[Newsmaker] Hannes Prinsloo from Shazam

Prinsloo was previously the managing partner for sub-Saharan Africa at Opera Mediaworks, before moving to Shazam. He brings with him 10 years of experience in the digital and mobile marketing industry.

What will your first order of business be?

Prinsloo: The days of Shazam being a straightforward media placement platform are over. Because we play across myriad of channels these days, we want to make sure that brands and third-party companies understand the complete Shazam offering, so that we can make the most of our relationships and work closely together to make great work happen.

That’s why we’ll be organising, and embarking on, a comprehensive roadshow to display all of the creative and strategic possibilities that stem from, what has become, a powerful platform. We are also looking forward to showcasing some of our best global work with local creative agencies and sharing deeper data-driven insights with SA’s media specialists.

How does it feel to be working for such a big company as Shazam?

Prinsloo: Although Shazam’s reach is far and its impact significant, we currently only have about 240 employees worldwide. At its core, the company has massive ambitions, but it still operates in the same way that many startups do. Personal relationships matter, so we’re proud to say we work with our egos aside, keeping the interests like job satisfaction and happiness top of mind. There’s a great culture of open communication across the entire company. It’s great.

How do you plan on promoting Shazam to consumers in SA?

Prinsloo: Shazam relies greatly on organic growth. In an emerging market like South Africa, it’s not hard to see that the uptake of smartphones across all earning segments is healthy. By creating campaigns and engagements that live in the lives of our consumer, and considering the added bonus of being featured as one of the top smartphone apps since the first iPhone, we’re confident that the application has a big role to play in the development of content consumption in South Africa.

Tell us more about the Shazam for Brands offering?

Prinsloo: Shazam is the go to app for music discovery. Users love its simple, “magic functionality” and they’re using it to find and connect to the exact content that they’re after. Furthermore, most Shazam users (even in South Africa) use the app to purchase the content that they find via the app.

By using audio, visual and beacon technology, we can pretty much make anything Shazamable - from TVC and radio to packaging, outdoor, print. We’re even able to create triggers at live events for people to engage with.

The latest offering that we will be launching, as part of Shazam for brands, is the comprehensive visual trigger. Although QR codes have succeeded in other markets, they have failed in South Africa. Using the camera function within Shazam overcomes both of the main challenges that QR code based apps face:

1. Users don't need to download a specialised app to interact with data.2. QR codes are visually unattractive. With Shazam you don't need to change designs to create triggers; the app can recognise and trigger off of anything you want it to.

What is your main business challenge?

Prinsloo: Our greatest business challenges derive from an age old problem within digital. At the moment, brands and agencies are just beginning to consider Shazam at the start of their strategies - while birthing creative concepts. With the remarkable growth of the smartphone market (and the Shazam app) across all segments of South Africa - there is a world of creative innovation just waiting to be tapped into.

Brands and agencies are always talking about both the reach and the impact of creative work. Another issue we’re facing at the moment is that, even though the ways we create and interact with media have evolved, there aren’t adequate considerations in place with how we measure the quality of each interaction. Shazam is a platform with cross device interaction and content consumption at its very core - without new ways of quantifying this value, it’s hard for brands and agencies to appreciate its potential.

What inspires you?

Prinsloo: One of the main reasons that I am in this industry is the innovation that comes with the territory. I am constantly fueled by the ingenious branding, creative ideas and consumer insights that drive our industry forward. Every so often, we find ourselves creating work that sits in the sweet-spot where creativity and technology collide. It’s all about the product - all about the work. My paycheque is just something that allows me to keep doing what I love.

Tell us something about yourself not generally known?

Prinsloo: I basically live my life with a soundtrack. No matter where I go or what I’m doing, I always have my favourite music with me. The more I listen, the more I appreciate. I’ve always believed that good music makes life so much better.

What's at the top of your bucket list?

Prinsloo: I have always been fascinated with language - for personal and professional reasons. Because of that, I would love to learn both French and Spanish fluently. Second on the list? I’d like to live in summer for 12 months of the year, but then again, who wouldn’t?