By Sheila Dang

(Reuters) – Meta Platforms Inc will make it easier for brands to run three-dimensional ads on Facebook and Instagram thanks to a new partnership with an e-commerce technology company.

Integration with VNTANA will allow brands to upload 3D models of their products to social media platforms and easily convert them into advertisements, VNTANA said in a press release Thursday.

The move is a stepping stone to publicity in the metaverse, said Ashley Crowder, chief executive of VNTANA, referring to the futuristic idea of ​​a collection of virtual worlds accessible through different devices such as headsets.

Meta has staked his future on helping to build the metaverse, which he says could take up to a decade to come to fruition.

In the meantime, brands in the beauty, fashion, and furniture industries are scrambling to transition from 2D to 3D representations of their products.

“The Metaverse is essentially the spatial internet,” Crowder said. “It’s a whole world of possibilities that starts with having the right 3D models of your products.”

Facebook and Instagram users who see a 3D ad while browsing on their computer or phone can interact with an image of a handbag, for example, and move the item around to see it under all angles.

“In a way, this offers a glimpse of what you might expect on future devices like AR glasses,” said Chris Barbour, director of augmented reality partnerships in Meta’s Reality Labs unit. .

Prior to VNTANA’s integration with Meta, advertisers had to reformat 3D files to be compatible with Meta’s advertising systems. Now brands can use VNTANA to easily upload and convert the files into ads without technical expertise in working with 3D images, Crowder said.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas; Editing by Nick Zieminski)