ITV to bring Shazam-enabled ads to UK

19 April 2012

Use your smartphone to interact with TV ads

Let's be honest, we all play with our phones when the TV is on. Usually to take to Twitter to vent our anger at whatever is showing on Saturday night. So Shazam-enabled ads just might take off.

ITV has announced a deal with Shazam, which will see ITV become the exclusive UK distributor for Shazam functionality in UK broadcast advertising. In short, Shazam-enabled ads.

ITV will offer advertisers the chance to have their traditional 30-second TV spots Shazam-enabled for the first time. If you have the right app, you'll be able to interact to enter competitions, get additional information about a brand or product, view additional special content or download free music. We suspect you'll be able to find out what tune is playing too.

It's not a world first. Shazam for TV has apparently been very successful in the US, where it has been used for ratings winners such as American Idol, the Grammy Awards and the Super Bowl. In the case of the latter, more than half of the advertisers chose to Shazam-enable their ads.

ITV group commercial sales director Simon Daglish said: '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. 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.'

Shazam CEO Andrew Fisher said: 'ITV is not only the largest commercial broadcaster in the UK, but has also established one of the leading sales organisations in the world.  We are delighted that ITV will be bringing Shazam-enabled ads to the UK market.  This will empower leading brands to connect with our millions of fans who will now be able to experience an extended engagement in one of the most convenient and innovative ways possible.'