Just the app to find that tune

TELEPRINTER:WE'RE ALL familiar with the alcohol brands, retail chains, sugary drink companies and car giants that pick a song and then batter us over the head with it during the pre-Christmas commercial breaks.

They’ll be doing the same this year – only this time some will include on-screen prompts inviting Irish viewers to Shazam the advertisement.

Shazamming the ad means tapping the tag in the Shazam app on mobiles or tablets not only to identify and get an iTunes link for the music being played – the traditional use for Shazam – but also to find links to brand information, special offers and anything that can be classed under the umbrella term of “engagement”.

Adforce.ie, which has partnered Shazam to distribute its technology to the Irish market, believes these prompts will "add a layer of accountability" to television advertising.

"It will start with the blue-chip companies which have already used Shazam in their advertising in the US and the UK. We expect to have a good few trial campaigns in the run-up to Christmas," says Kevin Foley, commercial director at Adforce.ie.

Foley describes Shazam prompts as “just QR codes with sound”, which might not sound like a ringing endorsement for its potential given the lacklustre levels of consumer response to QR codes to date. On the plus side, the Shazam app has already been downloaded more than 500,000 times in Ireland.