Spotify: President Of Playlists [image]

Credits & Description:

Title: President Of Playlists
Agency: Spotify
Brand: Spotify
Country: USA
Entrant Company: Spotify, New York
Advertising Agency: Spotify, New York
Media Agency: Spotify, New York
Pr Agency: Spotify, New York
Production Company: Spotify, New York
Chief Marketing Officer: Seth Farbman (Spotify)
Vp, Brand & Creative: Jackie Jantos (Spotify)
Global Creative Director: Alex Bodman (Spotify)
Acd/ Copywriter: Rajeev Basu (Spotify)
Acd/ Art Director: Alexandra Sobiecki (Art Director)
Social: Carlyn Sylvester (Spotify)
Pr: Tamika Young (Spotify)
Relevancy:
It was a PR-play that relied completely on earned media for success.
Execution:
The job post was written and published within three days of Obama joking he was waiting for the offer. It was posted as an actual job post on spotify.com/jobs and open to everyone - but aimed at one very specific person in particular.The promotional plan relied entirely on social media, and generating PR. An initial post by Daniel Ek on Twitter, and then Facebook, was reposted by Spotify’s global social channels. The rest of the traction, across broadcast, print and digital channels, was organic.
Synopsis:
To establish itself as the world’s leading music platform, Spotify works to engage with major cultural and political figures. A big success came in the form of the official White House account, on which Barack and Michelle Obama created and shared widely-covered playlists. In the administration’s last days, Spotify was looking for an appropriate way to pay loving tribute to one of the most popular outgoing presidents in modern history - and thank him for the music.At a farewell event, Obama joked with the Swedish ambassador that he “was still waiting for my job from Spotify, ‘cause I know you love my playlists”, a quote covered by the press. We felt compelled to respond.
Strategy:
Our target was anyone who would miss Obama as President. During an emotional time for the nation, with trepidation for many, we aimed to strike a balance between warm tribute and the type of humor many needed. The approach was to use owned channels only, and depend on earned media for any reach.
Campaign Description:
Put simply, we decided to offer Obama a job. We created a job title called “The President of Playlists”, a job with very, very, exacting requirements. It called for things like “at least eight years experience running a highly-regarded nation;” “...experience in programming playlists at a federal level. Anything from an eclectic summer playlist, to a celebratory, “I just found my birth certificate” playlist;” and “someone with good team spirit, excellent work ethic, a friendly and warm attitude, and a Nobel Peace Prize.”And as for what they’d do… just things like “analyze data and performance of playlists in a clear and transparent manner using all available intelligence. Attend daily briefings.”
Outcome:
Word spread within hours - with coverage in over 300 press articles, and 175 TV segments, including the BBC, CNN, and a skit on Comedy Central. On social channels we hit No.1 on the Reddit homepage within a day, and we were also a No.1 Twitter moment. During the measurement period President of Playlists was receiving coverage, in the US our brand Awareness and Familiarity both rose 4%, while consideration rose 2%.