Stream It Like You Mean It: Untapped Ad Opportunities on Spotify

May 01, 2018 | 3  min
author Bonnie Horner
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This week, rapper Cardi B’s latest album broke Apple Music’s record for the most-streamed album by a female artist in its first week, with over 100 million streams and counting. Just a few days earlier, the Australian Recording Industry Association reported that revenue from music streaming services now accounts for more than half of total music sales in Australia. In the U.S., the halfway mark is well in the rearview mirror, with song streaming making up over 65% of music revenues.

Streaming has been such a disruptive market force in such a short time frame, most companies haven’t truly leveraged the unique advertising opportunities created by Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and other platforms. Traditional approaches like running commercials between songs or banner ads in apps are quickly beginning to play second fiddle to more creative messaging. Sponsored playlists, interactive, targeted videos and other forms of advertising are the new norm. Since streaming platforms gather data distinct from other social media, the ability to target consumers at increasingly specific levels creates engagement opportunities that are virtually untapped.

How music streaming creates marketing moments

While the list of engagement opportunities is diverse and constantly growing, let’s explore Spotify playlists, one of the most popular ways to stream music. With a little bit of unconventional thinking and a basic understanding of Spotify’s advertising venues, playlists can be a unique and effective way to turn followers into brand evangelists.

Some brands lend themselves pretty obviously to a Spotify presence. Nike+ Run Club, for example, has a giant library of playlists designed for specific runs, like record-breaking miles or long jogs. Or take Urban Outfitters, whose brand is built on a specific lifestyle aesthetic, making it easy to create virtual mixtapes based on specific moods or in partnership with their model musicians.

Other brands focus on releasing playlists themed around specific events. Carnival Cruise released a playlist last summer for those of us who “don’t have time for a cruise,” filled with beachy pop hits. While that’s the only notable step they’ve taken in the streaming industry, it’s a great way to engage consumers who haven’t made a purchase but are still interested in the product.

On the other end of the marketing funnel, Disney Pixar releases playlists along with each of their new movies, filled with a combination of songs from and inspired by the film. These branded playlists help extend the marketing cycle of a movie well past box office openings (and are the reason you STILL get “Let It Go” stuck in your head).

Spotify for B2B companies

Each of these companies exploits the social features of Spotifyfollowing, sharing and publicly listening–to create brand awareness and engagement that goes beyond tried-and-true email marketing or social media approaches. But what if your business is B2B? Or what if your goals have more to do with building company culture than brand awareness?

One of the more creative uses of Spotify playlists we’ve seen is Rackspace’s “Music Behind the Tech” series on Facebook, which highlighted employee Spotify playlists each week. The campaign accomplished a few key things:

Created human stories about the company’s otherwise impersonal data service
Generated playlist links for social media that stood out from news feeds full of photo carousels and link previews
Led to engagement rates astronomically higher than what any other post in the company or industry experienced

If you’re looking for ways to stand out from the B2B crowd, using Spotify playlists can be a great way to do that.

Paid media on music platforms

If you’re ready to take a step beyond organic music streaming engagement, Spotify offers really compelling advertising options to brands. One of the most unique is their “Branded Moments,” which allow companies to target users based on the music ‘mood’ they’re currently listening to. Videos geared towards those moods (like dinner time, working out or partying) play before users continue listening to music. You can also create brand loyalty by offering 30 minutes of ad-free listening in exchange for watching a brief video with click opportunities that lead users to branded content. Of course, all this is in addition to more expected options like banners, sponsored playlists, ad overlays and more.

Music streaming platforms like Spotify are a unique way to build a hyper-engaged follower base, with opportunities for companies across sectors. If you, or your enterprise, are interested in pursuing a marketing strategy on music platforms, get in touch with Pyxl today.

Updated: Apr 13, 2022

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