Anyone who’s unsure that brands are interested in spending on social TV should take a hard look at the work Shazam has executed since launching “Shazam for TV” last year. Next weekend, as many as one-third of the Super Bowl ads will have some Shazamable component, the company says.
“No one else has come close to delivering as many unique campaigns, nor do they have our scale, with more than 175 million people who use Shazam,” said Andrew Fisher, Shazam’s Chief Executive Officer. “Shazam is the leader in second-screen interactive TV, and brands and producers are actively extending their engagement with our proven technology at scale, driving real impact.”
Three recent content partnerships include SyFy, USA and E! in partnership along with the car maker Lexus. Proof that Shazam’s user-base is extremely large and active can be seen by the fact that they were able to bring on the sponsor to, offer, “a chance to win trips for two to each of the three shows’ locations,” according to their release. Fans watching Being Human on SyFy, Psych on USA and The Soup on E! will be able to unlock content that includes, extra scenes, downloadable wall-paper and of course, the ability to share on Facebook and Twitter. Here are details from their release on the new Shazamable shows:
Being Human (Syfy) – The second season of Syfy’s hit original series, which premiered on Monday, January 16th, incorporates Shazam for TV. When people use Shazam while watching the show, they can see exclusive scenes from the next week’s episode, a track list of the songs featured in that night’s episode and wallpaper for their device. Additionally, Lexus is sponsoring a sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip for two to Boston, where the show is set. Being Human’s second season premiere rose 14 percent among Adults 25-54 compared to the season one debut.
Psych (USA) – Fan Favorite PSYCH returns to complete its winter season on Leap Day, February 29 at 10/9c, with this episode plus March 7, both Shazam-enabled, letting people watch show bloopers, browse a photo gallery of stars James Roday and Dulé Hill, and download wallpaper. They can also shop for merchandise featured on the show. A chance to win a trip for two to the show’s setting of Santa Barbara will be the Lexus feature sweepstakes for this program. In 2011, PSYCH delivered more P18-49 (2.31 million) and P18-34 (1.22 million) Live+7 viewers than ever before in its five year run.
The Soup (E!) – Shazam-enabled episodes on February 29 and March 7 at 10 p.m. EST and PST will give people links to exclusive clips from The Soup. When people use Shazam to tag the show, they can enter for a chance to win a trip for two to Los Angeles where they will go to a taping of The Soup, sponsored by Lexus.
Shazam’s strategy for TV has not been to try and instantly make everything on linear Shazamable. From years of letting users discover music, they know how frustrating it could be when your app can’t understand what’s playing. Instead of instantly trying to make everything on TV Shazamable, they’re strategically rolling out partnerships. Our big advice is to constantly remember that Shazam is know for music discovery. Music is a big part of TV and a big incentive to dabble in non-music related Shazamable content would be to include and promote music-related content as part of it.