Clever branding and personalisation make Spotify top dog in streaming wars

Streaming wars are prolific. Consumers want the world of music and video at their fingertips and they can get it. The question is, who do they choose to provide this service? In video streaming, Netflix, Stan and Apple TV have been battling it out and now Disney +, led by a crushingly viral Baby Yoda, has entered the fray.

A similarly dizzying amount of audio streaming services are available in Australia, and with all the providers offering relatively indistinguishable services, it takes innovation and personalisation to get ahead of the pack. That’s where Spotify continues to excel.

Spotify went viral late last year with its Spotify Wrapped service, which allowed users to review their listening habits for the year and decade. The hit of nostalgia revealed users’ top artists, top songs through each season, top podcasts, genres and total minutes streamed in 2019. It also provided a world map that showed how global the users’ listening habits were. Finally, a curated playlist was provided to allow the user to relive their top tracks.

People were quick to share their breakdowns, giving Spotify a ton of free exposure.

Now, Spotify has continued to show that it isn’t just another music streaming service. Or it isn’t a typical one anyway. Just as it provided curated playlists to all its human users, the program has let animals jump in on the fun too.

A survey by Spotify found that 71% of pet owners already played music to their animals, and that 80% believed they enjoyed listening to it.

Backed by this knowledge, the platform launched Pet Playlists this week, giving users the option to create an individualised playlist for their furry pals. Experts are praising the initiative, claiming that just like humans, animals can benefit from listening to their favourite tracks too. Evidently, audience insights go a long way in creating successful campaigns or initiatives.

Users must first select their pet’s species before entering their personality traits. The information is then synced with the taste of the user to allow the app to generate a personalised list of tunes that pet and owner can enjoy together.

With those surveyed reporting that playing music could lift their pet’s mood and stop them feeling lonely when left home alone, we expect Spotify’s playlist will be well received.

The exercise is a lesson on creative branding and knowing your audience. Initiatives such as this not only have a viral appeal, but characterise Spotify as innovative and fun.

With a plethora of music streaming services at a user’s disposal, it’s ideas like this that separate the pups from the dogs.

Of course, we made a playlist for our resident People and Culture Manager, office Poodle, Louis. It features songs by The Psychedelic Furs, The Clash and Erica de Cassier. Capping it off is ‘This Old Dog’ by Mac Demarco.