Audio Streaming Services in Japan are perceived as indistinguishable from the local consumer perspective. In an effort to drive differentiation, Spotify Japan leaned into strategic content partnership to increase relevance with new audiences by way of adjacent cultures.

During COVID-19 movie theaters were limited to closed due to the changing restrictions. During these unprecedented times, people were turning to entertainment for a reprieve from the uncertainty of daily life. By the end of the 3rd state of emergency, and live theater resumed operations, #SaveTheCinema #NOMORE映画館休業 began trending as movie goers gathered in person and online to call for action.

We saw this moment as an opportunity to drive brand awareness and consideration among movie-goers and anime fans in Japan.

Spotify’s pulse on culture helped them identify a unique opportunity with a summer film grounded in music called Belle or “Ryu to Sobakasu no Hime”.

Belle was the top choice for a natural partnership with Spotify Japan. Directed by Mamoru Hosoda, a world-renowned anime director, the movie features a timid 17-year-old high school girl, Suzu, who lost her mother in a tragic act of heroism and in turn, lost her love of singing. Invited to a virtual world called “U” via a mobile app, she enters the fantastical realm under the alias of Belle, a freckled princess. As she finds her voice again in this virtual world, she quickly becomes the rising star of “U.”

Spotify’s unique on platform experience had the potential to deliver richer content to an audience group who looked to immerse themselves further into the world of Belle and U.

Our partnership strategy focused on bringing the movie Belle and Spotify closely together by integrating the two worlds in a seamless manner.

Given its theme, music was a critical part of Belle. In fact, Belle was planned to debut as an ‘artist’ at the same time as the movie release. Sung by an established artist Kaho Nakamura, Belle’s 3 songs were to be released in July alongside the movie launch. In addition, songs by other established artists were to be included in the movie soundtrack album offering opportunity for Spotify to grow its listener base with exclusive content native to their platform, Spotify invited fans into the same world with Suzu and Belle.

The animated fantasy received its world premiere at the 74th Cannes Film Festival on July 15th ahead of theater release in Japan. Receiving 14-minute standing ovation at Cannes, the movie attracted significant amount of earned media inside and outside of Japan.

Capitalizing on this interest, Spotify launched its custom Studio Chizu playlist and exclusive content including audio voice liner notes, and full screen visual animated clips from the movie via their Canvas screen.

At movie theaters, Spotify delivered stickers of the playlist cover art where the QR code on the back led moviegoers directly to the playlist. This art sticker also generated organic buzz, as many people posted the picture of the sticker on social media.

In addition, the content was promoted via Twitter, Facebook and TikTok through paid posts. Finally, Spotify sponsored movie-related media on eiga.com and Natalie to generate further PR value.

Despite the uncertainty of movie theater opening, Belle had been highly anticipated because of the director’s past hits as well as the top tier cast. As restrictions relaxed, and with universal appeal across age and gender, the movie became a top hit of 2021.

With limited budget and short flighting, this campaign generated significant interest and conversion for Spotify by capitalizing on the moment and interest surrounding Belle.

In particular, Spotify saw high engagement of both the QR code and social media. Furthermore, people who were exposed to the advertisement had 2x the brand consideration against those who didn’t. Of the people who saw the digital ad, 13% recommended Spotify to their friends, 12% registered to Spotify and 10% played the Belle playlist (source: brand campaign research)