Moviegoers “Shazam-for-Tickets” with TV Commercials for “Men in Black™ 3”

Audiences tag the ad to purchase tickets via their phones or tablets

Los Angeles – May 24, 2012 - Shazam®, the world’s leading media discovery company, is teaming up with Sony Pictures Entertainment to make it easier than ever before for movie fans to get tickets to the most highly anticipated summer movies. Whenever people see a television ad for Men in Black™ 3 – in theaters this Friday, May 25 – they will be able to use the Shazam App to easily purchase tickets to see the movie.  The exclusive partnership between Sony Pictures and Shazam will continue throughout the summer as moviegoers will be able to use Shazam to get tickets from Fandango, unlock additional content such as exclusive footage, and purchase DVDs and soundtracks for films such as The Amazing Spider-Man™ and Total Recall.

During the week leading up to the release of each film, audiences will see television ads featuring the Shazam prompt.  Moviegoers can then use the Shazam App on their smartphones or tablets to tag the commercials for a quick and easy link to purchase tickets for a nearby theater.  This marks the first time that TV commercials will be tagged with a “Shazam for tickets” message.

“’Shazam-for-Tickets’ is a great way to help connect Sony Pictures with their most active moviegoers,” said Shazam’s EVP Advertising Sales, Evan Krauss.  “In addition to giving movie fans a way to get more information about the movies they really want to see, now it’s easier than ever for them to get show times and tickets to the theaters in their neighborhood without having to stand in long lines.”

Dwight Caines, Sony’s President, Worldwide Digital Marketing, added, “Over the past few years, we’ve seen a huge growth in mobile ticketing, and this initiative creates a bridge with broadcast reach and local transactions.  For today’s audiences, there’s a direct connection between television and online as audiences are engaged in two screens at once.  Using Shazam to purchase tickets directly from Fandango is a great way to build and expand upon that – it helps moviegoers quickly and easily get the tickets to the movies they most want to see.”

This exclusive partnership will run for throughout the summer and will include many of the Sony Pictures major releases.

For people who don't yet have the Shazam application on their smartphone, it is available for every major platform and can be found on iTunes App Store, Google play, Amazon App Store, AT&T’s AppCenter, Verizon VCast app store, Nokia Store, Windows Phone Marketplace, BlackBerry App World, and GetJar.