Spotify: ‘Playlists offer unique insights into a user’s habits, hobbies & interests, plus unrivaled contextual targeting’
Spotify made waves on the U.S. advertising landscape when it opened up its inventory to programmatic media-buyers with a private marketplace (PMP) as the music streaming service made a concerted effort to further monetise its 75 million-strong user base.
Jana Jakovljevic, Spotify, head of programmatic solutions, and judging panel member for the inaugural The Drum’s Digital Trading Awards in the U.S., was very much the public face of this rollout which came at a time when the brand attempted to more deeply embed itself in its users’ lives via way of a partnership with Volvo.
Jakovljevic explains that Spotify’s programmatic strategy "focuses heavily on our unique first-party data when it comes to offering audience segments. In addition to our self-declared subscription data (age and gender) we’re able to offer playlist data – buyers can target users in real-time across a broad range of playlists including commute, work out, party, studying, etc.,” she says. “Playlists not only offer unique insights into a user’s habits, hobbies and interests, but provide unrivaled contextual targeting.”
It’s this deterministic first-party data that offers buyers the ability to target their desired audiences with a more relevant message, according to Spotify. This reduces waste and improves performance, says Jakovljevic. “When a publisher understands their audience and is able to share insights with buyers, this will naturally drive higher CPMs than what's achievable in an open auction environment which provides little-to-no insights.”
Clearly, Spotify wants to be the place advertisers turn to when they want streaming data on their media plans, with Jakovljevic pointing out that Spotify users are listening for over two hours per day, throughout their day, across various activities.
“Audio ads are the perfect medium to deliver a message to a person on the move,” she adds, although she does note that Spotify has yet to apply programmatic to its audio advertising offering (yet).
“It’s one of the few ad formats that can be delivered to a person while they’re at the gym, driving their car or cooking up a storm. It’s scalable, highly targetable, non-intrusive, and, subsequently, one of the most effective mobile ad formats available to brands,” concludes Jakovljevic.
The Drum Digital Trading Awards USA are held in association with Media iQ and partnered by The Trade Desk, OpenX, the Guardian US; and the 4A’s. The awards recognize programmatic performance and are open for entry here