrally in the platform
Your own brandingyesnot applicableWhite-Label per tenant
Time to first usemonthsinstant, but limitedminutes for photo surfaces

Frequently asked questions about Creative Simulator software

What is a creative simulator?
A tool that places an ad creative onto a real ad surface in correct perspective and shows how it works in its surroundings, as an image or as a video. Unlike a mockup file, the preview is created live in the browser. You can try as many variants as you like.
Why a platform rather than building our own?
Building your own is possible, but it takes months and needs ongoing maintenance afterwards. Perspective, video export, inventory management and tenants all have to be built and looked after. With the platform you get all of that ready to use, and maintaining the software stays with us.
Does our creative leave the machine?
Not for the simulation, because placement happens right in the browser. A file only goes to the server when you deliberately export, create a slideshow or store a creative in the media library. Hosting is entirely in Germany.
How do our ad surfaces get into the simulator?
You send us your inventory and we create the products. For new customers we migrate existing photo products free of charge, and we agree the scope with you beforehand. Video and 360° products are quoted separately.
What do our developers need to embed it?
A single iframe tag, with no API key required. URL parameters set language, product and design, and postMessage lets you control the simulator from your own page. The developer guide includes a live demo to try things out.
How long does rollout take?
With photo surfaces it takes minutes. We set up your tenant right away. The photos you send us get their ad surfaces marked automatically and go straight into your tenant. Video and 360° surfaces need footage shot on location, so they take longer.

Read on

A Creative Simulator of your own?

We are happy to show you the platform on your own surfaces and tell you honestly what makes sense in your case. Write to us and we usually reply within one working day.

Request a demo Try the live simulator