Music has always been a quintessential part of our culture and a means of self-expression. Streaming services like Spotify cater to our collective love of music, attracting 422 million users each month. Combining the power of music with the large number of Spotify and Apple Music subscribers is an opportunity for brands to command attention and engage with potential customers in a simple, yet meaningful way. Curating and sharing a branded playlist on a music platform is an effective way to communicate your brand persona and increase your customer engagement.
Share Your Brand’s Sound
Just like how a website or a print ad presents your brand’s visual identity, a playlist should be an audible representation of your brand’s themes and feelings. Consider the values of your business and what kinds of music genres those ideas connect to. People love to feel empathized with and to have an emotional connection with a brand. If you find thematic parallels between a list of songs and your brand, your branded playlist can create the connection and allow listeners to invite you into their music-listening habits.
Create New Opportunities for Engagement
Your customers are already listening to music. Creating a branded playlist on Spotify or Apple Music meets your customers where they are at and lets them engage with your brand as they listen. Subscribers to streaming services are paying for a commercial-free experience, so making a themed playlist keeps your brand top of mind even without ads. Brands have an opportunity to be a part of their audience’s life when they’re on a road trip, at work or relaxing at home. That’s why Nike created its Run Club series of playlists for customers to use while exercising, H&M makes customers miss shopping with their In Store Music playlist, and McDonald’s has a library of playlists for when people want a throwback, are getting ready for a sporting event or are feeling romantic.
Expand Your Brand’s Potential Audience
Spotify’s listenership represents 36 percent of the global streaming market, so it’s an excellent channel to connect with new fans, especially younger demographics. Sixty-three percent of Millennials and 73 percent of Gen Zers stream music every day. Every branded playlist you release creates an opportunity for unfamiliar listeners to discover your brand. Naming a playlist with SEO best practices will make it more likely that users looking for a particular genre of music will stumble upon your brand.
Create Content at a Low Cost
Making a quality branded playlist requires thought and consideration, yet it takes considerably fewer resources and production costs than most content creation. Spend some time reflecting on musical themes, feelings and lyrics you want to associate with your brand. You can also list activities your consumer base regularly engages in and find songs tied to those activities. For example, Kentucky Fried Chicken made a hip-hop playlist by collecting songs that mention KFC, and it’s become wildly popular.
The landscape of marketing is always changing, as media platforms and best practices evolve with the times. But the fundamentals of telling a story and connecting with your consumers will always hold true, and that’s why branded playlists are such an effective advertising tool. Ready to leverage the latest trends and tech to promote your brand? Rivers Agency is an award-winning, full-service advertising agency that can help you build your next branded playlist, or whatever else your business needs. Let us know how we can help.