What can Spotify Wrapped teach us about successful marketing strategies?

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Over the past two weeks, more than 381 million people around the world have encountered the question “What did your 2021 sound like?” when accessing the Spotify app, the world’s most popular and used streaming service.

Indeed, this is a question that sparks a user's curiosity, motivates them to lawyer database engage in self-reflection, and, as a result, sparks a desire to share their results with friends and family. After all, it's your Spotify Wrapped communicating data that's unique to you in 2021.

Since its launch in 2015, Spotify Wrapped has become a December tradition anticipated by streaming users around the world. It's also a growth hacking strategy as solid as choosing "Come Over to My House This Christmas" to soundtrack your family's Christmas Eve dinner.

The experience, launched on December 1, features insights into the top songs, artists, and podcasts listened to by the user throughout the year. In addition to the creative ways this data was presented in previous versions of the platform, this year gamification and connectivity were the highlights of the retrospective .

What makes this Wrapped so user-friendly is the hashtag #SpotifyWrapped, which is trending worldwide. This helped the app jump from 15th to 2nd in downloads within hours of its launch. How did the popularity among users drive massive results for the brand in December, helping to establish the fourth quarter as the company’s biggest ever , according to CEO Daniel Ek?

The way Spotify collects data, presents it, and interacts with its users can be seen as a successful process that can teach businesses and marketers around the world the “behind the scenes.” This can also be applied to your own strategies.

If you're also a Spotify listener, head over to the app, press play on your personalized "Your Top Songs 2021" playlist, and follow me.

Collecting data for data-driven experiences
Throughout the year, we use the music streaming platform and provide specific data about our music tastes, podcast preferences, and time spent on the app.

Spotify, a pioneer in assertive and well-developed methods, shares with users the main insights into their own behaviors. This often motivates them to share the results on their social networks, so all their followers can interact in a variety of ways.

Some would say this is a risky strategy because the company is openly showing that it collects and analyzes personal data to promote the platform. But the company has managed to turn Spotify Wrapped into the streaming giant's secret growth trick.

But what makes it so effective?

These factors can help answer that question:

Use smart data for gamification
The brand is able to use data and BI that the platform already understands about its users to deliver personalized gamification.

Surveys point to interactive content as a great source of engagement and conversion results for marketing strategies. This blog post explains the validity and importance of quizzes – the quiz format was a good source of conversions in 2021 .

Generates publicity and market predictability
Since 2015, Spotify has consistently launched this feature during the first days of December, Spotify Wrapped is now an action expected by users and, also, by the media and the press.

This creates expectations among listeners and, consequently, a lot of buzz around the topic in this period. The brand is thus able to work with the predictability of the market itself based on the increased visibility generated by the personalized use of its users' data. In conclusion: Spotify can develop specific strategies to implement at another time of year!

Free custom resources for the user
At the end of the interactive experience, the user receives content created especially for them by automated algorithms. In 2021, the company went beyond playlists of top songs or artists: it created 2021 Wrapped Hub, which features a variety of personalized, data-driven , editorially curated content.

In other words: after an immersion in information about users’ favorites within the app, the brand still offers users a free resource to keep them involved and engaged. Does this sound familiar, Marketer?

User Behavior Presentation
One of the main focuses of the format chosen to present Spotify Wrapped is to capture the user's attention and delight them with information about themselves that manages, at the same time, to make them feel unique and members of specific groups.

But the entire user experience throughout the retrospective was built from key takeaways that are essential to the success of this strategy.

Note some details:

Motivation and empathy
Catchy slogans are hits in Hollywood movies, on car stickers, and apparently on this year's Spotify Wrapped.

“In 2021 you did what you had to do”; “You always understood the task”; and “You deserve a playlist as long as your skincare routine” each demonstrate empathy and connection with the user.

Almost immediately, curiosity is piqued to check out what is said after that, increasing the amount of time Spotify listeners interact and engage with that experience.

Shareable potential: beautiful colors and design
Information about user behavior is presented in a colorful, engaging and easily shareable format. During the slideshow, different animations and interactions are delivered, always alongside the user’s most listened to songs and with a very clear CTA button : “Share this story”, further expanding the brand’s reach through likes and shares on social media.

Have you ever thought about creating content so good that users and customers share it for free on different channels? That's what Spotify users are doing.

Word of Mouth Marketing: Creating Free Advertising
The data collected throughout the year by Spotify and shared in the retrospective allows for curious insights for its users, which end up being the subject of many conversation circles. In my family, for example, no one was impressed with the fact that The Beatles were the best artists in my retrospective, but my mother made me perceive that Alok would be a good choice for my next disco party.

This increases word-of-mouth advertising marketing, further spreading the word about the brand's services to current and future users, without any direct investment in advertising. This is certainly one of the most positive free advertising campaigns ever!

Interaction: with the brand, users and artists
After a period in which digital became essential for cultivating personal and professional relationships, this year’s Spotify Wrapped brought possibilities for interaction and connection between users, artists and the brand. This action established Spotify Wrapped as one of the company’s greatest marketing successes.

But how did they do it?

Approaching the listener
In partnership with over 170 of the platform’s content creators, Spotify added videos from artists and podcasters thanking their fans for listening. So much so that they appeared in users’ Wrapped playlists (these videos can be viewed by accessing the custom playlists created in Retrospective or on the artists’ profile).

By doing this, the company inspires other brands to develop strategies with real people. A video with your team thanking customers for the partnership throughout the year, for example, could be a good alternative.

See what you and your friends have in common
A feature present in this year's Spotify Wrapped is the use of common slang and terms that are highly searched for on search engines. This increases the user's sense of proximity to the brand, and by sharing the content, the company gains even more free advertising.

Another piece of Spotify Wrapped news that supported this was the launch of 2021 Wrapped Blend , a feature that allows the user to see how their 2021 music tastes match up with their friends, stream their combined playlist, and share their results on social media. Another nice incentive for the growth of people’s interaction with the brand’s content.

Spreading the word: sharing on social media
Just like the numbers in the digital market, the exponential growth in the use of the TikTok platform could not go unnoticed by Spotify. In addition to Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook channels, this year the user can share each slide of Spotify Wrapped on TikTok.

With this feature, the company demonstrates that it follows market trends and invests its strategies through different channels, even if indirectly. A reminder that new channels can be sources of good opportunities.

Music, Marketing and Data
After a few years following this action, we are pleased to share insights on why Spotify Wrapped is a success, not only with its users, but also as a complete Marketing strategy to collect, present and share data organically and with free advertising.

I hope you too feel inspired by Spotify’s strategies and can replicate some of our tips in your own business.

Please let us know if you have any other questions about music, Spotify, The Beatles, Marketing or this article.