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UK broadcaster ITV has partnered with audio-recognition app Shazam to offer second screen extensions for its on-air ad campaigns, in a deal that marks Shazam’s first push into the European TV market.
The exclusive deal establishes ITV as the only UK broadcaster to be able to make their 30 second TV ad spots ‘Shazamable’, allowing users with the Shazam mobile app to click to interact and get additional information about a product or brand.
The deal is the first European TV deal that the firm has signed and follows the rollout of ‘Shazam for TV’ in the US, which started with a trial around the Superbowl in 2010.
The firm claims that more than half the advertisers in this year’s Superbowl ran ads that were Shazam-enabled and noted major traction for the app around other shows and events, such as the Grammy Awards and Amercian Idol.
However, in the US, the firm does not have a similar exclusive deal in place, instead opting to working direct with different brands and broadcasters, notably NBCUniversal’s Syfy, Bravo and Oxygen.
“Shazam’s audio-recognition technology is at the forefront of the second screen movement which is transforming the way consumers interact with content including advertising,” said ITV’s commercial sales director Simon Daglish.
“This exciting and exclusive partnership means that ITV is able to offer customers a real first for UK media and allow brands to innovate their spot campaigns and connect directly with audiences on a large scale.”
The deal marks the growing interest in the second screen app space, after Sky took a 10% stake social TV service Zeebox earlier this year, striking an exclusive ad inventory relationship as part of the arrangement.
Shazam was founded in 2000 and launched in 2002 as a mobile service designed to recognise songs.
