ARCHIVES: This is legacy content from before Marketing Dive acquired Mobile Marketer in early 2017. Some information, such as publication dates, may not have migrated over. Check out the new Marketing Dive site for the latest marketing news.

Shazam updates app to retarget users post engagement

With more than 700,000 Shazams during the Super Bowl and a revamped iOS application, Shazam is placing itself as an attractive option for second-screen marketing by providing its growing user base with added value.

During the Super Bowl, Shazam recognized all of the ads for the first time ever, with Chevrolet and Jaguar leading the way with top-Shazamed ads. Following the success of these second-screen engagements, Shazam announced a new look for its iPhone app.

?Shazam for TV advertising enables our 400+ million users globally to tap one button in the Shazam app, and in a few seconds, arrive at a mobile-optimized experience built specifically for the brand campaign,? said Peter Szabo, vice president and head of music and west ad sales at Shazam, New York.

?We have already done 450 TV ad campaigns from A-list global brands, and we are now building the platform to make Shazaming a commercial only the beginning,? he said. ?Going forward, we will now be able to retarget any user who has Shazamed a specific commercial.

?For example, if someone Shazams a Jaguar campaign, we will be able to not just give them a custom message to complement the TV commercial, but be able to reach back out to those users in the following weeks to help Jaguar continue their messaging.?

Shazamed ads
A number of features that Shazam rolled out in advance of the Super Bowl led to a successful round of tagging commercials with the app.

First of all, the app added a timeline feature for the Super Bowl that enabled viewers to keep up with all the key performances, ads, plays and tweets during the game. Additionally, all of the ads during the Super Bowl were recognized by Shazam, so viewers could watch them again and then share them via social media.

Shazam also launched an Auto Shazam feature that works in the background so viewers did not have to miss a minute of the Super Bowl. More than 90,000 ? or nearly 15 percent of the identifications ? were generated by Auto Shazam during the Super Bowl.

Some other Super Bowl-specific features were playlists from the teams? cities and a playlist of the half time show starring Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, along with exclusive world premiere track downloads.

Additionally, Bud Light gave away 500,000 tracks of the new AfroJack single, ?Ten Feet Tall,? and Jaguar offered an exciting British Villain experience that correlated to the commercials. Viewers could also access videos of Bruno Mars and purchase tickets to his concerts via the app.

After the half time show, the most Shazamed moments during the Super Bowl were Chevrolet?s ?Life? spot and Jaguar?s ?Rendezvous? spot. Bud Light?s ?Cool Twist,? Bank of America?s U2 spot and Budweiser?s ?A Hero?s Welcome? were also among the top-Shazamed ads during the Super Bowl.

In advance of the Super Bowl, Shazam reminded its users about the special Super Bowl features via its in-app newsfeed.

Updated look
Following the action of the Super Bowl, Shazam decided to give its iPhone app an updated look that is meant to help users engage more deeply with the music and television they discover in the app. Shazam plans to roll out a similar update to its Android app in the near future.

The app now provides easy access to viewing, buying and sharing a track. It also provides quick access to lyrics with a preview for the track.

Additionally, users can easily access the music video and related videos of song, as well as new, unique recommendations.

With Shazam?s increasing user base and growing app, marketers can tap into the technology for second-screen engagement that connects to TV commercials and programming. There is only so much information a marketer can pack into a TV spot, and they can connect with Shazam to offer additional content.

One of the major problems with second-screen marketing is that consumers are not used to interacting with some of the second-screen apps and sites, and the commercials are too quick to educate them on-the-spot. With Shazam, however, consumers seem to be getting more and more used to the app functioning in tandem with other media, so this could provide an easy way for marketers to reach TV viewers.

??Second screen?, but more specifically Shazam being used in conjunction with TV, is the quickest way for TV viewers to get more information,? Mr. Szabo said. ?It's the app that's likely already on their phone, and one they know how to use because they Shazam often.

?According to research done by NPD, one of the top activities that people want to do when watching television is get more information about the products they see advertised,? he said. ?What we have observed is that people who use their smartphones or tablets to engage with advertising are three times as likely to interact further with the brand, twice as likely to talk about the brand, and have a greater future intent and brand affinity.

?Also, beyond that, brands have seen the success we've had and realize we're one of a handful of apps their target consumers use on an ongoing basis. We have scale that few others can offer, and the behavior of Shazaming TV has now been around for three years. They're trusting that the programs we put together are no longer early adopter experiments, but a true extension of their TV strategy.?

Final Take
Rebecca Borison is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York