Find the One

Spotify brand campaign

Challenge: to make everyone aware that Spotify has podcasts. Unfortunately, in 2021 “everyone” wasn’t reflected in the most-served title options. There are millions of great podcasts on Spotify, but a lack of listener data and diversity amongst top-streamed titles was reinforcing algorithmic bias towards longtime high-performers, and keeping great new podcasts and creators (and their would-be fans) undiscovered.

Ask: help podcast-curious listeners who haven’t found “the one” podcast that fits their likes and interests - however niche - and get them to commit. also, to diversify the portfolio of creators most-served by algorithms.

Solve: we played matchmaker, with a 360 awareness campaign (and in-app match tool) that met listeners halfway, serving a custom podcast reco based on information they shared about their general interests.

HOW IT WORKED

We started by identifying 180 podcasts across a diverse range of creators and topics that we felt represented the best of the best for all sorts of audiences. Working backwards from 180 possible outcomes, we designed a 5-question in-app quiz to serve listeners the “one” that best fits them.

The decision flow wasn’t AI or an algorithm - it written and designed by creatives. Questions evaluated for preferences like topic, but also for things like format, host dynamics, tone and conversation style, and episode length. This also allowed us to gather data about listener preferences, which Spotify didn’t have at the time.

Before we dive into the actual quiz experience, here’s a look at how we raised awareness.

To stoke awareness in influential markets, we partnered with Highness to identify local NYC/LA businesses, and created bespoke OOH with (scannable) podcast titles, tailored to their clientele.

We also launched a general OOH and digital OOH that played similarly on location / lifestyle.