Spotify launches Video Ad service for brand partners
Spotify has upped the ante for its brand partners with two new video advertising products.
Offering its global brand partners like McDonald’s, Ford, Coca-Cola and NBC Universal Pictures 100% share of voice through a Video takeover for desktop users – where Spotify will air brands’ videos during normal ad breaks on the free subscription service, rather than audio spots – and Sponsored Sessions for mobile users, where the brand owns 30 minutes of uninterrupted music on your phone.
The Sponsored Session will be a desirable option for Spotify’s 30 million free users, however to receive those 30 minutes of uninterrupted music, users must first view a :15 or :30 advertisement, similar to how YouTube currently operates. Brands will be given the opportunity to stream advertising that aligns with any daily activities where music plays a role for Spotify users (exercising, studying, partying, commuting).
The updates are expected to be rolled out locally in the first quarter of next year.
Kate Vale, Spotify Australia and New Zealand’s Managing Director, told TMN, “Sponsored Sessions allows brands to sponsor ad-free music sessions, targeting users with video that’s relevant to the activity they are doing while listening to music on the platform. This will help solve some of the issues brands and agencies are having with other video products – advertisers will have 100% share of voice and it will be less intrusive than an auto play ad given the consumer has to opt in. It’s a truly unique offering and we’re excited to begin rolling it out here shortly.”
Jeff Levick, Chief Business Officer, Spotify said in a statement: “These new ad formats are perfect examples of the kind of high quality, high value experiences we want to offer our brand partners and our audience.”
Ivan Pollard, Senior Vice President of Connections at The Coca-Cola Company, said: “Spotify are great partners in helping us execute new ways of connecting with people on their platform leveraging data, intelligence and creativity to bring a little refreshment to an already uplifting experience with music.”
According to the streaming service’s Internal Data, its users spend an average of 84 minutes per user per day on Spotify and those who use the service on multiple devices spend an average of 146 minutes on Spotify.