Lagardère launches Gulli synchronised app with Civolution

French media group Lagardère is using Civolution’s SyncNow ACR technology to deliver an interactive app for its free-to-air family TV channel, Gulli.

The app, initially used during the advertisement breaks, will be extended for use on programmes, according to Civolution. It will enhance advertisements by enabling interactions such as games and original content about products. Once extended for use with some programmes, the app will give users the chance to engage in games which relate directly to the content being aired on the main screen. Users will be able to take advantage of the new services on both smartphones and tablets.

“For the new generation of television viewers TV is no longer a lean-back experience. It is socially engaging entertainment,” said Antoine Villeneuve, CEO of Lagardère Active’s French and international TV channels. “We now have the opportunity to interact directly with our audience in ways that are much more personal and intimate. Civolution’s SyncNow is exactly the type of technology needed to achieve this and go beyond simple linear.”

Civolution provides technology that uses audio code recognition to synchronise second screen apps with what’s happening on the main TV screen.