Why advertisers should dial into audio and video this festive season

And so, starting this week, Spotify Advertising is ringing in ad land’s festive season with its first UK OOH campaign, transforming London’s iconic red phone booths into miniature winter wonderlands to showcase why audio and video should be on every brand’s wish list. The playful ‘Q4 is Calling’ activation sees the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service bring its festive phone booth experience to Dentsu, The Drum Live! and Publicis.

Intrepid marketers entering the green-painted, snow-covered, and decorated booths will be greeted by a ringing phone. Pressing any key triggers a range of unique Q4 planning insights delivered by the voice of Spotify's AI powered DJ, Xavier “X” Jernigan, as well as fun surprises like a personal dance party, where a disco ball descends into the booth. Each visitor will also be given some sweet treats on their way out, to power them through their Q4 planning.

The experiential activity in London brings to life how it’s not just festive music that kicks in early. UK consumers are planning, and even buying, their gifts in October, with one in four Spotify users starting their festive shopping during this month. The campaign also spotlights the fact that Spotify commands twice the attention of social media channels, and how brands can capture the eyes and ears of audiences by leveraging a multi-format campaign.

Ed Couchman, head of Northern Europe sales at Spotify, explains: “As the world’s leading home-screened app, with users spending two hours on it every day, Spotify is perfect for busy marketing periods like Q4. With our first party data showing that listeners start streaming festive tracks on Spotify as early as September, advertisers need to get started on their festive campaigns now, to effectively reach these audiences while they’re in this festive mindset and planning their shopping for the season.”

It seems that digital audio is part and parcel of the festival shop these days, as Spotify data shows that two in three listeners stream podcasts while doing their Christmas shopping. This year, the brand also saw a 44% boost in engagement with video content on Spotify as more users are preferring video as an option for their podcast consumption.

So, how can brands themselves dial in to audio and video to win with consumers this festive season?

Making a list... lean in early

From Christmas to New Year, Black Friday to Cyber Monday, Q4 is packed full of big calendar and consumer moments. Marketers need to leverage the gift moments that matter in an increasingly competitive environment. And they can do that effectively by leaning in sooner.

According to GWI, one in four Spotify users start buying their gifts as early as October. And the majority (59%) plan to get some or all of their festive shopping done over Black Friday. Brands not wanting to end up on the naughty list should start planning early, to reach users at the start of their purchase journey.

Couchman advises: “Combining audio, video and display ads increases purchase intent by 2.2x compared to audio alone, with a 34% higher conversion rate than audio industry benchmarks. So leveraging a multi-format approach is key to ensuring that you reach the right people, in the right way, at the right time.”

Checking it twice... get on Gen Z’s wish list

Gen Z’s purchasing power continues to gather pace. And they’re increasingly turning to Spotify for their music and podcast culture fix as that’s where the world’s culture-defining creators choose to showcase their content. With the rise of podfluencers, Gen Z say they trust their favorite podcast host more than their favorite social media influencer.

Spotify data also reveals a strong correlation between the platform and brand engagement, as well as a higher tendency to buy around key Q4 shopping periods. 57% of Gen Z listeners say brands who advertise on Spotify are trustworthy. And those users are also 27% more likely to take part in Black Friday.

Couchman says: “Gen Z is our fastest-growing cohort in music and podcast listening on Spotify. We believe it’s because we offer something different: a deeper, more intimate understanding of this generation through the music, podcasts, playlists, and fandoms that form the immersive soundtrack of their lives. ”

And when marketers have Gen Z in their sights, which type of audio or video creative cuts through the noise? Spotify’s in-house creative agency, Creative Lab, reports that ads with one clear message, the right context and a clear call to action are more likely to increase consumer recall and drive intent.

Naughty or nice? Appeal to eyes as well as ears

In the attention economy, advertisers win when their audiences are fully immersed in their message. With over 100 million tracks, six million podcast titles, and 350,000 audiobooks, people use Spotify as their essential daily companion. In fact, 92% of Spotify users say they use Spotify as part of their daily routine.

Marketers can measure their impact by using full-funnel analytics tools which use tailored campaign KPIs across all Spotify ad formats – so they can accurately prove the value of their investments internally.

Couchman says: “As digital audio continues to boom and proving ROI today is more important than ever, it’s critical marketers understand the impact of their digital audio investments. That’s why we launched Spotify Ad Analytics last year. WithSpotify Ad Analytics, advertisers can access full funnel measurement solutions across podcasts and music to unlock greater impact.”

Step inside Spotify’s ‘Q4 is Calling’ phone booth today (September 25) at The Drum Live!, our flagship UK event for marketing leaders. And for more Q4 campaign inspiration, reach out to your Spotify rep and ask for a copy of the Q4 Activation Guide.