By mid-December, my Instagram feed is overflowing with my associates’ Spotify Wrapped playlists.
So I began my festive, well timed dialog with Spotify’s Head of World Enterprise Advertising, Grace Kao, with a simple one: What’s on her Spotify Wrapped?
“I undoubtedly channel my 12-year-old daughter proper now,” she advised me. “So feminine energy singers: Chappell Roan, Olivia Rodrigo… Beyoncé, clearly.”
Within the spirit of reflection, I offer you “Advertising Wrapped”: Kao’s high advertising methods of 2024, and what to deliver into 2025.
Lesson One: Personalization creates connection.
If Kao had to decide on a cornerstone of 2024’s Advertising Wrapped, she’d select “Connection.”
Which is why Wrapped is such a powerful advertising tactic. It is not about simply personalization — it additionally fosters connection.
As Kao advised me, “Spotify Wrapped does so properly as a result of it is private, nevertheless it’s additionally about group. All we wish to do is share our Wrapped with others. I wish to hear about your Wrapped as a result of it is a connection we each share.”
Whereas I am going to admit my very own Wrapped is barely embarrassing (I do not hearken to something post-2020, so my Wrapped is caught in a time-loop of Taylor Swift’s Folklore… As an apart, I am dangerous with change), there’s one thing deeply gratifying about seeing all my social media connections on the identical web page for as soon as.
Whereas discussing how personalization creates connection, one other marketing campaign sprung to Kao’s thoughts: The latest Coke and Oreo “Bestie Mode” collab, through which customers might obtain curated Spotify playlists that mixed their fav hits with their finest associates’ high songs.
“In 2024, we noticed individuals wanting extra music and extra connection, so this was a terrific alternative to deliver two iconic manufacturers collectively and do one thing enjoyable that introduced worth to our clients.”
Lesson Two: Do not sleep on podcasts as a lead gen alternative.
Gen Zers do not identical to listening to podcasts — they like shopping for from them, too.
In accordance with one report launched in October of this yr, 82% of Gen Z listeners have taken motion on a model after listening to a podcast advert.
This does not shock Kao. As she places it, “Gen Z trusts podcasts greater than they belief influencers on social media proper now.”
This is smart to me. I lately bought a Ninja blender as a result of I heard a podcaster within the well being area rave about it. (I am additionally a infamous shopaholic, although, so take observe: I require minimal convincing.)
Kao boils the reasoning right down to authenticity: “I feel it is as a result of podcasts are unscripted in a sure sense. It is like listening to an natural dialog.”
If you happen to suppose this advertising lesson applies solely to B2C, suppose once more: Spotify’s 2024 Tradition Subsequent report discovered that one of many high podcast genres for Gen Z is enterprise and expertise.
So in 2025, Kao’s suggestion is to lean into podcasts as a lead gen alternative, particularly in case your target market consists of Gen Z.
Lesson Three: Be the primary.
“Spotify is a each day companion all through your life. We’re there on your first dance at your marriage ceremony, your first kiss, your first job interview, or the primary track you play in your new automotive,” Kao quips.
“And that first expertise is what drives model loyalty.”
She’s not incorrect. I am nonetheless loyal to Lululemon years after Alo Yoga, Vuori, and Out of doors Voices hit the scene as various athletic attire corporations. For no motive aside from the only one: I shopped there first.
“Plenty of model loyalty comes from being first to market. And so when manufacturers take into consideration 2025, it is necessary to think about: How will you be first, or not less than a part of a person’s first expertise?”
Whether or not you promote software program, collaboration instruments, or automotive tires, the purpose holds: You may not be top-of-mind throughout somebody’s first dance, however you can be the model they discovered first, and the one they select to stay with due to the small, measurable affect you’ve got had on their first moments — be it a primary advertising job, first group mission, or first massive advertising marketing campaign.
And that is one thing to have fun.
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