Across our clients we are always looking for new ways we can reach target audiences across different platforms.
When you get asked about different platforms, the vast majority of people think of the classics: Google Ads, Microsoft, Meta & Tiktok… We are here to show Spotify some love and run through how you can use Spotify to find new users through the different ad formats, objectives and targeting options found in the platform.
Spotify Ads offers a unique platform for advertisers to connect with listeners in a personalised and immersive manner. You can find your target audience through a wide range of ad formats to capture their interest at the right time.
Ad Formats
1. Audio Ads:
Audio ads are a cornerstone of Spotify’s advertising offerings, allowing brands to deliver messages directly to listeners between songs or during podcasts. These ads can include clickable links, & have to be no longer than 30 seconds. However, if you aven’t got pre recorded audio to use? Well you are in luck…
Spotify provides “Quick Audio” and “Full Service Audio” production services, ensuring high-quality ad creation. This allows you to send off a script to Spotify and they will take care of the rest. Once created, you can review and send back off if you want adjustments made & yes, this is free to use!
Within Audio Ads, you can also take advantage of Canvas Visuals which will show alongside your audio ad when the Spoitfy app is in focus. This is a great way to get more engagement from the ad as it takes up more real estate on the screen.
2. Video Ads:
Another great way to engage users is through video ads Spotify’s video ads are designed to engage users when the app is in focus, ensuring high visibility. Available in formats such as Video Takeover, Sponsored Session, and Opt-In Video, these ads can be up to 30 seconds long and are tailored to both horizontal and vertical viewing experiences.
Video Takeover:
– Delivered during listening sessions when someone is actively listening to a podcast or music
– Screen has to be in Focus
Sponsored Sessions:
– Ad is delivered before 30mins of uninterrupted session time for non-premium users
– Includes clickable assets which appear to invite engagement beyond the app
– Only shown across mobile and tablets. Not on desktop.
Opt-In Videos :
- Optimised to reach listeners who likely to view your video
- Can only be done through the video views campiagn type
- Only shown in Focus for mobile only
3. Podcast Ads:
Leveraging the trusted environment of podcasts, Spotify offers audio ads that can reach both free and premium users. These ads provide an opportunity to connect with listeners in a deeply engaged setting.
These work in the same way as audio ads but allow you to place on podcasts by switching on automatic placements. When targeting you can also choose specific podcast topics to showcase on
4. Custom Experiences:
If you feel like none of the above suit your needs, reach out for Spotify’s Custom Experiences to allow for highly tailored ads to suit your needs. These include:
Sponsored Playlists, Display Overlays, and Homepage Takeovers. These unique formats enable brands to sponsor popular playlists or dominate the Spotify interface, to maxmise your brand visibility.
On Spotify’s website, you can browse through lot’s of case studies where brands have used this to create a tailored ad experience for their brand. A particular favourite of ours is how Heineken used Spotify to place on specific podcasts in Germany for the holiday season to convert traditional German beer drinks to try pale ale lagers through audio and podcast ads, where they experienced brand uplifts.
Campaign Objectives
Moving on from the ad formats, it’s time to focus on the goals you can select for your new campaign…
Spotify supports a range of campaign objectives to align with various marketing goals, from increasing brand awareness to driving website traffic. These objectives include:
- Reach: Designed to maximize the number of unique users exposed to your ads, perfect for building broad brand awareness.
- Impressions: Focuses on maximizing the frequency of ad views, keeping your brand top of mind.
- Video Views: Aims to increase engagement and ad recall by optimizing for three-second video views.
- Clicks: Targets users most likely to click on your ads, driving traffic to your website or landing pages.
- Podcast Streams (Beta): Helps grow your podcast audience by promoting it to likely new listeners.
As you can see from the options, most of the campiagn goal are optimised for top to middle of the funnel interactions with your audience to drive awareness & consideration. In our experience, you experience lower CTRs on Spotify as a result of people not actively always being on their phone, being an audio first platform.
Targeting Options
Spotify offers a whole range of targeting options that will enable to you to reach your desired audiences. However, when comparing it to other social platforms such as meta, interests are a lot more broad and not as granular.
- Demographics: Target by age, gender, location, and language, ensuring your message reaches the most relevant audience.
- Behaviors and Interests: Utilise Spotify’s insights into user behavior, including streaming habits and preferences, to target audiences based on their interests and activities on the app.
- Fan Bases and Genre Targeting: Reach fans of specific artists or genres, ideal for music-related campaigns. Although fan targeting for podcasts is not yet available, music targeting provides a powerful way to connect with dedicated fan bases.
- Contextual Targeting: This option allows advertisers to reach listeners engaged in specific activities or moods, such as workout sessions, studying, or relaxation, by targeting relevant playlists.
- Podcast Topics: select from a range of podcast topics that you believe to be relevant to your business or client
- Platform and Device Targeting: Optimise your campaigns for specific devices or platforms, ensuring your ads are seen where they are most effective.
Unique Opportunities with Spotify’s Creative Team
Working with Spotify’s creative team opens up a world of opportunities for brands to craft unique and impactful advertising experiences. Whether through custom audio production, personalised podcast ads, or specialised placements, partnering with Spotify’s experts can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your advertising efforts. This collaboration allows you to create campaigns unique to you and your brand that leverage Spotify’s understanding of their audiences and how to best reach your target demographic
Tracking
To ensure the success of your campaigns, The Spotify Pixel allows you to track onsite actions, such as page views and purchases, helping you measure the impact of your ads. This is easily implemented through Spotify analytics where you can create pixels for each event you create, to be able to track on site activities.
Conclusion
Spotify Ads offer a diverse range of formats and targeting options, making it a great platform for advertisers looking to connect their audiences. Is it as tidy or polished as the likes of Meta & Google ads? No but even they have their downfalls. We highly recommend creating an account yourself and seeing if you feel like it would be a suitable platform for you to use or feel free to get in touch with us today & we can help guide you on how we can use the platform to achieve your business goals.
