Tag: advertising

Spotify’s Tunetorials Brings Advertising Strategies to Life With Beats You Won’t Forget

October 7, 2025

Spotify Advertising is launching a new campaign for marketers: Tunetorials, where catchy beats meet proven strategies. It’s the easiest (and most fun) way to learn how Spotify helps advertisers of all sizes reach the right audience, at the right moment, with the right message.

With original songs and music videos, Tunetorials gives advertisers a rundown of Spotify’s full range of ad tools and proof points, plus tips on how to make the most of them. From building a multi‑format strategy to tapping into Spotify’s unique audience insights, Tunetorials turns ad education into bops you’ll want to play on repeat.

Spotify has been hard at work this year making it easier than ever for advertisers to buy, create, and measure campaigns on our platform. During our first Spotify Advance event in April, we introduced a suite of new ad solutions to help brands meet their goals. Tunetorials keeps that momentum going, building on the success of previous campaigns like Spreadbeats and Song for Every CMO—both recognized globally for creativity and effectiveness.

“We created Tunetorials based on a simple idea: What if learning about Spotify Advertising could be as fun as using Spotify?” said Bridget Evans, Global Head of Business Marketing, Spotify. “Tunetorials are our way of blending education with entertainment so it doesn’t feel like a chore. We know our audience loves creativity and music, so we met them there, transforming how-to lessons into original songs and music videos. It’s a surprise-and-delight campaign that showcases the full power of our platform, while also inspiring brands and agencies to see Spotify’s suite of ad solutions in a whole new way.”

In true Spotify fashion, we teamed up with six emerging artists across genres to create the Tunetorials album.

“Linking up with Spotify Advertising on Tunetorials was a much-needed creative challenge,” said artist Carter Ace. “Growing up, I was always more of an auditory and visual learner, and I valued programs that could educate while incorporating modern musical elements. The fact that the team trusted me to be on the project that tackles everything I just mentioned is already a blessing—not to mention that we made a banging song that’ll still fit on your playlist.”

Ready to level up your ad game? Hit play on the tracks below to get started:

“How to Run a Multi-Format Campaign” featuring Carter Ace

Carter Ace’s laid‑back, genre‑blending style is the perfect backdrop for mixing formats. Pair audio, video, and display ads to see sales lift soar—up to 90% higher than audio alone.

“How to Measure Campaign Performance” featuring Alex Lilly

Alex Lilly’s sharp, indie‑pop edge turns measurement solutions into music, showing how brand lift, web traffic, conversions, and even offline sales prove your ads are hitting the mark.

“How to Drive ROI With Your Campaign Setup” featuring BIG SIS

BIG SIS brings bold, high‑energy beats to the art of smart spending, showing how targeted media buys on Spotify can boost your performance and ROI.

“How to Create Ads for Spotify” featuring The Shivers

The Shivers’ punchy vibe makes ad creation feel effortless, from using free tools like Spotify’s Gen AI Ads to repurposing creative assets you already have.

“How to Reach Your Target Audience” featuring Parbleu

Parbleu’s smooth, funky groove sets the tone for perfect timing. This track spotlights how, with more than 696 million users globally, Spotify’s first‑party data helps you reach the right people exactly when they’re ready to listen.

“How to Track Your Ad’s Success” featuring House of EL 

With House of EL’s soulful sound, this track dives into the Spotify Pixel: your tool for retargeting, optimizing, and tracking exactly how listeners respond to your ads.

Bonus content

In addition to dropping the digital album, we’re putting Spotify directly into select media buyers’ hands with a limited-edition Tunetorials vinyl. Each record features all the Tunetorials tracks, plus a bonus insert with even more details and proof points for each tutorial.

But that’s not all. We’re also releasing three music videos to accompany the album, making the Tunetorials experience bigger, bolder, and even more fun. 

Watch and jam along to the Tunetorials music videos below:

From early concepting to big brand moments, Spotify’s Tunetorials makes it easy to fine-tune your strategies and amplify your impact, one beat at a time.

Spotify Unveils New Advertising Partnerships and Product Updates

October 1, 2025

Earlier this year during Spotify Advance, we announced a series of updates to make advertising on Spotify more flexible and automated. Today, we’re building on that momentum with a powerful suite of new partnerships and product features designed to make it even easier for advertisers to buy, create, and measure success on Spotify.

New partnerships and expanded reach

We’re continuing to invest in automating our ad platform with enhancements across our automated buying channels: the Spotify Ad Exchange and Spotify Ads Manager.

Spotify Ad Exchange

For the first time, advertisers using Amazon DSP can now access Spotify’s audio and video inventory. This partnership brings together Amazon’s trillions of shopping, streaming, and browsing signals and Spotify’s global audience of 696 million monthly users, enabling advertisers to reach engaged audiences at scale while providing access to full-funnel measurement and attribution.

“By combining Amazon’s diverse audiences and first-party signals with Spotify’s high-quality content and engaged fan base, we’re creating new and meaningful ways for advertisers to amplify their omnichannel advertising strategies by leveraging a deeper level of insights only available through Amazon DSP,” said Meredith Goldman, Director, Amazon DSP at Amazon Ads. “Amazon DSP now has unprecedented scale across Amazon owned and operated and open internet audio supply, allowing us to set new standards for holistic campaign planning and activation—all in one place.”

But that’s not all. We’re also expanding our programmatic ecosystem with these key updates:

    • ID5 partnership: Advertisers can now reach music and podcast fans across Europe more effectively, thanks to enhanced addressability for programmatic campaigns via ID5’s digital identity solution.
    • Yahoo DSP integration: Advertisers can now buy Spotify inventory through Yahoo DSP via a new direct integration. With the Spotify Ad Exchange, advertisers have seen conversion rates improve by nearly 70% and cost per action drop by almost 90%, according to Yahoo data from July to September 2025. This direct integration also helps advertisers better target and measure audiences across Spotify using Yahoo ConnectID.
    • For publishers: Starting in 2026, Megaphone-hosted podcast publishers will be able to book private marketplace deals via the Spotify Ad Exchange. This will empower publishers to set up non-guaranteed deals with one or many advertisers, expanding their revenue opportunities.

Spotify Ads Manager

We’re also continuing to innovate within Spotify Ads Manager with new tools and partnerships to help advertisers of all sizes create, optimize, and measure their campaigns:

    • Smartly partnership: We’re partnering with Smartly to expand access to our inventory to more advertisers. With Spotify Ads Manager integrating into Smartly, advertisers will gain new ways to reach audiences through audio, display, and video, supported by Smartly’s AI-powered creative, automation, and measurement.
    • Split Testing tool: Advertisers will soon be able to run controlled experiments to see which creative elements resonate most with audiences, optimizing for metrics like completion rate, click-through rate, cost per click, and cost per conversion.

Growing momentum and proven results

Spotify’s automated buying channels for advertisers are seeing rapid adoption and delivering real results. Since we launched the Spotify Ad Exchange in April, the number of advertisers using it has increased by 142%. On Spotify Ads Manager, campaigns using the Web Traffic objective have seen page view rates 103% higher compared to brand awareness campaigns, and campaigns using the App Install objective have achieved install rates 4.3 times higher than non-optimized campaigns.

What this means for brands

Spotify’s scale and engagement remain unmatched. According to a 2024 global GWI study, 90% of users make Spotify part of their daily routines, with people spending more than two hours a day on the platform. And according to another recent GWI survey, 65% of users agree that time spent on Spotify feels more positive than time spent on social media. In a world of doom scrolling and distraction traps, Spotify offers something different, with users coming to the platform for a sense of connection and genuine value.

With these latest updates, we’re making it easier than ever for advertisers of all sizes to reach leaned-in audiences in a positive environment, whether you’re running a global campaign or just getting started.

“We’ve been hard at work enhancing our automated buying channels to make it easy for advertisers to buy, create, and measure on Spotify,” said Brian Berner, Spotify’s Global Head of Advertising Sales and Partnerships. “Now we’re bringing even more flexibility and control for advertisers, enabling them to reach our highly engaged global audience and drive impact with their campaigns.”

Ready to amplify your brand’s performance? Learn more about how brands can connect with listeners through Spotify Advertising.

How Gen Z Powers Up for Back-to-School Season on Spotify

August 25, 2025

As summer winds down and backpacks come out, Gen Z isn’t just heading back to class, they’re shaping the soundtrack for a whole new season.

For Back to School 2025, Spotify has compiled a snapshot of the daily rituals and shared listening moments that define this reset. Powered by new listening data and anchored in past trends, it reveals how Gen Z students and their families use Spotify as a daily companion to reconnect and refocus—and how brands can be part of the moment in meaningful ways.

Mornings are the new prime time

As routines shift, mornings become high-attention listening windows. Between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., Gen Z students on Spotify power up with music and podcasts that turn commutes and pre-class moments into part of their soundtrack. For brands, these ritual-driven spikes offer valuable opportunities to tap in with multiformat campaigns that blend sight and sound.

Study sessions and shared playlists

Back-to-school season isn’t just a retail moment, it’s also a cultural and community reset. Gen Z leans on study playlists and collaborative features like Jam to concentrate and connect with friends.

Spotify at Cannes Lions 2025: The Week’s Unmissable Highlights, Star Power, and More

June 24, 2025

Last week, Spotify returned to the Croisette for our 11th year at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity—bringing together artists, creators, brands, and fans for three days of inspiring conversations, unforgettable performances, and bold ideas at Spotify Beach.

Spotify’s Cannes Lions highlights

This year, Spotify was recognized across several categories at Cannes Lions, reflecting our commitment to creativity and innovation. Highlights include:

    • Grand Prix Lion for Innovation for the Sounds Right campaign in partnership with United Nations and AKQA.
    • Gold Lion for Design-Driven Effectiveness for the Spreadbeats campaign in partnership with FCB New York.
    • Silver Lion for Digital Design for Spreadbeats in partnership with FCB New York.
    • Bronze Lion in Corporate Purpose & Social Responsibility for the Sounds Right campaign in partnership with United Nations and AKQA.
    • Shortlisted for Excellence in Craft for the Do You Speak Anitta? campaign.
    • Shortlisted for Consumer Services/Business to Business and Innovation in Branded Content & Social Behavior for Spreadbeats.
    • Shortlisted for Fan Engagement & Community Building for the Singing in Your Inglish campaign.
    • Shortlisted for Rebrand/Refresh of an Existing Brand for Spotify Italy’s Bloombeats in partnership with Dentsu Creative. 
    • Shortlisted for Design for Behavioural Change for Spotify Japan’s Pride Code in partnership with TBWA\HAKUHODO.

Spotify Beach in action

From exclusive panels and a star-studded soirée to exceptional musical moments, here’s a look back at the most memorable scenes from Spotify’s week in the South of France.

Monday, June 16

Spotify Beach kicked off with powerhouse programming featuring Paris Hilton, Louis Theroux, and Charlie Puth. Moderated by Spotify’s Global Head of Podcast Advertising & Business Development, Emma Vaughn, “Mic Check: In Conversation With Louis Theroux, featuring Paris Hilton” explored the power of storytelling across podcasts, documentaries, music, and memoirs. Paris reflected on using her podcast to highlight meaningful stories and connect with others:

“With my social [channels], I can showcase the more fun, glamorous, and playful side. But through my podcast, I can talk about things that are very meaningful to me […] and use my voice to be a voice for others.”

Puth joined Spotify’s Global Head of Business Marketing, Bridget Evans, for “Rhythm and ROI: Amplifying Music in Your Marketing Strategy,” sharing insights on how music drives brand storytelling—and even teasing a new Broadway project and his upcoming album.

The evening wrapped with Spotify’s annual soirée, where Puth performed fan favorites like “Attention” and “See You Again,” plus a surprise rendition of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” Guests included Antoni Porowski, Winnie Harlow, Kyle Kuzma, Bill Nye, Dylan Efron, Rachel Lindsay, Jake Shane, Bowen Yang, and Matt Rogers.

Spotify’s Brian Berner on Creativity, Connection, and What’s Next for Advertisers at Cannes Lions

June 16, 2025

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is officially underway for 2025, and Spotify is back on the Croisette to showcase how our platform is more alive than ever. Spotify—and Spotify Beach during the festival—is where creators share, fans explore, and brands are discovered, powered by a global community that continues to grow and evolve.

Throughout the week, Spotify Beach is amplifying the creativity that lives on our platform, offering attendees a chance to experience Spotify IRL—as a cultural force and the best home for creators and fans.

With new tools and innovations, it’s easier than ever for advertisers to join Spotify’s ever-evolving playground and engage with audiences. All week long, attendees will see how Spotify makes creativity tangible—showcasing innovative ideas, meaningful connections, and endless possibilities for cultural impact.

To kick off the festivities, we sat down with Brian Berner, Spotify’s Global Head of Advertising Sales & Partnerships, to hear about what’s next for advertisers, the evolution of creativity on Spotify, and what he’s most excited about at Cannes Lions this year.

Cannes Lions is all about creativity. How does Spotify continue to foster creativity for advertisers?

From music videos to audiobooks to video podcasts, Spotify sits at the heart of music and culture—and we’re always innovating to unlock new ways to deliver creativity on a global scale. With a worldwide community of creators, artists, musicians, and podcasters, Spotify is a platform that consistently inspires creative expression. In fact, 87% of creatives in the ad industry say Spotify allows them to be more creative than other platforms.

For advertisers, we have our Creative Lab—an in-house creative agency of storytellers, cultural investigators, marketers, art directors, strategists, copywriters, and Spotify lovers spread across the globe. This team is constantly creating, testing, and gathering data on what works on our platform to help advertisers maximize their creative potential.

Ahead of Cannes, we’ve also just unveiled two new initiatives to help brands further tap into Spotify’s creative playground: the Creative Lab Hub and our inaugural Creative Council. The Creative Lab Hub is a new global destination where brands and advertisers can access Spotify Advertising’s most effective tools, formats, and insights—making it easier than ever to create breakthrough campaigns.

Meanwhile, our Creative Council brings together industry-leading creatives to help shape the future of advertising and brand storytelling on Spotify. This group includes top creative leads from agencies including R/GA, BBDO, McCann, Anomaly, VML, and GUT, as well as brand leaders from Ulta, AG1, and Coca-Cola.

We’re excited to see how advertisers continue to uplevel their creativity on Spotify!

Spotify is hosting several panels this year. What’s the value in bringing these conversations to the stage?

Our Spotify Beach daytime programming brings together some of the world’s leading voices for compelling conversations that spark discovery, connection, and inspiration. From Louis Theroux and Paris Hilton discussing the art of storytelling to brands like Instacart and Luxottica sharing their strategies and results with the Spotify Ad Exchange, our sessions highlight how Spotify is closer than ever to the heartbeat of culture and driving impact for brands. These conversations showcase how we’re creating impactful connections between artists, creators, fans, and brands in innovative and unique ways—both on and off the platform.

How has the evolution of Spotify’s platform to include video content changed the game for advertisers?

Spotify is now so much more than music and podcasts, including when it comes to advertising. Video consumption on our platform is booming, with users’ spending 44% more time looking at our app compared to last year. This increased in-focus engagement unlocks more visual, multiformat opportunities for advertisers, like our latest Canvas and In-Feed ad formats. 

We’ve found that audio and video ads together are a powerful combination for campaigns on Spotify. In fact, combining both increases purchase intent by 27% and incremental sales by 66%, compared to audio alone. As engagement on our platform continues to evolve, we’re evolving right alongside it—offering brands new ways to deliver compelling, multiformat audio and visual campaigns to Spotify’s global audience. We’re excited about the potential of video and what it means for creators, users, and advertisers alike.

At Spotify Advance in April, Spotify Advertising announced updates like Gen AI Ads. What’s the response been so far? 

The response to our efforts in making it easier for advertisers to buy, create, and measure results on Spotify has been incredibly strong, particularly with Gen AI Ads.

Since launching Gen AI Ads, nearly 1,500 advertisers in the U.S. and Canada have already used the tool to create and launch more than 7,000 high-quality audio ads on Spotify. Advertisers tell us they love how fast and easy it is: On average it takes just 17 minutes to go from idea to finished ad, and half of advertisers complete the process in under 9 minutes. That speed, combined with built-in scriptwriting and voiceover capabilities, is making audio advertising more accessible and flexible than ever for advertisers of all sizes.

Given the successful rollout in the U.S. and Canada, we recently expanded Gen AI Ads to the U.K.—bringing these tools to even more advertisers, now with voiceovers featuring British accents. It’s our latest step in helping advertisers of all sizes tap into Spotify Advertising with ease and full creative control, all within Spotify Ads Manager.

What advertising trends do you expect to see in the coming year?

In today’s fast-moving culture, we’re seeing that people are reducing their dependence on social media in favor of more authenticity and positive connection—and Spotify is one of the places they’re choosing. That’s not just good news for fans and artists; it’s great for brands, too. The attention our listeners give to Spotify translates directly to ads: In fact, our ads capture twice as much attention compared to social media platforms. 

I think there’s so much opportunity to scale the fan experiences we’ve created and imagine new, more interactive ways for fans to connect—not just with artists, creators, and brands on our platform, but also IRL. That’s why we have Creative Lab and our in-house consultancy Spotify AUX—to help brands build even more impactful connections with fans both on- and off-platform.

We’re also seeing automated buying become the industry default. Automated digital audio spend in the U.S. is on the rise and now represents 26% of the market. That’s why our investments in automated channels like the Spotify Ad Exchange and Spotify Ads Manager are more timely and important than ever.

What are you most looking forward to at Spotify Beach this year?

As someone who’s been in the ad industry for more than 20 years, I love Cannes Lions—it’s when everyone comes together to share wins and learnings, build relationships, and get inspired by the creativity and innovation happening across the industry.

Personally, I’m a big fan of the film Sinners, so I’m stoked about our Wednesday daytime session happening on Spotify Beach: The Art of Personalization Through Music with Ludwig Göransson and Miles Caton. If you haven’t seen the film yet, I highly recommend it!

Spotify Beach Is Back for the Annual Cannes Lions Festival

June 6, 2025

Spotify is heading back to France for the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, and this year we’ll showcase how Spotify is more alive than ever as a creative playground where creators share, fans explore, and brands are discovered. Throughout the week, we’ll invite attendees to experience Spotify IRL, as a cultural force and the best home for creators and fans.

“Spotify is home to an unrivaled global community of artists, songwriters, podcasters, authors, creatives, fans, and brands,” said Brian Berner, Spotify’s Global Head of Advertising Sales & Partnerships. “This year, we’re bringing to life the creativity that lives on Spotify and how we’ve made it easier than ever for advertisers to join Spotify’s ever-evolving playground and engage with audiences in a positive, premium, brand-safe environment.”

From Monday, June 16, through Thursday, June 19, Spotify Beach once again serves as a creative epicenter on the Croisette. Our daytime sessions will feature some of the world’s leading authors, actors, creators, and musicians, including Paris Hilton, Louis Theroux, Charlie Puth, Mark Ronson, Morgan Absher, Jake Shane, Rachel Lindsay, Seal, Rob Mayhew, and more. We’ll also be hosting two evenings of can’t-miss concerts: Alex Warren, sombr, and Royel Otis will perform on June 17, while Cardi B, a DJ set from Mark Ronson, and Lola Young take the stage on June 18. Charlie Puth will also perform during an exclusive opening-night soirée. 

Spotify Beach will also host interactive, immersive experiences. At the Soul Coffee Cafe, guests can enjoy a coffee and join the Beach Jam via QR codes. Guests can snap a selfie, use it to create their own custom playlist cover art, and have it printed or sent to their socials at the Cover Art Creator Zone. At the Audiobook Flavors Bar, guests can check out top titles for summer listening and cool off with customized soft serve, so they can “taste” an audiobook of their choice.

Here’s a rundown of what’s happening daily:

Monday, June 16

Mic Check: In Conversation with Louis Theroux, featuring Paris Hilton
What happens when an award-winning documentarian meets a pop-culture powerhouse? Join Louis Theroux and Paris Hilton as they share the stage to explore the art of storytelling across formats—from podcasts and documentaries to music, memoir, and more. Expect creative chemistry, surprising parallels, and sharp perspectives you won’t want to miss.

Rhythm and ROI: Amplifying Music in Your Marketing Strategy with Charlie Puth
Artists shape culture; learn how brands can tap in. Chart-topping artist Charlie Puth shares his thoughts on how sound drives emotion and how collaboration can boost cultural impact and audience connection.

Tuesday, June 17

Culture Club: The Influence and Impact of Fandom
Culture isn’t just created; it’s ignited and propelled by fans. From viral podcasts fueled by listener enthusiasm to global music moments amplified by devoted audiences, fandoms are the vibrant engines where culture truly comes to life. Join Jake Shane, Morgan Absher, and Rachel Lindsay for a deep dive into how fandoms drive modern culture and elevate creators.

The Power of Presence: How Authenticity and Resilience Forge Global Influence with Mark Ronson
What does it take to build lasting cultural impact across industries? In this dynamic conversation, Spotify’s Chief Public Affairs Officer Dustee Jenkins sits down with Grammy-winning producer and author Mark Ronson to explore the role of authenticity in creative and professional success. From number-one hits to thought-provoking storytelling, they’ll discuss how staying true to your voice—whether written, spoken, or sung—can resonate with audiences, spark emotional connection, and drive meaningful brand engagement in today’s attention economy.

Nighttime performances shine a spotlight on the biggest emerging talent of 2025, including Alex Warren, sombr, and Royel Otis, and feature sets from DJs Baby J and Dre Tala.

Wednesday, June 18

From AI to IRL: Navigating Creativity in the Now
AI is the marketing industry’s topic du jour, but it takes human creativity to make ads that matter. In this discussion, guided by Spotify’s own AI DJ X, prominent creatives discuss how brands are blending Spotify’s intelligence (AI, personalization) with cultural and editorial insights to build products and campaigns that connect with global audiences and individuals on emotional levels. Get a fresh perspective on how to pair AI’s capabilities with human creativity to enhance brand storytelling and inspire engagement. The session will close with a special appearance by Grammy-winning artist Seal, who’ll reflect on the role of human emotion and storytelling in the age of AI.

Sound to Story: The Art of Personalization Through Music with Ludwig Göransson and Miles Caton
Unlock the sound secrets behind the blockbuster film Sinners. Discover how the seamless fusion of music and storytelling elevates a film’s emotional impact with composer Ludwig Göransson and breakout film actor Miles Caton. This session explores how soundtracks shape cinematic experiences and how brands can harness the same power to create lasting emotional connections with their audiences.

Nighttime performances feature Cardi B, a DJ set from Mark Ronson, and Lola Young. DJs Baby J and Dre Tala will also spin tunes.

Spotify Sparks UK Returns To Bring Together Advertisers and Creators

May 2, 2025

With more than 678 million users worldwide tuned in to Spotify, we’re at the heart of music and culture. Our unrivaled global community of artists, songwriters, podcasters, authors, and creators is an essential daily companion for fans, and we use this superpower to create impactful connections between artists, creators, listeners, and brands.

As Spotify Advertising’s flagship event series, Sparks is designed to educate advertisers and offer exclusive insights into Spotify’s unique capabilities. To date, we’ve hosted Spotify Sparks U.K. and Spotify Sparks Brazil, and we’re bringing these events to the U.S., France, and Japan in the coming months.

On May 1, Spotify executives, industry leaders, content creators, and advertisers returned to London for a series of live discussions, presentations, and interactive experiences that explored the full power of the Spotify ecosystem. During the event, Rosalind Jeffcoat, Spotify’s Global Head of Consumer Affairs, moderated a conversation with Marc Hazan, Spotify’s VP of Partnerships and Marketing, around how Spotify is creating the ultimate fan experience. 

Spotify Tunes Up Platform To Make It Easy for Advertisers To Buy, Create, and Measure

April 2, 2025

Spotify Advertising hit a new high note today as we unveiled how we’re making it easier than ever for advertisers to buy, create, and measure on and for our platform.

We’ve been hard at work investing in our ad platform, modernizing our ad tech, and solidifying industry partnerships to become a platform that delivers results for advertisers of all sizes. During our first Spotify Advance event in New York City, we showcased a suite of new ad solutions that will unlock the full power of Spotify.

This next stage of Spotify Advertising was ushered in with news of the launch of Spotify Ad Exchange. We call it SAX for short. For the first time, advertisers will be able to access Spotify’s engaged and logged-in users via real-time auction, with full addressability and measurement capabilities. Today, advertisers can plug into SAX via The Trade Desk and Google Display & Video 360, with Magnite, Adform, and Yahoo DSP coming soon.

We also shared how we’re making our self-serve Spotify Ads Manager work harder for advertisers with new tools and solutions to help them meet their objectives, including enhanced targeting and measurement capabilities.

To complement our automated buying solutions, we introduced new ways for advertisers to create with Spotify: our in-house agencies, Creative Lab and AUX, and our new Spotify Gen AI Ads.

We’re also making our platform more addressable to help advertisers better measure the impact of their Spotify campaigns with our Spotify Brand Lift solution and new App Installs objective, alongside industry-leading tools from our third-party partners.

For the Record sat down with Spotify’s Global Head of Advertising Lee Brown to unpack these developments and hear more about how Spotify is revolutionizing advertising for brands of all sizes.

This is such an exciting new chapter for Spotify! Why is it so critical to assemble these global CMOs, agencies, creators, and key influencers now, and share these updates?

Thanks! I’m really proud of our team for getting us to this point—we’re happy to finally be able to share what we’ve been busy working on. Spotify Advance marks a pivotal moment for our company as our advertising business enters a new stage. We’ve been investing to become a platform that can deliver results for advertisers, whatever their goal, whatever their size. 

Whether you’re a CMO, a media agency buyer, a podcast publisher, a seasoned creative director, or a creator looking to grow your brand, we’ve got you covered. We invited this cross-sectional group to learn about our new solutions firsthand and hear from our team directly on why Spotify should play a bigger role in their marketing strategy.

What are the biggest benefits that our ad products offer businesses? 

Spotify Free users tune in to Spotify for two hours each day, making it an essential daily companion that gives brands the unique opportunity to connect with super-engaged fans in our positive environment. People feel good when they’re on Spotify. This is good for advertisers looking to build new connections or go deeper with their audience. In fact, Spotify’s 2024 Culture Next report found that 71% of Gen Zs see Spotify as the ultimate antidote to doomscrolling.

Now it’s easier than ever to reach these users thanks to solutions like the Spotify Ad Exchange and Spotify Ads Manager, and to create audio ads made for Spotify with our intuitive Gen AI Ads. Advertisers in the U.S. and Canada can now leverage generative AI in Spotify Ads Manager to produce scripts and voiceovers at no additional cost, making it easy to create high-quality, scalable audio ads. We’ll be launching Gen AI Ads in the U.K. next.

And because we all know that if you can’t measure it, it really doesn’t matter, we’re also bringing more measurement solutions to our platform. We want to ensure advertisers can more easily understand the impact of their campaigns with tools like an enhanced Spotify Pixel and new partnerships with leading third-party players, including DoubleVerify, IAS, AppsFlyer, and Kochava.

How is Spotify Advertising unlocking innovative ways for brands to connect with artists, creators, and fans?

We’re on the cutting edge of culture and creativity—and we know that’s one of the reasons advertisers turn to Spotify. So just as we’re making it easier to buy on Spotify, we’re making it even easier for advertisers to create for Spotify and in collaboration with us. That’s where our in-house agencies, Creative Lab and AUX, come in.

Creative Lab is our dedicated team of creative minds that works collaboratively with brands and agencies to inspire and scale creativity to build unique and effective campaigns made just for the Spotify platform.

Our in-house music consulting agency AUX leverages our expertise in music, culture, creators, and fandom to elevate brands as only Spotify can. Today, we welcomed Visa and Kona Big Wave to the AUX family and announced the expansion of our partnership with Coke Studio.

How should advertisers approach younger audiences like Gen Z, assuming their habits are different from older generations?

More than 251 million Gen Zers turn to Spotify as their daily companion, so we know this audience well. We’ve built an intimate, engaging, and uplifting space for them, and they also use us to soundtrack moments throughout their day—not just when they’re sitting in front of a screen. For brands, that’s a really exciting opportunity to engage this young audience at key moments throughout their day. Now it’s easier than ever to do that on Spotify. 

Check out more coverage from Spotify Advance and visit Spotify Advertising for more about our advertising program and tools.

Advertisers and Creators Come Together at Our First-Ever Spotify Sparks in London

May 2, 2024

With more than 600 million users around the world tuned in to Spotify, there’s no shortage of opportunity for brands and businesses to connect with their fans in creative ways on our platform.

Last year, we launched Spotify Sparks to help educate advertisers on why Spotify is the destination for reaching the most engaged audiences and leveraging culture-shaping content for impactful advertising campaigns. Following two successful summits in Brazil and India, we brought Spotify Sparks to the U.K. for the first-ever London edition. On May 1, Spotify executives, industry leaders, content creators, and advertisers gathered for a series of live discussions, presentations, and interactive sessions that explored the full power of the Spotify ecosystem.

During the event, Grace Kao, Spotify’s Global Head of Advertising Business Marketing, moderated a conversation with Alex Norström, Spotify’s Co-President and Chief Business Officer, about the evolution of Spotify as a platform and the growth of our global advertising business.

We’re sharing highlights from Grace’s conversation with Alex, as well as Grace’s insights about the inaugural event, the latest ad experience innovations, the feel-good power of audio, and more.

Alex, what have been the most memorable moments of growth during your 13-year Spotify tenure?

Alex: For me, it’s been when we’ve had to bet the farm and commit surgery on ourselves a couple of times. Moments when you ask, Are we really going to do that? The first was when the world shifted from desktop to mobile—clearly evident now, not so much at the time. It paid off, we basically got a ton of growth, and in one month we grew more than the 12 months prior. Same with podcasts. We’re now in our second phase of podcasts, but a few years ago we had to start and establish our reach.

Has adding Audiobooks in Premium been another one of those moments?

Alex: I think so. The moment started last year, when we took a hard look at our proposition and saw there was so much consumer surplus. People spend hours and hours on our product. So, it was the right time to raise prices. This was new for us. But at the same time, we’re putting more value back in. An example being audiobooks, but also music videos and AI Playlist. We keep adding features to reinvest back proportionally.

Something that people don’t realize and we don’t talk about much is that our innovation is feature-led. We’ve been innovating in features—AI DJ, Spotify Connect, and daylist are good examples. Instead of leaning back and just letting the AI and the ML take care of how users interact with Spotify, we actively construct and innovate on features. Which I love.

And what advice can you share with these marketers at Spotify Sparks?

Alex: I’ll talk about marketing from our perspective. We saw a few years ago that as the cost of media increases, the price of advertising goes up. So whether you’re a global brand or a start-up, it’s more expensive to market. When things are expensive, they are riskier. So, you naturally become more risk-averse. 

We always try to look at things differently. So we said, If you have millions of users, you can tell compelling stories on the platform. You can talk to the users about their consumption on the platform and what’s relevant. And the hope is they then share with their friends on their networks.

That’s what Wrapped is. When you hit the spot, it’s amazing—it’s marketing and messaging that is very efficient. And we see great growth and retention.

Dive Into ‘Screaming Creativity,’ a New Podcast Hosted by WPP’s Chief Creative Officer, Rob Reilly

September 19, 2023

What does it mean to be creative and who determines what creativity is? In Screaming Creativity, a new video podcast from WPP—the world’s largest marketing and communications company—listeners will be inspired to chew on those questions through frank conversations hosted by WPP Chief Creative Officer Rob Reilly. Each episode will feature influential creatives, ranging from C-Suite executives to musicians, comedians to corporate brand leaders. They’ll engage in candid conversations on their creative journeys, breakthrough career moments, the impact of technology on creativity, the ever-evolving industry landscape, and much more.

As a driving force behind some of the most iconic campaigns in the advertising industry, Rob Reilly brings a wealth of experience and an unmatched passion for creative excellence, and he couldn’t be more excited to work with Spotify on the production. 

“Our goal at WPP is to be the most creative company in the world,” he noted in an interview with For the Record. “We want to work alongside, and be compared to a brand like Spotify. I’m a big supporter of Spotify’s brand and mission. It’s seen as a highly creative company, utilizing data in very targeted and fun ways for advertising and marketing. I’m fascinated to see what Spotify does next.”

What’s the thinking behind Screaming Creativity? 

I love ideas that are loud. When an idea lands in culture and the press writes about it, ideas share and spread. Understanding that pipeline is the foundation of my entire creative process and how I judge ideas—I used to make people present the headline they’d want to win when the idea lands. I loved the idea of turning that concept into a podcast by talking to CMOs and people within WPP. It’s like a masterclass, listening to some of these people. 

It’s been so fun so far. I especially love the “rising star” segment where we feature younger people at WPP, but it’s also so fun to speak to creatives like Marlon Wayans—we have a two-part episode with him, and his family is such a standout brand in comedy and entertainment—and feeling like this could be the future, that maybe this can expand to more people talking about creativity and the things we’ve created that the world can’t ignore.

What’s been your experience with audio storytelling? 

One of my first assignments as a copywriter was in radio. As a young creative in the ‘90s, you had to learn how to captivate people and tell a story without pictures. I was always a strong radio writer, and I’ve always been fascinated by creating these worlds with audio. 

The first thing I did at my job at McCann, in New York, on the Coca-Cola account, was writing little signs on convenience store windows and radio for Coca-Cola. I did a radio campaign that was very popular called Coke Journal, and we brought Chris Rock onto it to develop it for some of the urban radio stations. It was called “Rock Logic,” and he was great. I saw him 25 years later and reminded him of working together and he said, “I’m available!” 

What changes have you seen in audio consumption recently? What excites you about the future of the medium?

The pandemic really put a spotlight on audio, and podcasts in general. I wasn’t listening to many beforehand and now I listen to dozens. The pandemic has changed so many things. How we all work, what a workplace is, our values, what we want out of life. But a lot of the last three years has created a reliance on content, especially when we couldn’t leave the house. For three years, we were listening to The Daily and getting into a routine. Or we were passing the time with The Rewatchables, or Smartless. And there’s something calming, about hearing people talk. People’s reliance upon audio is going to continue to rise, because the content is just getting more and more interesting. 

The podcast covers breakthrough career moments. Do you have any of these of your own?

I was one of those people in New York who worked at a big agency, and had a big job making a decent amount of money. I was maybe 33 or 34. But I realized that I wanted to create that “famous” work for myself. So I made the decision to cut my title and my salary and start over as a copywriter in Miami. I wasn’t married and I didn’t have kids, and I decided to take the risk. I thought I was on a path at being good, but not having enough work that people would follow, or would look to me for expertise. It was hard, no one liked me or respected me. So I put my head down and I just started making the work. And once I started making the work that people liked, that’s when the respect came. 

Your work is your calling card. Not your titles, not your experience. It’s the work you’ve made. 

Any innovative audio campaigns that come to mind?

“Bud Lite Presents: Real American Genius.” Funniest radio campaign you’ll ever hear. I think it was BB Chicago who did it. You heard it, and then you couldn’t wait for it to happen again. The audio, the delivery, the writing on it was so sharp. That’s an audio campaign I’ll never forget.

I also feel like Spotify falls into this category, it’s one of these products that have changed people’s lives. I was thinking recently about cassettes, and CD’s, and having to wait on the radio to play the song you liked so you could record it, and you would pray the DJ didn’t talk over it. Now you can stream something in a second. 

What do you hope listeners will take away from Screaming Creativity? 

I care about exposing more people to the vast array of creatives in the advertising industry. There’s so many young people who are so interesting, so many stories of CCO’s that you wouldn’t know. 

I think it’s going to be interesting to hear people talk about creativity as it applies to their lives, and then as it applies to business and marketing. And I think people want to hear the stories behind Fearless Girl, and some of the things Cadbury’s done in India, helping small businesses through AI.

I want people to see the value in creativity. That the future is creativity. I continue to think it’s going to be the world’s most valuable asset. It should be something we all use to solve big problems and take advantage of big opportunities. 

Stream Screaming Creativity, available on Spotify, now.

Head of International Sales Kristiana Carlet Shares How We’re Taking Advertising to the Next Level at Spotify Beach

June 19, 2023

Each year, Spotify showcases how our platform inspires creativity, connection, and innovation for advertisers and brands at the Cannes Festival of Creativity in France. This year, we’re also able to spotlight the tremendous growth we’ve seen recently—our ad-supported revenue grew 17% year over year in the first quarter of 2023—and how we’re moving toward a future where ads account for 20% of Spotify’s total revenue. 

Kristiana “Kri” Carlet has witnessed this growth firsthand. Since joining Spotify as the Head of International Sales, she’s taken our efforts in Europe, Asia, and Australia to new heights. The Italian native, who moved to the U.K. in the early 2000s to start her career in advertising, says that her desire to learn something new every day and her international branding expertise are a winning combination of tools to make Spotify a leader in audio advertising globally.

“We’re already seeing the forward momentum in Europe, so now I’m excited to turn my sights to the emerging markets like Japan and India, where we’re just getting started with our ads business,” she explained to For the Record on the ground in Cannes. “Every time I’m in those markets with the team and our customers, I’m blown away by the excitement around our brand, the creativity there, and the opportunity that audio represents for them! We’re going to have a huge ability to test new ideas and ways to advertise in those markets—I’m very interested in seeing that come to life.” 

We’re kicking off another standout year at Cannes. What are you most looking forward to this week at Spotify Beach? 

I’ll be very honest—I’ve done so many Cannes—but when I came with Spotify for the first time last year, I was blown away. And I wasn’t sure how we could top it! So I’m very proud to say that this year, Spotify Beach will come to life with even more interactive, playful experiences, from enriching masterclasses featuring the world’s most influential voices to truly FOMO-worthy evening concerts. 

Visitors can get excited for interactive experiences such as a Songs of Summer soundscape, an FC Barcelona partner zone, and an AI DJ interactive experience. Plus, Spotify Studio is back again and fully booked with creators, advertisers, and press taking advantage of our state-of-the-art audio-video facilities. We’ll also host a series of masterclasses featuring exclusive opportunities to hear from Spotify executives including CEO and founder Daniel Ek, brand partners like Coca-Cola and Samsung, and some of the world’s most exciting creators, including Emma Chamberlain, Trevor Noah, Issaa Rae, and Alex Cooper.

We’re also hosting a series of playdates that bring the magic of Spotify to life by inviting guests to get out of their seats and play. And of course, it wouldn’t be Spotify Beach without a lineup of can’t-miss evening performances, including Foo Fighters, Florence + the Machine, Jack Harlow, A$AP Rocky, will.i.am, and more. All of this makes Spotify Beach the perfect spot to meet our clients and partners and show them they are part of an amazing journey with us at Spotify! 

We’re constantly innovating new technologies and formats for content creators and advertisers. What are some ways we’re demonstrating these at Cannes?

Ahead of Cannes, we announced Spotify Ad Analytics and our new B2B podcast, Perfect Pitch, inspired by our Cannes Lions award-winning campaign, A Song for Every CMO. We also recently shared our Sonic Science 2.0 research study, which demonstrates how audio content connects both emotionally and physically with listeners. We found that Spotify listeners are bringing audio into their lives literally 24 hours a day—and are primed to embrace brand messages. Most recently, we’ve been focused on using AI to enrich the listening experience—like with our AI DJ, where each user’s own DJ creates personalized listening experiences for them. Now that I use it, I can’t live without it! 

But I think the best way to absorb everything we’re innovating on is our session with Daniel Ek, Trevor Noah, and our Global Head of Advertising, Lee Brown, as they share their perspectives on how to best leverage new technology to tell stories and drive deeper connections with audiences. I’m really looking forward to sitting in on that one myself.

Cannes Lions is also about awarding the most impactful, creative advertising campaigns and the people behind them. What are some of your favorite Spotify campaigns from the last year?

There’s been so much that we’ve been working on with the partners around us—I can honestly say that we get to work with the world’s most innovative marketers to create original and engaging ad experiences for digital audio. My favorites have been Destination Canada, easyJet, and especially Disney+, which allowed us to bridge our work with Disney to launch a new campaign that combines the worlds of music, film, and TV in a delightful and immersive experience. With it, Spotify listeners across Germany, the U.K., Ireland, Italy, and Spain were able to explore personalized recommendations, as well as new genres and titles from Disney+’s catalog based on their listening habits. It’s personalized, innovative, and meets music and television lovers right where they are—truly a Spotify experience. 

Why should advertisers visit Spotify Beach on the Croisette?

During typical client meetings, you focus on the brief and the specific business challenge that your customer needs you to meet. You can’t always bring the examples to life. I think events like Cannes give us the opportunity to give them a 360-degree view about the power of Spotify advertising and showcase how we’re really only at the beginning of this journey. 

Spotify Beach is really going to bring our creativity and innovation in the streaming industry as a whole to life. It will demonstrate the power that our creator and industry relationships have and how we make them available for our bands and partners. Clients and partners will get to see and experience the overall Spotify ecosystem. Spotify has such an impact on people’s lives, and coming to Spotify Beach shows that without question. 

What’s your personal work mantra?

When you come with a great deal of experience, it’s important to remind yourself that you don’t know it all—and you have to be very good at listening. Because of where I am on my personal journey, I have a lot of reminders to remove my bias and spend time listening to my team and customers. If we want to be successful in business, it always starts at the end of the day, with the people. Then I can help supercharge the experiences of my team and my customers. 

Finally, what would we find on your “On Repeat” playlist? 

At the moment, anything Harry Styles. I’m obsessed—and it’s a common passion I have with my 17-year-old daughter. We’ve been trying to learn the lyrics from Spotfiy on our car journeys so we can belt them out when we see him in concert. As an Italian, I also love Maneskin. They are so fun and they’re going to become an iconic global band.

Catch more of our full Cannes lineup here.

The Ringer Founder Bill Simmons Reveals the Secret Behind the Successful Brand Partnerships of ‘The Rewatchables’

June 16, 2023

Bill Simmons is a man who wears many hats at Spotify. In addition to being the founder and Managing Director of The Ringer—which includes a website and podcast network dedicated to sports and pop culture—he’s also Head of Podcast Innovation and Monetization at Spotify, where he’s leveraging his experience at The Ringer building a high-revenue business through innovation and strong partnerships and applying it across the rest of the company. On top of that, Bill also hosts multiple podcasts, including The Rewatchables.

Featuring a rotating cast of writers and editors each week, the show explores classic films that people will never forget—mostly because they can’t seem to stop watching them. As one of The Ringer’s most popular podcasts, The Rewatchables is a shining example of the podcast network’s creative use of integrated brand partnerships. 

Bill Simmons

This month, The Rewatchables is partnering with Disney to help promote the new film Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. In addition to giving the movie prime placement through custom cover art and the show’s pre-roll ad, as part of this month’s programming, The Ringer is also dropping a special Indiana Jones episode, which will feature branded segments promoting the new movie. 

Beyond working with The Ringer, Disney+ recently launched a new campaign with Spotify that drives awareness of Disney’s audio content in a delightful and immersive Spotify experience. Listeners across Germany, the U.K., Ireland, Italy, and Spain can now explore personalized in-app recommendations—as well as new genres and titles from the Disney+ soundtrack catalog—based on their listening habits. Plus, Spotify Free listeners receive audio, display, and video ads with a call to action to visit a branded in-app experience. Between these two brands, the connection runs deep.

For the Record sat down with Bill to dig deeper into the relationship between content and advertising, what makes a good advertising partnership, and how The Ringer makes these sponsorships sing.

We’ve heard you’re a big fan of the Indiana Jones franchise and are revisiting The Last Crusade in an upcoming Rewatchables episode. What excites you most about revisiting the franchise? 

Raiders of the Lost Ark was the first great modern action movie I ever saw. It changed everything. I even remember where I saw it—the Cleveland Circle theater in Brookline, MA! 

We waited and waited to do it on The Rewatchables for years because it’s one of the 10 most important movies of my lifetime. Indiana Jones is one of the best heroes ever, who fights the worst villains possible. And you’re talking about one of the biggest stars ever in Harrison Ford, who was working with two of the biggest behind-the-scenes creators ever in Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, soundtracked by one of the best composers ever in John Williams. 

So Indiana Jones lives forever after that. If it’s an Indiana Jones movie, I’m going. The difference between him and, say, Jason Bourne or Ethan Hunt is that he always feels like a real guy with a little hero in him . . . not a hero pretending to be a real guy.

The Ringer is known for long-term deals with brand partners, like this month’s sponsorship with Disney. How do you approach these? What is the value in more integrated partnerships?

It may sound simple, but the most important thing is understanding what brands want to get out of the partnership. The brands that always succeed with us are the ones that tell us what their priorities are ahead of time.

One of The Ringer’s secret sauces is that we have multiple avenues to raise awareness for something—podcasts, the network itself, the website, our social handles, and our individual talent. But we also have a good creative team and we understand how to make things a little more special and unique. 

In 2018, State Farm was blowing out a campaign around the state of the NBA season, so we turned it into a special event. We did a two-day Previewpalooza with a bunch of live video talk content, pre-taped shows, and upward of a dozen podcast episodes. State Farm is still a valuable partner all these years later, and I think that week is a big reason why.

Brands don’t want to just fork over money; they want to feel like you elevated their product and put some thought into what they value.

Are there any films you’re still dying to cover?

We are closing in on 300 episodes—which just seems like a crazy-high number—but I have a surprisingly meaty master list of the best Rewatchable movies we haven’t covered yet, which includes classics like Almost Famous. Pulp Fiction, Star Wars, Road House, Anchorman, and most of the Marvel movies. 

There are so many times when I’ll get inspiration for an episode when I’m flipping channels, or I’m on an airplane, or I’m surfing around Netflix. It’s then that I realize, “Wait, I love this movie!” That happened with Casino Royale recently. So, I feel like we can get to 500 episodes pretty easily. From our first episode on the 20th anniversary of the noir film Heat to now, I’m so glad people still like listening to it because we love doing it.

Discover The Ringer’s impactful brand partnerships for yourself by streaming the latest episode of The Rewatchables.