Shazam Launches its First Industry Awards in the Arab Region with Connect Ads

Mobilk - Shazam, one of the top 20  most popular apps globally and Connect Ads, a leading digital media and technology solutions provider and a subsidiary of OTVentures, have launched "The Shazam-Connect Ads Awards", the first industry awards  in the Arab region. 

Leading agencies and brands were celebrated in the first edition of the regional awards which took place at Meydan Beach Club in Dubai. With more than 150 guests attending the ceremony, Josh Partridge, Director, EMEA Latin American and Canada at Shazam, delivered the welcome note and presented the awards with Mohamed Megahed Regional Director at Connect Ads, followed by George Skaff, GCC Head of Sales at Connect ads who introduced the awards to the guests.

Awards were received by Initiative for its KFC Ronaldo campaign, OMD for its Pepsi Football Experience campaign, and MEC for its Jaguar XF, Jaguar Land Rover Ltd campaign and NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto’s Melody campaign. 

Through the app, Shazam has expanded the reach of the media industry to consumers around the world and in the region. With the new marketing platform in place, brands are using music and extending their reach beyond the TV spots in various interactive ways. Brands value Shazams platform whose charts have been predicting the number one songs 43 days ahead of the music industrys Billboard Charts.

Mohamed El Mehairy, Managing Director Connect Ads said: "Our partnership with Shazam provides agencies and brands in the region with innovative ways to expand their reach. With over 475 million users globally, Shazam has truly become a superpower in this digital age. It is very popular amongst the mobile and tablet users, providing brands with a unique platform and engaging users with rewarding experiences. Recording 500 Million downloads daily, Shazam has become one of the top 20 apps globally. Its mobile users consist of over 100 million every month, sending out around 1 billion Shazams every 6 weeks."

Josh Partridge said: “Together with Connect Ads, we have committed to deliver the best experience to TV viewers and consumers in the region. The campaigns have created millions of branded interactions that have engaged consumers with brands. With more advertisers using the Shazam platform to expand their reach in the region, campaigns deliver a 350 percent increase in engagement through content, information, coupons or giveaways." 

Shazam app was first created as a tool for users to discover music. The app now runs on any smartphone or tablet and automatically recognises music, media and ad spots playing on nearby machines. Shazam is also used to connect people with the world around them by displaying additional information. The app can be used to extend a brand pitch beyond the TV spot. For example, TV viewers who “Shazam” a 15-second commercial showing the exterior of a car racing by, can then be automatically taken to a two-minute tour of the interior, by mobile device, thus animating the experience, extending the exposure and engaging the viewers with the brand.