Spotify continues to be the world’s largest streaming platform. Not only does it boast one of the most prolific collections of music in history, but it also has a massive collection of podcasts and other audio content.
Spotify currently hosts 299 million active users, with 170 million of those users falling into the ad-supported category, making Spotify an ideal channel for advertising to your fans. Today, the platform is an immensely valuable tool in targeting and reaching engaged audiences in an impactful way. Not sure where to start with Spotify Ads? Read on for information to consider when thinking about advertising on the platform.
Choose Your Ad Experience
Audio
Audio Everywhere
Spotify delivers audio ads via this experience. Audio Everywhere allows brands to reach their audiences anywhere and everywhere: walking, driving, at the office, before dinner, commuting, and anywhere else your fans are listening to Spotify. Audio ads are best for when your listeners are on-the-go. You can reach your fans where visual media can't, from headphones to the car. Audio ads play between songs during active sessions to ensure your brand achieves 100% Share of Voice (SOV).
Audio Everywhere also gives your brand the option to display a clickable photo in the cover art area with a call-to-action (CTA) that can lead to your landing page. Keep in mind that audio ads can be up to 30-seconds long.
Platforms: mobile, tablet, desktop, web, selected gaming consoles, connected TV, connected car, and connected speaker availability
Voice Activated Ads With Smart Speakers
Spotify launched its first voice-activated ad campaign to ad-supported users in June. The ad campaign was delivered to Amazon and Google smart speaker users, where listeners could tell their speakers to order samples and have them delivered to their home address.
Spotify is well positioned to incorporate the shopping capabilities of a voice assistant into ads on their platform. It will be exciting to see where Spotify goes with interactive audio ads, and whether it will become a mainstay in its ads infrastructure.
Video
Video ads are a great way to advertise to your fans. Compared to industry benchmarks, Spotify video views take the lead in viewability scores.
Sponsored Sessions
You can make your brand become a gateway to a Spotify user's enhanced streaming experience with a Sponsored Session. This product offers audiences the opportunity to unlock 30 minutes of ad-free listening as a reward for watching your brand's video.
A clickable call-to-action (CTA) display unit will appear after a user watches your video message. This CTA display invites your audience to engage further, and the 30-minute ad-free session begins.
Note that users only experience your brand's Sponsored Session if the app is in view at the start of a mobile session.
Platforms: mobile & tablet devices
Video Takeover
A Video Takeover is an in-app experience where ads reach logged-in users when they're engaged and the app is open/in view. Video ads are played to listeners in between songs during commercial ad breaks. Video Takeovers include a clickable companion display unit for CTA.
Platforms: mobile and desktop
Display
Overlay
Overlay ads are designed for viewability, perfect for engaging your fans. They provide maximum brand impact as they appear right when a user returns to the Spotify app. Overlay ads are clickable and drive traffic to your brand's landing page.
Platforms: mobile, desktop
Homepage Takeover
A Homepage Takeover is an ad displayed on Spotify's homepage for 24 hours. You can showcase your brand's message and the banner is clickable and supports rich media, so you can include interactive elements to engage your audience further and capture their attention. Homepage Takeovers deliver a high impact experience to audiences.
Platforms: desktop only
Leaderboard
Leaderboard ads are banners that allow you to advertise to your fans in a brand-safe environment; it will only be displayed for 30 seconds. Leaderboard display units are clickable and are only displayed when Spotify is the top app on the screen.
Platforms: desktop and web app
Podcasts
Maximize fan reach using the intimacy of podcasts . Podcast consumption continues to grow, and offers a fantastic opportunity to authentically tell your brand’s story while reaching an engaged audience. On average, listeners now spend over 30-minutes/day listening to podcasts, which makes it an optimal medium for driving meaningful fan engagement. You can have your messages delivered by trusted voices or leverage naturally fitting turnkey audio creative options. Spotify offers a wide range of podcast advertising opportunities. Currently, Spotify is launching new tools to improve reporting and measurability of podcast advertising with Streamline Ad Insertion, and In-App Offers.
Streamline Ad Insertion (SAI)
Launched in January, SAI intends to deliver insights to advertisers, including confirmed ad impressions, audience insights, creative insights, and measurable outcomes based on confirmed ad exposures.
In-App Offers
Resurface offers to podcast listeners with a visual ad. Today, listeners who are interested in an offer advertised on a podcast must make a mental note of it and search it up when they return to their phones or computers. With this launch, Spotify will reduce friction in connecting with advertisers by setting visual reminders on the podcast’s episode page. Currently, In-App Offers are still undergoing alpha-testing in the US, but it is exciting to see the potential of this new performance channel, especially since podcast streaming continues to grow.
Platforms: Mobile, Desktop, Tablet, Web Player. Gaming Consoles, Smart TVs, Connected Speakers, In-Car, Wearables
Sponsored Playlist
A Sponsored Playlist is a great way to connect with fans on their favourite playlists. We all love a good playlist and the platform is chalk-full of wonderfully curated playlists. You can maximize your brand awareness by exclusively sponsoring playlists that are owned and managed by Spotify. Choose from popular playlists like New Music Friday, Power Workout, Brain Food, and more. Spotify’s playlists have a passionate and loyal fan base, guaranteeing your brand's opportunity to be amplified and heard.
Platforms: mobile and desktop
Tips
Context, Context, Context
As a marketer, you know the importance of context. You can make the most of your ad by meeting your audience where it makes sense. Check out Spotify's Stream of Context article, where they asked users how and why they listen, or their moments cheat sheet for reaching people in the right moments.
Relevant Messages
Context will help you target the right audience with ads that are relevant to them. Consider content interests to find the audience you want to reach. This will keep your ads relevant and engaging to listeners. For example, if you want your ad to reach sports fans, you should find listeners to sports-related content and target them with a relevant message about your brand or service.
To The Beat
It's important to get the beat of your ad right; context will help you with this. You should know what your target audience is listening to and match your ad creative to that vibe. Playlist keywords can help do this by hinting at what a listener's context is at the moment. Keywords hint at a listener's setting, current genre, preference, and even their preferred beats per minute (BPM)/tempo.
According to Spotify, 2.1x higher intent is driven through campaigns that include playlist targeting than those that don't. There are over 4 billion playlists on Spotify, both Spotify-curated and personal, so the opportunities to creatively reach your audience are countless. Choose from playlists related to working out, cooking, chill, party, commuting, and much more.
Keep Audio Ads Clear
Audio ads are most effective when they are clear and uncluttered. Avoid using too many voices in an audio ad as this can confuse listeners. It is also a good idea to avoid using sound effects if you're advertising music so listeners can focus on your main message. Finally, avoid annoying your audience by using shrill or jarring sounds.
Awareness
It's important to note that Spotify ads may not return a high click-through rate (CTR). This is due to the fact that most of the action on your ads will be during playback. Therefore your result may seem to be lower in click-through conversions compared to advertising on other networks. This is not a bad thing, since the platforms value is building contextual brand awareness and fill your marketing funnel with relevant leads.
Clear CTA
Increase your ad's engagement with a direct call-to-action (CTA). According to Spotify, ads with a clear and direct CTA have 3x higher click-through rates than those with none. Ask your listeners to do something.
In Sync Music
For Spotify ads that run between songs, it's best to consider the genre of music your fans are listening to. Using background music similar to your audience's preferences will keep your fans engaged and help your ad flow in well. For example, if you're targeting rap fans you should use rap as your background music.
Let's Get Personal
Personalize your Spotify ads to engage your listeners with messages that are relevant to them. For example, if you target by city you can make your ad personal by saying "Hey Vancouver!"
Not sure where to start with Spotify advertising? Contact us for a free consultation on how you can implement Spotify ads within Tradable Bits for your fans.
