For the past few years, Spotify has given us the gift that keeps on giving – Wrapped – a curated look at the last year of music, artists and genres that we have listened to and loved. And on Tuesday – Spotify let Christmas come early once again.
Each year, my Instagram and Twitter feeds are filled will people sharing their top songs, artists and playlists all using the hashtag #Wrapped20XX. And while I’ve always thought that this campaign is magical – this year feels extra special.
Why does Spotify’s marketing campaign work and why are other music brands like Apple Music copying it this year? It’s easy – personalization without being too creepy – Bah hum bug! And clearly something is working. After doing some quick research, we found “Spotify” and “#SpotifyWrapped” jumped from an average of 1-2 billion impressions to 182 billion impressions today. And for those of you who are unfamiliar with digital statistics like this — this is a big deal!
This year’s campaign is even more personalized with one of the campaign moments being “The One Song That Helped You Get Through It All.” And we can all agree – music did help keep spirits lifted in 2020.
As a marketer, Spotify Wrapped hit on key elements that resulted in an impactful campaign, which we can all apply to our own marketing projects:
- Humanity and Personalization: You get your very own list —tailored to you! Even though millions of others are getting something similar, if a brand can make you feel seen – consumers will keep coming back and remain loyal.
- Shareability: If you can’t figure out how to share this, we have bigger issues. The content is flashy, easy to share and allows for you to share all of it or just a portion. For fun, here are my Top 100 Songs of 2020.
- Buzzworthiness: Right now, everyone is craving something positive, upbeat and inspiring. Spotify Wrapped is the distraction that we all needed.
- Discovery – While we think we know what would be on our lists, there are surprises and moments of reflection. It’s almost like HBO’s The Undoing – I thought I knew what was up, but I was very surprised with the finale and based on social conversation, I wasn’t the only one.
- Community: While being virtual, we all crave community. We see this with the success of brands like Peloton. We all want to be included in something and Spotify Wrapped makes us feel invited to the year-end party.
The consistency of the campaign is what gets me excited each year. And I look forward to the continued growth and success of this program. Who knows, maybe next year I’ll move away from Pop, Broadway and Contemporary Country and find myself in Adult Standard or Rap. Guess we’ll have to see!
