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Goosebumps activates in-theater experience via Shazam for more fun

Sony Pictures is giving fans a full-immersion experience for its upcoming Goosebump?s film by serving extra content and a sweepstakes to Shazam users who turn on the application during the film?s credits.  

Film viewers who pull up Shazam while the credits are rolling will be treated to a bevvy of exclusive content through its app to continue the experience even after the film has ended. Sony Pictures is hoping to engage with fans and increase lasting publicity surrounding the film. 

"Sony Pictures clearly gets the IoT process, the partnership with Shazam is enabling a demographic that has grown up in the digital age with the ability to Shazam the credits once they have watched what is surely a much anticipated movie called Goosbumps, given the popularity of the books globally," said Marci Troutman, CEO of SiteMinis. "The important thing to note about the brilliance of this marketing strategy is that Sony has recognized the under 15 demographic where an extremely high percentage of these young teens were born into the Information Age and will immediately get how to unlock the content to win the prizes. 

"I would anticipate that this promotion will have quite a few studios mimicking the strategy in the upcoming years," she said. 

Shazam capability 
The film studio partnered with Shazam for the extra film content to provide a unique experience in an attempt to create a lasting impression on consumers. Following the screening of the film, users pull up the Shazam app and click the button to allow it to register the audio playing through the speakers. 

Users will then have a chance to enter the Shazam the Credits Sweepstakes, in which the grand prizewinner will receive a personalized custom art piece created by original Goosebumps? series illustrator Tim Jacobus and $3,000 in cash. Entry acceptance will end on October 26. 

During the credits a logo will pop up on screen prompting theater goers to turn their mobile devices back on and use the Shazam app. Once it listens to the audio, a pop-up entry form will show itself for users to complete. 

The film is a screen adaption of the classic children books series Goosebumps by author R.L. Stine staring Jack Black. The movie will release to theaters on October 16. 

The Shazam experience was unveiled at Comic Con with actor Jack Black, director Rob Letterman, and co-stars Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, and Ryan Lee. 

The partnership shows the growing evaluation between mobile devices and on-location activations. Numerous retailers, brands and other marketers are developing unique experiences with mobile phones, as the devices allow for interesting and engaging activations. 

Shazam success
As the time spent with applications is increasingly relegated to a choice few, narrowly focused offerings such as Shazam and Fandango raced to broaden their appeal and leverage their initial success for a more meaningful role in consumers? lives (see more). 

Target gave consumers a new way to explore and purchase its products through a partnership with Shazam, with users of the application able to scan any print or television ad to access shoppable content (see more). 

"Pre-teens love to engage a process with their phones, especially when it is including a movie that was made after following a hugely successful run of books that are read globally," Ms. Troutman said.  "The awareness of the film is most likely already anticipated with rotten tomatoes giving it an 80 percent and a 95 wanting to see rating, with this promotion being activated at the end of the movie, the word of mouth following the release is sure to drive even further traffic, especially as winners are announced following the social media on this win-win strategy will be fun."

Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer