Shazam has unveiled a new advertising metric which combines Nielsen viewing figures with its own Shazam interaction data to show how engaging TV ad spots are.

The number of Shazam smartphone tags during a participating company’s ad are divided by the number of viewers to determine how many people interacted. This metric will now be used by its advertising partners, which have included more than 150 global brands, like Pepsi, Barclays and Sony to determine engagement levels.

Speaking about the launch, which was done at Cannes Lions, Shazam CEO Rich Riley said this would help advertisers to optimise their ad spend around their most successful placements. “By showing brands where they are seeing actual engagement – not just viewers, but people who are leaning in and asking for more information – Shazam is able to provide an entirely new service to advertisers: measurement and accountability on how effectively an ad campaign connects with the target audience.”

Shazam is used by 95m people in the US and 325m worldwide in 200 countries. It says it is adding 2m more every week. “This is a win-win proposition for consumers and advertisers,” Riley continued. “Consumers have a one-tap, immediate way to get more information, receive special offers, and even shop on the spot with their mobile device. And, Shazaming a TV ad is also a great way to save it for later, essentially bookmarking it.”