Shazam for TV arrives in SA with J&B campaign up first

If you spend a reasonable amount of time on app stores, you’ve probably at least heard of Shazam. Maybe you’ve even used its smartphone app, which allows you to identify ‘that’ radio song that you just don’t know or can’t remember the name of. Well its Shazam for TV service is now live in South Africa.

The Shazam for TV service, which makes TV advertisements interactive on people’s mobile devices via the Shazam app, has been integrated into advertisements in the US, UK, Western Europe and Asia Pacific by global A-List brands such as Sony, Procter & Gamble, Pepsi, Toyota, and Unilever.

In South Africa, Shazam will be represented by specialist mobile agency AdVine, selling both Shazam for TV advertising as well as in-app advertising opportunities.

Miles Lewis, Vice President of Ad Sales at Shazam, said “We are delighted to work with AdVine to offer the Shazam for TV service in the South African market. This will empower leading consumer brands to connect with millions of Shazam users who will be able to experience an extended engagement using their smart phones – one of the newest, most convenient and innovative ways possible.”

The first campaign launching this week is for J&B scotch whiskey. When viewers use Shazam as they see the commercial, they will be able to view the full “Made different with DJ Sbu” video. Exclusive track downloads and drink recipes are to follow in the second phase of the campaign.

“Shazam is without doubt one of the most exciting publishers to launch in SA,” says AdVine CEO Sarah Utermark “We’ve seen a growing demand from brands and agencies wanting to explore ways to integrate TV with mobile, and Shazam provides the perfect platform to achieve this. The last 12 months has been about positioning Shazam as a premium publisher in South Africa, as well as educating brands on the possibilities of mobile, I see this as a natural move towards a fully integrated mobile offering and is great fit with our strategy at AdVine”.

“The interest shown towards Shazam’s new TV offering has been overwhelming. Both traditional and digital-centric agencies were quick to understand its value to the brand and consumer. That being said, we have to applaud Brandhouse, JWT and Notabene for coming aboard in an “untested market”, says Hannes Prinsloo, Creative Director at AdVine.

TV ad campaigns that include the on-screen Shazam prompt connect viewers to great information and special offers on their favourite products and services. Shazam has been integrated into more than 400 campaigns worldwide to create a custom second-screen interactive experience that helps brands achieve their goal of consumer awareness, engagement and commerce. Shazam claims that it extends engagement, turning a 30-second ad into several minutes of engagement with a brand. The selling point being that, since the tag lives on in the tag result list, people can take that extra content with them, wherever they go, and come back to it again and again.

Shazam also claims that it makes it easy for people to share their discoveries with their friends on Facebook using the Shazam Friends feature, as well as on Twitter and Google+. For people who don’t yet have the Shazam application on their smartphone, it is available for free on every major platform and can be found on iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store, Nokia Store, Windows Phone Marketplace, and BlackBerry World.