The retailer is the official fashion partner for Fashion Rocks, which takes place on Sept. 9. During the event, viewers will be able to shop for the fashions presented during the runway portion of the show from their mobile phones either through the Shazam application or by going directly to the site macys.com/fashionrocks.

“For the first time during the Fashion Rocks show, as people are watching the event, they will be able start browsing it through the Shazam app that will then take you to macys.com to shop live or they can also go to macys.com directly,” said Orlando Veras, director of national media relations at Macy’s Inc., New York.

Second-screen viewing
Fashion Rocks is working with Shazam to bring additional content to viewers during the show. As part of this implementation, Macy’s content will be available in the second-screen app.

This is the first time Macy’s has partnered with both Fashion Rocks and Shazam.

The Macy’s content will include information about the fall fashion trends and the trends presented during the show. Users will also see information about the shop live component enabling them to click through and buy items of interest.

When users click through to the macys.com/fashionrocks landing page, which is mobile optimized, they will also be able to browse the retailer’s fall fashion catalog, view digital videos and pictures as well as use a style mixer tool enabling them to tweak individual looks.

All of the content is mobile enabled.

“The Shazam activation as you are watching the TV show is kind of the gateway to all of that content that we are providing to our customers,” Mr. Veras said.

“Shazam is one of the most widely used apps out there and we know that folks, when they are watching a live event, a big event moment that happens once a year like this, they are doing so while they are browsing on their mobile phones or their tablet,” he said.

“We have all this additional content as the fashion partner. It makes sense for us to then be able to make that content more widely available and accessible during the show, especially since this is the first time that the runway collection that is being presented, viewers are able to then, if they like something, go ahead and buy it.”

The Shazam app.

Fall rocks
Macy’s partnership with Fashion Rocks extends beyond the airing of the program to playing a key role in the retailer’s overarching fall marketing campaign. Fashion Rocks will be theme of these efforts appearing inside stores, in advertising and elsewhere.

The Fashion Rocks effort from Macy’s is the latest example of how the retailer continues to test new ways to incorporate mobile into its marketing efforts.

For example, Macy’s recently used mobile video for its back-to-school campaign by requesting user submissions for chances to win prizes for their schools (see story).

These efforts appear to be paying off for the retailer, with Macy’s increasing its brand value by 383 percent in the past year in part by how quickly it has responded to shoppers’ new digital behavior and become a leader in omnichannel retailing, according to a recent report from Interbrand (see story).

The retailer continues the trend with its fall marketing campaign, for which digital and mobile are a big part.

“Digital is a big portion of the campaign,” Mr. Veras said. “We are leveraging the functionality of tablets and mobile devices to really provide additional content that we know our customers want.

“It is not just he product they are seeing,” he said. “They are able to view sidebars and click-through video to see trend tips and really engage and learn more about the product, how to wear it, what the trends are, and create their own version of looks.”

Final Take
Chantal Tode is senior editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York