Shazam is adding a visual function to its audio recognition app that will allow brands to make all printed advertising clickable and interactive, including print and outdoor ads. Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. and Southern Cross Austereo are launch
partners.
The update of the Shazam app, which rolls out this week, means every element of a brand’s communications, whether packaging, ads, or instore POS material, can become a gateway to extra content.
Steve Sos, VP of Shazam Asia Pacific, told AdNews: “It’s a natural progression from a music discovery app, and means that as a gateway into content, Shazam is no longer just acoustic. It takes us into a unique space to be able to Shazam all elements of the communications mix.
We’re really positioning now to surround the entire experience and make every element of brand clickable, and it becomes a very turn-key, holistic solution.”
Shazam has 100 million monthly active users globally, and Shazam can offer a “frictionless” way to interact that crosses all publisher and media owner platforms – and removes the need to adopt the custom technology that each has developed separately, he said.
Technologies such as Viewa – the mobile app used by Bauer and Pacific Magazines to connect print titles with digital, and used by AdNews – offer a similar technology to scan magazine pages to link to additional digital content such as video.
“Publishers have existing solutions, and my aspiration would be to replace those. There are media companies that can do the same thing within the confines of their media, but we can do it across media. We have scale and we bring a known and much loved brand and tech solution,” said Sos.
Universal, which is promoting its Jurassic World movie release, can take a passive, static ad and get closer to the consumer, with scale, said Suzanne Stretton-Brown, marketing director at Universal Pictures. “The idea of being able to bring a static panel to life is very engaging. We’ve tried a few different image recognition technologies. QR codes are clunky, and every publisher has their own version of technology – but Shazam is ubiquitous. We don’t have to explain what to do, and the penetration of Shazam means it is second nature. In the world of print media, publishers have to create a better experience for the reader and have to make it easy and engaging; it has to be seamless,” she said.
It also gives advertisers data to measure and track interactions consumers have with campaigns though different media, and retarget.
If a consumer has interacted with a TV ad, then interacts with the connected print ad, the brand will know and be able to retarget digitally, including through Facebook’s platform, based on that behaviour. It will also feed into a brand’s attribution modelling, according to Shazam.
A basic four-week ‘Shazamable’ campaign, including TV, radio and cinema elements, would cost upwards of $30,000. He believes the appeal for advertisers is that for the cost of just one 15-second TV spot, a brand can add a layer of interaction
across an entire campaign.
The print/outdoor element is included in the package initially because, Sos said: “it’s a complete unknown, but we’re bullish about the revenue opportunities”.
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