Pandora is known for “lean-back listening”: users set a station and don’t need to manage playlists. Thus, listeners choose Pandora when they want to be free of disruption and focus on other tasks. We needed to steal attention from the task at hand to disrupt the very thing that makes Pandora appealing—uninterrupted lean-back listening—but in a way that created affinity instead of animosity.

People don’t like when ads interrupt their music. So we created the first-ever optional radio ad—using 3D audio. Music listeners were presented with a choice: either to hear a Liberty Mutual ad in their left earphones or to continue listening to music in their right earphones. The music in the right earphone, however, featured a song about the great insurance savings the listener was currently missing out on. This music-driven 3D-audio ad debuted on Pandora before also playing on Spotify, YouTube Music and other streaming platforms. Please wear headphones when listening (if possible).

We addressed the frustration of interruption head-on and provided another option while also utilizing the unique capabilities of 3D audio. In doing so, we created an ad that performatively portrayed Liberty’s commitment to allowing users to customize an insurance plan that works for exactly what they want.