Christian P. Pewitt Blogs: Spotify Launches Facebook Style Self-Serve Ad Platform Offering Targeted Placements For Music Marketers, Artists

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Spotify Launches Facebook Style Self-Serve Ad Platform Offering Targeted Placements For Music Marketers, Artists

Spotify has launched a self-serve ad platform. The audio ads could prove as useful to music marketers as Facebook ads and boosts have.

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Spotify has launched Ad Studio, a self-serve audio ad platform.

15 and 30 second ads uploaded to the platform will play in-stream on Spotify's free tier, along with an accompanying banner. Unlike Spotify products geared towards major advertisers, the current minimum buy using Ad Studio is just $250. That minimum will likely be lowered in the future, according to a source familiar with the products development.

Facebook Style Ad Targeting

Much like Facebook's self-serve ad tool, Spotify Ad Studio users can target their buys in a number of useful ways. Add placements can be narrowed by geography (country, US state or US Nielsen designated TV market), age, gender, platform (desktop, mobile Android, mobile iOS) and music genre. Importantly for music marketers, there is also Fan Targeting to reach fans of specific artists.

The Spotify Ad Platform is currently in beta and only available to select advertisers and agencies. Approved digital ad buying services like DashTwo are already placing ads for their music clients using the new platform.

More Spotify Ad Types

While Ad Studio focuses on affordable audio ad campaigns with an accompanying display banner, Spotify already has a growing number of ad types:

Audio – 15 or 30 seconds with a 640 X 640 companion banner.
Takeovers – Own the Spotify Homepage for a full day or run Videos in the ad break.
Static Display – Leaderboard or Overlay.
Sponsored Sessions – Click to watch this ad for 30 minutes of ad free listening

Spotify is using this video to pitch the power of audio advertising.