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Shazam coming to 200 shopping malls
The Shazam mobile app will now bring shoppers and advertisers even closer together at ground zero for the retail experience, the shopping mall, via digital signage.
November 20, 2014 by Christopher Hall — w, t
The Shazam mobile app will now bring shoppers and advertisers even closer together at ground zero for the retail experience, the shopping mall, via digital signage.
The music-recognition app and Adspace Networks Inc. this week announced a partnership to bring Shazamable advertisements to more than 200 shopping malls nationwide via the Adspace Digital Mall Network. The partnership will enable Adspace Networks to enhance video campaigns with a fully customizable second-screen content experience through the Shazam app, changing the way users interact with the retail environment, according to an announcement from Adspace.
"At Shazam, our goal is to put the power of discovery into the hands of our millions of users wherever they are — whether it's at home or on the go," Shazam CEO Rich Riley said in the announcement. "With our latest launch, we're excited to move into the mall environment for the first time, offering a whole platform for brands and consumers to connect in a meaningful way."
Reaching consumers' smartphones and making the transition from the big (digital signage) screen to the little (mobile) screen are huge twin targets for brands, advertisers and digital signage providers. And this partnership will help make that happen with reduced friction, Adspace CMO Bill Ketcham said in an email.
"For location-based video, this is a great outlet to send enhanced content and customer interaction. Shazam definitely reduces friction and we know how important that is … especially in the mall environment, as people are on the move," he said. "Part of the reduced 'friction' is the incidence of the app; with over 150 million users, odds are very good that the Adspace viewer will already have it (especially the millennial demographic)."
And in order to reduce even that limited friction, Adspace also is creating spots to explain how Shazam works in conjunction with the Smart Screens, particularly the availability of the Shazam ultrasonic tone (which is how it identifies which content to pull up), he said.
Adspace Networks reaches 58 million unique shoppers each month through video advertising on 2,800 screens nationwide, the company says. With the rollout of this partnership, these shoppers will now be able to Shazam advertisements for more information and engagement, allowing for exclusive offers and added content. Shazam's ultrasonic watermark technology will be available on both the network's floor-mounted and aerial screens, within a range of up to 40 feet.
For advertisers, this integration offers a new and customizable way to connect their brands directly with millions of Shazam users, Adspace said. The inaudible-to-human-ears Shazam ultrasonic signal is active whether a commercial is airing or not, so the mobile experience is always available to a mall shopper, according to the announcement.
"For television networks, Shazam can put a reminder to view a new show into their calendar," Ketcham said. "For retailers, a coupon can be delivered immediately. Shazam can even execute purchases, including movie tickets."
And the news already is drawing the attention of advertisers and potential advertisers. "We are already planning a pilot program with Accuweather, promoting downloads of their 'weather by minute' app," Ketcham said. "Additionally, a very large department store is considering adding it to a holiday campaign that has already been booked.
The digital signage provider ComQi had previously integrated Shazam into its offering, and the app also has been integrated into a variety of television ads, but this is another step in bringing digital signage, advertising and smartphones closer together — potentially bypassing clunky NFC- and QR code-based mobile interactions.
"The marriage of mobile and location-based video just makes sense," Adspace CEO Dominick Porco said in the announcement. "Now, through our partnership with Shazam, we are able to offer our advertisers a seamless way to retarget their ads and extend their content to consumers' smartphones."
(Photo courtesy of Shazam.)
