Dive Brief:

• WPP's Data Alliance inked a deal with Spotify, giving the advertising agency access to the listening preferences and behaviors of 100 million users in 60 countries, according to a WPP press release.
• The partnership is described in the release as a “collaboration in data, insights, creative, technology, innovation, programmatic solutions and new growth markets.”
• According to WPP, musical attributes as specific as the tempo of a song have been proven to be highly relevant in predicting mood, and can lead to more relevant campaign creative and ad targeting.

Dive Insight:

Streaming music services like Spotify provide a unique data set for marketers — the listening habits and musical tastes of their users. Although deep dives into behavioral content consumption offered by ad platforms like Google and Facebook are extremely valuable, the specialized data sets gleaned from Spotify might offer better emotional insights, and WPP clearly recognizes the advertising value in that.

"[We] are humanizing 'quant' data by harmonizing it with music preferences as a new window into the mood and emotion of global audiences during daily moments" said Nick Nyhan, CEO of WPP's Data Alliance, in the release. "It's not about 'just' having data anymore, it's about finding new ways to create connections through emotion." 

While Spotify's premium subscription model has helped revitalize a struggling music industry, it's free platform is still seeking out ways to properly monetize. The music service has been smart about integrating trendy formats like vertical video and programmatic audio, and the multi-year deal with WPP shows Spotify continuing to put a core emphasis on better marketing options.   

"This partnership will drive mutual growth and enable us to further unlock the power of technology, creativity and music data for brands," said Alex Underwood, the VP of global head of agency and partnerships at Spotify, in the release.