Brief:
- Spotify added video advertising to its Ad Studio self-serve advertising platform, giving marketers a way to place video ads in streaming content. The service is available in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, along with a few test markets worldwide, per an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer.
- Advertisers can format video ads to appear horizontally or vertically, optimizing them for viewing on iOS and Android devices. The video ads are limited to 30 seconds, and must allow viewers to click through to a website address, per a spec sheet provided by Spotify.
- Running video and audio ads produces ad recall that's 1.9 times higher than video ads alone, while brand awareness is 2.2 times greater, per Nielsen data cited by Spotify.
Insight:
Spotify's addition of video ads to its self-serve platform gives mobile marketers more flexibility in their marketing campaigns by adding visual storytelling that resembles other video platforms. Spotify is mostly known as a music and podcast platform, though the addition of video ads suggests that the company sees a growing opportunity to engage listeners with video ads that supplement their audio experience. The company claimed in information shared with Mobile Marketer that 25% of its overall ad revenue comes from video ads, an indication that brands already are running campaigns on its mobile and desktop platforms.
Spotify's addition of video ads comes two months after the company expanded Ad Studio globally. The self-serve platform lets advertisers upload a script for Spotify to transform into a fully produced audio spot with background music and a voiceover. Spotify doesn't charge advertisers additional fees for the service, which can take anywhere from an hour to two days to create a custom audio ad. As part of a worldwide rollout, Spotify updated its suite of interest-based and real-time ad targeting based on music and podcast streaming, and added business podcast listener targeting.
Spotify is innovating in other ways, including the addition of voice commerce features. Luxury makeup brand Nars Cosmetics this month started letting U.K. listeners of Spotify order product samples by talking to their smart speakers. The campaign aimed to convert passive listeners of audio content on Spotify into potential customers who respond to a call-to-action. While many Spotify customers pay for ad-free listening, most of its audience listens to its free, ad-supported platform, giving marketers a chance to reach consumers with Spotify's growing menu of formats like Streaming Ad Insertion.
