The Disney folks are no dummies to what is profitable as well as mastering the capacity to build a huge passionate crowd of followers that they can sell to over and over.
Disney buyers are active, and despite the economy, just keep on spending.
Disney builds EXPERIENCES and RELATIONSHIPS to create an iron clad fence around their herd.
As I was enjoying my Christmas Day with my family, I was also watching the ABC broadcast of the Disney Christmas parade. I'm a member of two Disney exclusive clubs,when word spread quickly throughout those communities in the preceding weeks of how Disney was going to use MOBILE MARKETING during the actual broadcast.
So I had to watch.
I wasn't the only one!
Disney partnered with Shazam to make the broadcast engaging- an effective tool to increase conversions.
Exclusive footage and behind he scenes video was available if you used your smartphone and the Shazam app when it appeared on the screen.
While we watched, we interacted, and also studied how Disney effectively placed TV commercials in all their advertising slots during the broadcast for their parks and vacation destination.
They had the whole package.
Here's an article from Mobile Marketing also showcasing what Disney did to create tremendous results/revenues on a day when most stores where closed.
~ Dr. Ginger Bratzel, The Mobile Marketing Dentist www.MobileMarketingForDentists.com
Disney Parks lets consumers interact with their favorite stars via Shazam partnership
By Rimma Kats
December 27, 2011
Shazam, San Francisco.
Disney Parks has partnered with Shazam to let consumers engage and unlock exclusive content via a new interactive campaign.
Disney Parks is incorporating the Shazam for TV service with the festive Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade on ABC-TV to give viewers a special way to experience the popular event. On Christmas Day, users can use the Shazam app to view behind-the-scenes footage of their favorite stars.
“The strategy is to make Disney's Christmas Day Parade more engaging for fans and give them a whole new way to interact with the events and its stars,” said David Jones, executive vice president of marketing at “This demonstrates yet another way that Shazam for TV can be incorporated into any kind of program, whether it be a TV series, advertisement or special event,” he said.
“Shazam's audio recognition technology incorporates the Shazam for TV service with the festive Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade on ABC-TV to give viewers a special way to experience the popular annual event and allows fans the opportunity to unlock exclusive content only available to Shazamers.
Shazam is a mobile discovery company, enabling people to experience and share content across mobile devices and the Internet.
Mobile content
Users can unlock behind-the-scenes footage with band OneRepublic, check out a sneak preview of Luigi’s Flying Tires – part of Disney’s upcoming Cars Land at Disney California Adventure and a build-your-own gingerbread cookie experience, as well as a photo gallery of Santa on vacation.
Additionally, this year’s parade is hosted by Nick Cannon from Disneyland Resort, Mario Lopez at Walt Disney World Resort, with co-host Maria Menounos and features Justin Bieber, the stars of “A.N.T Farm” and Christina Aguilera.
“We’re getting the word out about this new campaign through media outreach, direct outreach to U.S. Shazamers and social media, including the Shazam blog, Shazam’s Facebook page and on Twitter,” Mr. Jones said.
“Additionally, Disney is also doing outreach via their social media channels,” he said.
Past efforts
Disney Parks is not the first company partnering with Shazam.
Earlier this year, cable television network Spike TV partnered with Shazam for the fifth annual Guys Choice Awards to engage mobile viewers with exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
Most recently, Twentieth Century Fox used Shazam to connect Glee fans with extra content for watching their favorite movie.
Fox has enabled the new release of Glee: The Concert Movie with Shazam tags. Using the technology, users can pause and rewind the movie to unlock extra content.
The new Disney Parks and Shazam campaign helps both companies reach a broader audience and engage them.
“Shazam and Disney both know how passionate and engaged fans are watching the Christmas Day Parade and both are excited to offer an opportunity that benefits the ultimate fans of both the Shazam app and Disney's annual parade with additional content their most interested in,” Mr. Jones said.
Final Take
Rimma Kats is staff reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York
Staff Reporter Rimma Kats covers media, television, research and social networks. Reach her at rimma@mobilemarketer.com.