Movie advertising network National CineMedia (NCM) announced Wednesday that it has partnered with Shazam Entertainment, aiming toward mobile interactivity in its ads.
The deal is one of several mobile and video content partnerships that NCM announced at an upfront presentation, according to MediaPost.
The advertising network has also partnered with Maker Studios and The Grammy Awards.
NCM, the biggest cinema advertising company, also introduced an updated version of its FirstLook pre-show program, which runs before movies start, The Wall Street Journal reported. The new preshow will launch this weekend on about 20,000 movie screens.
The company said changes were made so advertisers would be able to better integrate their brands into the show.
The FirstLook preshow runs in AMC, Regal and Cinemark theaters, Tech Crunch reported.
The segments include ads with behind-the-scenes videos that promote TV shows and movies.
NCM is said it is looking to use Shazam's media-recognition app to make the preshow completely "Shazamable". Viewers would be able to use Shazam to get more information on what they are watching. Advertisers would be able to deliver offers or digital content to patron's phones. The company plans for the features to be released fully in September, Variety reported.
"This is a very new twist for us- we spent years telling people, 'No, don't use your phone in the theater!'" said Cliff Marks, president of sales and marketing for NCM. "We are going to do a very good job telling people that it's OK to use it before the movie, but not during the show."
The company said 85 percent of moviegoers use their smartphones before planning to see a movie to check showtimes, watch trailers and buy tickets.
Marks stated that NCM will make sure it doesn't "over-commercialize" its mixture of programming, according to Variety.
"We are going to find that happy medium that brands associate with Hollywood and the movies, and that our customers find interesting and engaging," he said. "It can't just be an infomercial."
