On March 21, 2023, Spotify and Effinity organized a joint presentation on audio advertising on the theme: “Audio advertising, speak to your customers’ ears”. The event, which brought together some 50 advertisers, took place over a breakfast hosted by Adrien Jimenez, Ad Studio Country Lead for Spotify, and Christophe Bosquet, President of Effinity, at Spotify’s Paris offices. Read the report.
A few figures to set the scene…
As with any good presentation, it all starts with a description of the context. And what better way to do this than with a few key figures to frame the debate. We learned that Spotify has 16.7 million active users in France, 60% of whom are free users (i.e., exposed to advertising), and reaches 56% of French Internet users aged 18 to 34. What’s more, 27.4% of Spotify Free users are in the highest income bracket (Top 25% highest income earners). In terms of usage, Free listeners spend 2.5 hours a day on the app, and 6 hours for 15-34 year-olds. Two final figures to close the context on theeffectiveness of Spotify ads: 50% of listeners consider that if Spotify works with an advertiser, then that advertiser is trustworthy, and for 46% of them, hearing an ad on Spotify makes them want to like/follow the advertiser’s brand.
The effects of audio on the brain
Before getting to the heart of the matter, it’s worth remembering that a number of studies have shown that audio has an impact on us via all the key centers of the brain, be they emotional, memory or engagement centers. For the latter, Neuro-Insight’s research revealed that the Spotify experience generated stronger engagement than television, digital video and social networks. Audio thus has the power to allow us to become one with the moment. A sentiment reinforced by the fact that 80% of users listen with headphones.
Ad targeting on Spotify
One of Spotify’s strengths is that it offers 1st party data that can be targeted according to a wide range of criteria.
Classic” criteria
- By age group
- By type
- By geolocation (country, region, city or zip code)
- By language
- By device
Criteria by listening type
- Playlists
- Podcasts
- Musical genre
- Artists
Criteria related to interests
Interest-based targeting (26 interests available, from cooking to news, DIY, health, sport, etc.) enables us to reach relevant audiences based on the activities and themes they are passionate about. The centers of interest are determined by the user’s recent streaming behavior (including favorite podcasts, playlists and platforms).
Contextual criteria
Real-time contextual targeting enables us to reach people who adapt their listening to their activities, moments and moods. For example, Spotify identifies playlists compiled by users and by Spotify in connection with popular activities and moments (dinner, parties, travel, sports, studies, etc.). In each category, Spotify delivers targeted messages to users who listen to these playlists. It’s even possible to select multiple contexts in real time to broaden the potential audience.
Spotify ad formats
Audio Ads
Audio ads are broadcast between titles, with a maximum duration of 30 seconds, non skippable. They are accompanied by a banner, which encourages listeners to focus on the message. They include a customizable CTA. For this format, the average CPM is €2 and the average CTR is 0.13%.
Video Takeover
Videos are played during a listening session when the user takes an action on the app, and only when the app is visible on the screen. With a maximum duration of 30 seconds, they are non-skippable and include a customizable CTA. For videos, the average CPM is €6 and the average CTR is 0.52%.
It is worth noting that multi-format campaigns (combining video and audio) increased brand awareness by 2.2x compared to video ads alone, and increased ad recall by 1.9x compared to video ads alone.
Spotify, from consideration to conversion
Spotify also generates an impact across the entire purchase funnel. Of course, at the top of the funnel, to develop brand awareness, forge links between peer groups and encourage research into the product/brand. But Spotify has just as strong an impact on driving purchase at the bottom of the funnel compared to other media (+11% compared to social networks and radio).
Effinity and Audio Digital Ads for affordable brand awareness
Our Spotify Ads agency began working with Spotify several months ago, offering its customers support in designing their advertising spots and defining targeting criteria (playlists / centers of interest / contexts / SPC / gender). In addition to the KPIs offered by Spotify, Effinity’s tracking tool can be used to track the effectiveness of coupons offered in advertisements, or clicks to the advertiser’s site and sales generated by these visits.
More broadly, Effinity’s Audio Digital Ads offer enables advertisers to create and broadcast professional-quality audio ads on streaming platforms such as Spotify and Deezer, as well as podcasts (Radio France, Brut), web radio and video players (YouTube, Dailymotion).
Effinity’s expertise in target selection, message definition and tracking brings real added value to advertisers in the deployment of Audio Digital Ads campaigns. But the offer goes even further, for example, with the establishment of links with influencer campaigns. The aim is to use the creative power of influencers to design spots, letting them speak on behalf of the brand.
We have now entered an era where digital audio makes brand awareness accessible to all brands, which is not the case with traditional radio media. Working on brand awareness has therefore become accessible not only in terms of cost, but also in terms of spot production. It’s also an excellent format for boosting awareness of other levers, particularly during commercial high points (Black Friday, sales, etc.).
Our Audio Digital Ads experts are ready to listen to you if you want to talk in your customers’ ears.
