It was only a question of time before Shazam made an appearance on travel advertising and it looks as if Expedia might lay claim to a first here.
It seems to be just a toe in the water and is part of the online travel agent's 'Find Your Spontaneity' ad campaign released in the US at the beginning of August and designed to promote Expedia's travel application.
As per the clip below, the Shazam symbol features in the ad and according to this article takes users to a fuller version of the advertisement as well as giving them another opportunity to download the app.
The OTA has said it is testing Shazam as a way to further engage users but has declined to comment further.
Shazam became popular as an app to help users find details about the music they were listening to but it is beginning to be used more widely in marketing.
Figures released by Shazam last week show the app has been used 10 billion times to 'discover and experience music, tv shows and ads.'
But, if you saw a Shazam symbol on an ad, how likely would you be to use the app and what would you expect to see when you did?
Expedia's latest campaign is supported by research on the influence of smartphones on travel plans and reveals:
- 28% of Americans have used their mobile device to book a hotel and 34% say they intend to
- of those who booked travel via their phones, 78% is fulfilled in less than a month
- about a third of Americans took out-of-town last minute trips
As part of this latest campaign, the OTA has also launched a
Trip A Day giveawayto further boost app downloads.The research was conducted by Harris Interactive in July 2013 on more than 2,000 US.