Ad campaigns can influence a consumer’s perception of a brand. Most marketers make the mistake of trying to create an ad campaign that is focused on how the ad campaign can benefit the brand. Although this should be a component in your idea generation, it isn’t the most important. So, what is the most important? Spotify Wrapped is a social media ad campaign that went viral not only because it showed consumers that it is a fantastic music streaming platform but also because it used its campaign to give back to its customers for using its brand. The most important component is how your campaign can benefit the consumer. So, how did Spotify accomplish this?

Spotify Wrapped Explained 

The brand started doing wraps in 2016 and has continued to do it every year since. Spotify Wrapped combines machine learning and the user’s personal music taste. The wrap includes all of the songs users have been listening to that year, the genre they listened to the most, the most listened to artist, and the amount of time the user listened to each. It allows their users to learn more about their music taste and helps them see what their year is composed of based on what they were listening to. 

Why did this work for the brand?

What started as a simple end-of-the-year music summary for Spotify’s users turned into a viral social media campaign because of the many social media posts their users shared. The users loved their summaries enough to show their wraps to their friends and followers on their own personal social media profiles, which in turn made their brand more desirable to more consumers who were not users. Posting your Spotify yearly wrap became a trend everyone wanted to participate in. If you want to see what these wraps look like use the hashtag #SpotifyWrapped to search. 

This social media campaign optimized the brand’s visibility and provided a favor to its users. It gave consumers something to show off with pride and made their brand seem beneficial to consumers. It also made the brand grow a personal relationship with its consumers, which is one of the most valuable accomplishments for a brand with so many competitors. 

What to learn from this for your brand

Spotify created a social media campaign that benefited the brand and consumers alike. By providing a personal touch to their services, the brand was able to make their music streaming platform desirable in the eyes of millions. They gave something to their users that was worth sharing publicly. 

Marketing is about generating a need for your brand’s product or service. Telling consumers what you can provide isn’t enough to persuade them to need your product or service. Providing a product or service that your current customers feel compelled to share and promote themselves is how you create this need. Your social media campaign should get people talking about your brand because it generates a need for non-users to participate in the talk. Have you shared your Spotify Wrapped before? Or can you think of another brand that has done something similar? 

Reach out to us with questions of your own or share your thoughts about the campaign or others!

 

Author: Taylor Munghia

Social Media Strategist Intern

Taylor Munghia was an intern for the National Institute for Social Media, who recently earned the Social Media Strategist certification. She is a recent graduate from the University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis in marketing. She is also educated in social media content and strategy.