Let’s face it, B2B advertising has a reputation for being boring.

Marketers — namely CMOs — aren’t going out of their way to tune in to B2B ads, especially from a dull category like digital audio advertising.

But Spotify is anything but dull.

Their platform is more immersive and engaging than other digital audio platforms; brands who advertise on Spotify see better breakthrough, engagement and purchase intent than they do on other digital audio platforms. They have something incredible to offer marketers, but they treat Spotify Advertising like a media plan afterthought.

With a $0 paid media budget, we took on the creative challenge of proving how engaging Spotify is — with something far more engaging than a paid B2B ad.

We knew that getting CMOs excited about Spotify Advertising would drive broader consideration with other marketers and, in turn, drive revenue for Spotify overall.

We used Spotify data for insight into each CMO’s favorite genres, and wrote them musical tributes personalized by their musical tastes and biographies. Each song’s lyrics were crafted based on research into each CMO and each track was performed in the style of the CMO’s favorite music. After checking in to ensure the CMOs were ready to be memorialized in song, we worked with Spotify artists to record our CMO anthems at Spotify Studios. We created unique album art for each song, and delivered them to CMOs as scannable platinum records for an extra-special touch.

Spotify Advertising enables marketers to target their audience in uniquely personal ways. To prove that ability and demonstrate its creative potential, we targeted our audience — CMOs — through customized, data-inspired songs.

We created “A Song for Every CMO” to speak directly to 14 CMOs at brands strategically relevant to Spotify Advertising. We began by identifying their favorite genres, via Spotify data and through direct research. Then we crafted lyrics celebrating their successes. Using Spotify Studios in NYC as our home base, we worked with Spotify artists to record our original tributes tailored to the tastes of an audience of one: the song’s subject.

Each song was treated like a new single and released as part of a Spotify playlist, where it could be shared with our target CMOs and the industry as a whole, so anyone could listen to our tributes as well as request their own.

Let’s face it, B2B advertising has a reputation for being boring.

Marketers — namely CMOs — aren’t going out of their way to tune in to B2B ads, especially from a dull category like digital audio advertising, which they basically see as old-school radio.

But Spotify isn’t radio. And it’s definitely not dull.

Our platform is more immersive and engaging than any other platform; Spotify engagement levels are 23% higher than those of any other medium. We’re the platform with the most immersed audience, which means 85% more attention time: 23% more than TV, 27% more than social media and 34% more than radio.

We have something incredible to offer marketers, but they treat us like a media plan afterthought.

The challenge: Spotify was in a category overlooked by CMOs, treated as an afterthought by media planners and, to make it worse, massively outspent by Facebook, Google and Amazon.

Spotify had tried in the past to do traditional B2B advertising. It didn’t work. It’s just hard to break through the media planning inertia. It’s easy to tell a CMO to spend money with Facebook, Google or Amazon.

We had to create a new marketing playbook. To show CMOs they should change up theirs.

With a $0 paid media budget, we took on the creative challenge of proving how engaging Spotify is — with something far more engaging than a paid B2B ad.

We knew that getting CMOs excited about Spotify Advertising would drive broader consideration with other marketers and, in turn, drive revenue for Spotify overall.

Our solution to the creative challenge: As the world’s leading music streaming service (not just an ad platform), we harnessed the captivating power of music. The exact music that individual CMOs tuned in to.

Using data on 14 CMOs’ tastes and listening habits, we created “A Song for Every CMO” — 14 original, silly-yet-serious tribute songs written for 14 CMOs demonstrating how engaged they are with the platform and spotlighting the creative potential of Spotify Advertising overall.

First, each song was treated like a new single and released at a key moment in the media planning calendar. The songs became part of a public Spotify playlist, which truly demonstrated the deep engagement and creativity that only Spotify can deliver (and in turn, our audience’s love for the platform).

Then, we delivered the songs as scannable platinum records, which made each CMO feel extra special and gave them a keepsake that could serve as a conversation piece and continue to drive word of mouth for years to come.

Finally, we used PR and LinkedIn to fuel awareness and engagement. Not only did this give each CMO a special moment of fame, it made other CMOs excited and eager to have a song of their own. Plus, we knew many more marketers read industry trades like Ad Age and would actively consider Spotify Advertising upon reading about the effort.

Let’s face it, B2B advertising has a reputation for being boring.

Marketers — namely CMOs — aren’t going out of their way to tune in to B2B ads, especially from a dull category like digital audio advertising.

But Spotify is anything but dull.

Their platform is more immersive and engaging than other digital audio platforms; brands who advertise on Spotify see better breakthrough, engagement and purchase intent than they do on other digital audio platforms. They have something incredible to offer marketers, but they treat Spotify Advertising like a media plan afterthought.

With a $0 paid media budget, we took on the creative challenge of proving how engaging Spotify is — with something far more engaging than a paid B2B ad.

We knew that getting CMOs excited about Spotify Advertising would drive broader consideration with other marketers and, in turn, drive revenue for Spotify overall.

“A Song for Every CMO” was a smash hit for Spotify Advertising, from overdelivering on marketing objectives to turbocharging the business.

Driving Awareness and Consideration:

-The campaign garnered 3.9M+ impressions within five days. Excitement from CMOs on LinkedIn drove song streams and brand consideration.

Driving Engagement:

-In Q4 2021, Spotify Advertising saw huge spikes in engagement (10,000 new leads, 185,000 new website visitors).

Driving Revenue and Growth:

-Ad-supported revenue outperformed expectations following the campaign, with remarkable double-digit growth in Q3 and Q4 2021 (75% and 40%, respectively).

-We achieved an all-time record high for ad-supported revenue — 15% of total revenue for the first time in history.

-Spotify Advertising had its best year yet, with 75% year-to-year growth and annual revenue topping €1.1 billion for the first time ever.

All of this with $0 in paid media. We turned a budget challenge into an ROI gold mine.