Shazam goes from audio to visual, exciting travelers (and advertisers)

As with most techno fiends, my first exposure to music app Shazam elicited a semi-stupified “whoaaa” for its ability to pull music right from air and provide, with surprising accuracy, the details of the track. Now one of the key smartphone staples, the app counts 100 million active users per month.

Shazam’s next quantum leap moves it from the audio to the visual and has road warriors buzzing everywhere. Taking the same “recognition” element of its core function, it wants you to start waving your phone at what you see for information, not just what you hear. For travelers, this opens up the possibility of integrating more closely with a destination and unlocking interactive content, special offers, and even the ability to purchase items.

Shazam has, in fact, already dabbled in travel, joining with Expedia in 2013 during its “Find Your Spontaneity” ad campaign to promote the online travel agency’s mobile app. When Shazamed, the 30-second commercial led users to a nearly 3-minute version (which, of course, everybody wants), plus a download link of the Expedia Mobile app.

Moving to the visual, however, opens tremendous possibilities in travel that Shazam hopes to exploit. Clues to the means and method can be found in the May announcement of its foray into visual recognition, which revealed partnerships with companies like Disney, Target, HarperCollins, Evian, and several major media publications, all of which will roll out Shazamable content.

Admittedly, at this juncture, it's a bit disheartening that the greater integration promised appears to be more with advertising than the environment, which is understandably profitable, but dashes my hopes of waving my phone at some unknown Flemish castle on the horizon to unlock its history, architecture, and visiting hours.