OREANDA-NEWS. fashiontv, an internationally broadcast television channel specializing in fashion, and NEC Corporation announced that they are entering into a global collaboration on a fashion-related advertising service based on image recognition features of smartphones.

Starting today, the two companies will successively launch "fashiontvscan," a smartphone application that features free-of-charge fashion-related content services and advertising services for businesses in 23 countries and regions.

fashiontvscan lets users view videos and read news stories on the latest in fashion. As users direct their smartphones towards TV commercials, newspaper ads, magazine ads, outdoor signboards, posters and others, the app recognizes images, photos and logos then guides users to designated websites, where they can obtain detailed information on fashion items, campaign information and coupons.

The fashiontvscan app is equipped with NEC's independently developed "GAZIRU" image recognition technology, recognized as one of the world's top-class recognition technologies. The app works with GAZIRU to smoothly display information and allow users to conveniently shop online, saving them the trouble of searching the Internet.

The two companies will capitalize on fashiontvscan to offer services that guide consumers to company websites and provide big data analysis, including marketing-related services that help analyze the behavioral history of users guided to such websites.

fashiontv is an exclusive fashion-dedicated entertainment channel, airing programs featuring the latest fashion trends on a 24/7 basis to approximately 350 million households throughout the world. With brand power in the fashion industry and a global-level viewer base, it operates an extensive online advertising business, including a wide range of promotions on YouTube. Today, amid trends toward multi-channel corporate promotions and the expansion of e-commerce markets, there is a need for effective promotions that seamlessly attract users from conventional ads and video content to online services.

NEC is currently placing a focus on the social solutions business in order to offer leading-edge big-data-based technologies, products and services under the brand name of NEC Big Data Solutions. The services provided under this partnership represent a forward looking expansion of big data-related sales into a wider range of industries, which is necessary for the future growth of big data-related business.