You are watching a movie or you are in a bar and you don’t know the name of a song? Just ‘Shazam It!’. Shazam is very likely an app you already know. It is a very helpful app which listens for a few seconds to an unknown song and it will then give you the song name. I used it multiple times to find out the title of a song. In bars, cafés, clubs, in movies, youtube videos, and much more. Everywhere you hear a song you don’t know but want to know you use Shazam.
Recognizing music or sounds might already be recognized as a part of the larger area of augmented reality. Shazam moved from recognizing music to sounds in movies, advertisement spots, and much more. In 2015 the company introduced “visual Shazam” which already allowed you to identify any product you can imagine like movies and TV shows.
Shazam Introduces real phone-based AR
Yesterday, on March 6th, Shazam introduced a new AR feature in its app. It is mostly targeting advertisers who know may use Shazam-Codes to start an AR animation, AR game, video, and more. Shazam is introducing a product which already a few other AR companies desperately tried to bring to the mass market. But Shazam is coming with a huge advantage. Shazam already has a strong user base with hundreds of millions of downloads and millions of users. When large companies start advertising by using the well-known Shazam Logo customers might finally pick up their phone and scan the code to enjoy a new AR-marketing experience.
Snapchat, Shazam and Augmented Reality Technology
Snapchat is already partly an augmented reality company. Shazam now officially joined the club. And the most noteworthy: They joined a partnership. Last December Snapchat introduced Shazam as an in-app functionality to identify the songs you are currently listening to. If you are sending a snap you can now add a filter which shows the song and you can share it with your friends! This perfect partnership is a gateway for Shazam to get more teenagers and younger users as customers.
Shazam introduces AR and Thanks to their huge User Base it might Work
Shazam is indeed transforming to become a real AR company. Their new in-app features and their partnership with Snapchat mark their efforts to become a number one AR advertising company. Shazam is already a top rated application with a large user base. This puts Shazam in a perfect starting position to explore and introduce AR marketing to the masses. The only question left will be whether and how people will adopt and use phone-based AR technology. I think this will hardly happen.
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