Modern Marketing Awards Case Studies B2B Marketing

Spotify’s All Ears On You campaign delivered 185,000 new users on its Advertising platform

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By Awards Analyst | writer

December 5, 2022 | 5 min read

Spotify Advertising won at The Drum Awards for B2B 2022 in the B2B Brand of the Year award for its ’All Ears On You’ campaign. Here’s why it caught the judges’ eye (and their ear).

The campaign highlighted the opportunities for advertisers to reach Spotify's vast and engaged audience

The campaign highlighted the opportunities for advertisers to reach Spotify's vast and engaged audience

While everyone knows Spotify, either through its music platform or its recent support for podcasters, not all brands are so aware of its advertising capabilities. As the audio platform broadens its horizons, it set out to let brands know what is possible by speaking to its vast audience.

The brief

Spotify Advertising is a B2B brand within Spotify designed to serve existing advertisers – and to market its digital audio advertising product to businesses that have not yet invested in media on the platform. The entire digital audio advertising sector captured $3.17bn in spending in 2021, but there is still room to grow.

The communications challenge was informing brands and media buyers in a way that would indelibly position Spotify Advertising’s brand and offering as a media innovator, translating Spotify’s disruptive nature from the consumer world into the often staid and steady realm of B2B.

The idea

Given that Spotify’s start was in music, it made sense to use the medium to illustrate its options for advertisers. The team created ’A Song For Every CMO’, a collection of original songs in tribute to C-suite leaders at major brands including Kimberly-Clark, Indeed, Intuit, CVS, and General Mills. Each song was paired with album art and collected into the Song For Every CMO playlist, exclusively hosted on Spotify. That work was also nominated for Best Digital Campaign and Most Innovative or Creative Use of Content.

The campaign was then broadened out, with new executions depicting a dynamic and diverse array of Spotify users listening to music as a primary activity, away from the distractions of everyday life. The centerpiece anthem film, directed by Amber Grace Johnson, followed an array of these Spotify listeners through a bustling cityscape to illustrate the diversity of the Spotify audience.

The results

The two elements of the campaign combined drove immediate results: 1.5 billion impressions, 10,000 high-value targets engaged, and 185,000 new users on the Spotify Advertising platform in participating markets. Beyond the campaign’s primary activities, press coverage was widespread, which delivered a halo effect and brought further awareness of the product.

Most importantly, the campaign landed among its target audience, with testimonials including “Thanks, Spotify... You clearly know how to do breakthrough marketing!” and “The most personal brand experience I’ve ever had”.

This campaign was a winner at The Drum B2B Awards 2022. The full list of winners can be found here.

The Drum Awards for Marketing are currently open for entry. Find out how you can enter now.

Modern Marketing Awards Case Studies B2B Marketing

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