Using Shazam to Engage Consumers

On a radio ad this morning, I heard something I have never heard before.  A retailer was promoting a sale of watches and didn't start trying to say as many numbers and words possible within their 30 seconds.

Instead, they gave the premise of the sale (30% discount on designer watches) and directed people to use Shazam to be linked to a page with the full details.

Shazam is normally used to find out the name of songs.  Hold your phone to the speaker and after a couple of seconds it will tell you the name of the song and artist, show the YouTube video and link out for you to buy it on iTunes.

But this usage is great innovation as marketers constantly struggle with two major issues;

1. Having too much to say
2. Getting consumers to go beyond the ad

This addresses both issues.  By using Shazam, they don't have to ramble on about the details of the offer.  The page they are linking to can do that.  The app can recognize the digital signature of the ad and direct people accordingly.

They can measure the success of the radio ad in directing consumers to their website (which hopefully includes a deal specific landing page)

Other mechanisms like QR codes and URL shorteners also do a great job of accomplishing this.  The starting point is different (poster or tweet), but the resulting engagement is the same.

There will be an issue with people getting their phone out, starting the app and tagging the ad which may result in some missed opportunities.  But they are still way farther ahead than rattling off all the deals and hoping people go to their store or website later.