What Happened
Spotify has introduced another ad product for brands to connect with its over 100 million users worldwide. Brands can now sponsor some of the most popular playlists curated by the music streaming service, with a message that matches the playlist of their choice. Dubbed Sponsored Playlists, the new ad unit matches a marketer with a playlist that aligns with the target audience they have in mind. For example, an athletic wear brand would be a good fit to sponsor a workout playlist. Kia, McDonald’s, and Target are among the advertisers that have tried it out during beta testing. Spotify also says it will help drive users to a playlist during the sponsorship through native promotion and social media.
What Brands Need To Do
Playlists are one of Spotify’s most popular features, with its top playlists amassing millions of followers. For example, the Today’s Top Hits playlist currently has 8 million followers, and its personalized Discover Weekly playlist has reached 40 million users so far. For brands, this offers an interesting way to get their messages across in an organic way. And because those messages are embedded within playlists, they can even reach paid subscribers.
For more information on how brands can earn consumer attention with branded content or sponsorships, please check out the Ad Avoidance section of our Outlook 2016.
Source: AdWeek
Header image courtesy of Spotify’s Vimeo video