Tag: Spotify

Spotify announces its first national tv campaign in India

MUMBAI: Following all the fun banter around its launch campaign, ‘There’s A Playlist For That’, Spotify, the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service, is now live with its first TV-led marketing campaign in the country. This campaign is the first TV, and first multilingual campaign for the brand in India, and targets users across the country. Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor and Ishaan Khattar have been roped in to feature as key protagonists in the ad films and stills; the campaign also includes the use of other channels, including digital and OOH.

This campaign stems from the insight of how music has become a vital part of India’s daily social fabric, where users use music as a strong medium of emotional connect and resonance to navigate through their life. Right from coping with tough situations, and celebrating happy ones, to managing the common conflict between personal ambition and social norms, some kind of dichotomy fuels individual lives. Through it all, Spotify provides an uninterrupted experience, based on the vast music library and the option to play tracks anytime, anywhere.

‘‘Our insights highlight how music is an integral part of our users’ social and solitude experiences. Since our launch in India, we’ve engaged with our listeners based on how they experience music. The new campaign reinforces how seamlessly Spotify fits into their lives through availability of 50 million tracks, including the latest and most popular, access to 3 billion plus editorially, algorithmic and user-curated playlists, seamless integration across apps and hardware, and the ability to listen to music, regardless of what they’re doing – working out, cooking, or multi-tasking on their phone’’, said Amarjit Batra, Managing Director – India, Spotify.

The campaign features four TVCs in Hindi, Telugu, and Marathi, and are being aired on popular GEC, movies and English cluster channels, in addition to a few regional channels. There are also creative activations across online and social media platforms, to amplify the digital conversations, including interactive digital engagements that feature Anil Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, and other artists and influencers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Rajdeepak Das, Managing Director India & Chief Creative Officer South Asia, Leo Burnett said, “The youth in India often deals with the pressures of judgement, individuality, social norms, and more; in this chaos, music acts as a companion. In this campaign, Anil Kapoor makes a cool dad, who even in his 60s, is as young and energetic as a 20 year old. Ishaan as the son, is India’s new generation – full of energy and optimism. We had a riot of fun creating this campaign with both the brand and creative teams and Shakun Batra, the director. You can see the energy, and feel the vibe in the ads. We are very proud of this campaign, and are sure it is going to do great for the brand”.

July 1, 2019
Spotify goes live with its maiden marketing campaign for india – ‘there’s a playlist for that’

MUMBAI: Spotify, which launched in India last month, has now unveiled its first campaign here, 'There’s A Playlist For That’, a first of its kind hyper contextual OOH + digital campaign born of the brand’s commitment to create deeply localised and personalised user engagements. The campaign has been geo-targeted on the basis of cities, neighbourhoods, and important traffic intersections, with one liners that depict relatable life situations and hyper-local cultural nuances. The debut campaign in India centres around the brand’s value proposition to discover over 3 billion playlists that are curated by in-house editors, algorithms, and users to seamlessly complement a user’s diverse range of daily social experiences. The core insight behind
'There's A Playlist For That' stems from Spotify’s understanding of how users wish to connect with music as a powerful form of emotional expression through playlists, no matter how life changes tracks.

"Every few kilometres in India, the cultural nuances change, which means that the same music can mean something entirely different to even those who live in the same city. Understanding this insight of the varying 'when' and 'where' led to the creation of our first marketing campaign in India, which communicates that we have playlists for our users, no matter what the moment", said Amarjit Batra, Managing Director – India, Spotify. "Spotify has 3 billion playlists, many of which have been made by the fans themselves. With this campaign, we have highlighted that strength and are also encouraging users to make their own playlists", he added.

With more than 500 creatives across outdoor hoardings and digital banners targeting online and offline audiences, Spotify aims to reach the growing millennial user base. With a quirky and fun execution, every campaign creative is designed and adapted to instinctively connect with local user sentiments. For e.g. A south Mumbai hoarding that reads ‘Dating a boy from the ‘burbs’? There’s a playlist for that – ‘Long Distance’, is a humorous take on the longstanding south Mumbai – north Mumbai love affair debate. The campaign also features 3 unique films, one of which is now live, and the other two will launch over the next few days.

In addition, to extend its existing outdoor campaign to digital, Spotify is also using its social media channels, primarily Instagram, encouraging followers to share quirky life scenarios for which the

brand has existing playlists; the humorous responses will be posted as the Spotify India's Instagram stories.

Speaking on the launch of the Spotify India campaign Rajdeepak Das MD India & Chief Creative Officer South Asia, Leo Burnett said “With so many curated playlists, Spotify has something for everyone; whatever be your mood – there’s a playlist for that. It is a fun execution of everyday life situations where things can go from good to bad, or bad to good but remember there is a playlist for that too. The strength of the campaign is that it is hyper – localised and the execution is not only city specific or area specific but even situation and local quirk specific.”

While every user experiences their day in a unique manner, Spotify believes that a collective range of distinct emotions is what binds this global community of music passionate fans. Through this campaign, Spotify encourages users to journey through their day with an unmatched creative range of playlists that reflect local culture, moods and social moments. So, however your day is shaping up, there's a playlist for that.

April 3, 2019
Spotify gets over 1 mn people hooked within a week in India

MUMBAI: Within a week of its launch in India, Swedish music streaming platform Spotify has earned over one million users, the company shared.

"One week since its launch, Spotify now has more than one million Indian users, across both its Free and Premium tiers," a company spokesperson told IANS.

The Spotify app, which is available on mobile, desktop and tablet, is free to download and users need to spend Rs 119 a month to upgrade to Spotify Premium. It is currently offering more than four crore songs and 300 crore playlists for music fans in Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu languages among others.

March 5, 2019
Spotify Opens Up Advertising Opportunities for Brands in India

MUMBAI: Spotify, the world’s most popular music streaming service with over 207 million active users, launches today in India on mobile, tablet and desktop, offering brands a new platform to connect with consumers in an exciting, targeted and impactful way.

Available for free to all in India today, Spotify lets people discover the right music for every moment, across hundreds of devices, allowing them to soundtrack their lives. When music fans stream in these moments, they reveal who they really are, the moment they are in, and even their moods; this first-party data and insights comprises Spotify’s Streaming Intelligence. For brands and marketers, this presents an unparalleled opportunity to serve the right message, to the right person, in the right context.

Upon launch, OnePlus, Brand USA, and Anheuser-Busch InBev will have exclusive rights to launch their advertising campaigns on Spotify India. Through Spotify, these brands will be able to reach out to highly engaged, passionate and socially active users.

Advertising on Spotify

Today, consumers are streaming music through various devices from the time they wake up to winding down at night and everything in between, putting music front and center of their daily lives. These new habits are creating massive shifts in the consumer journey, prompting a renewed focus on the role of audio in people’s lives.

Fully localized, the Spotify experience in India brings to brands an incredibly engaged audience. Globally, Spotify Free users spend an average of 2.5 hours each day listening to music on the platform through multiple devices.

Brands will benefit from:

Premium content environment: Spotify prides itself on being a premium environment that celebrates culture and creativity by bringing artists, fans, and brands together. The content on the Spotify service is licensed from our partners or created by our in-house team.

Multimedia ad experiences: Compelling audio, video, and display ad formats available that help brands tell their story to the right audience in the right context.

Just as music is social, so is Spotify. Music fans can create and discover playlists, and share instantly with friends on Spotify, Facebook, Twitter, Line, WhatsApp, text and email. This is especially significant for advertisers, who are constantly seeking insights for what is popular and share-worthy by their core target audience.

Sunita Kaur, Vice President of Advertising Sales at Spotify, APAC said, “Spotify’s connection to culture and understanding of how music is consumed allows us to build personal relationships and trust with our fans. The Indian advertising industry is thriving as brands target active internet users. We are thrilled to launch in India with three incredible, diverse brands and we are exploring more opportunities to bring other advertisers on board in this market, creating a new playground for them to reach audiences through the power of audio and our streaming intelligence.”

“We are extremely excited to be the launch partners for Spotify in India! We are core believers in the power of music and its ability to unite individuals across boundaries; with this collaboration, we further solidify our pursuit of building and shaping communities centered around this space. We are positive that this partnership will result in newer avenues of genre exploration and sharing, with consumers becoming more receptive to and appreciative of the intricate nuances of the soundscape, through the large bank of music available on the portal. Looking forward to what’s in store for both, Spotify and us”, Kartikeya Sharma, VP Marketing – South Asia, ABInBev.

Tracy Lanza, VP, Integrated Marketing, Brand USA, said, “We are thrilled that our partnership with Spotify will now extend into India, which is one of our top markets. Music is a universal language that transcends cultural boundaries and we continue to use it as an instrument to engage with international travelers. Through this launch, we look forward to bringing the unique and powerful sounds of U.S. destinations to a new music-loving audience.”

Spotify comes to India offering the best listening experience in local and international music, with the Spotify app available to download for free or with an upgrade to Spotify Premium for only INR 119 per month. The Spotify app is now available on mobile, desktop, and tablet and can be played on a wide range of speakers and home devices.

February 28, 2019
Sony Pictures IMS acquires majority stake in ad network Httpool

MUMBAI: IMS Internet Media Services (IMS), a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television Networks and one of the largest digital ad sales and media buying companies in Latin America, has announced it has reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Httpool, an international cross channel ad network, with a presence in Central and Eastern Europe and Asia.

Subject to regulatory approval, the deal will create one of the largest digital marketing and ad sales companies in the industry, with a combined operation supporting more than 6000 agencies and brands worldwide, and exclusively representing Twitter, LinkedIn, Spotify and more than 5000 global and local publishers across 30 countries in Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Asia Pacific regions.

This alliance includes acquisition of Httpool India that was founded in 2010 and has offices in Mumbai & Delhi, working with over 300 brands and executing over 2500 campaigns annually, across all channels of digital advertising. This partnership with IMS will give Httpool India access to a diverse range of products and technologies from enriched markets, as well as knowledge sharing of best practices, that will not only expand their portfolio but also help in their endeavor to change the dynamics of Indian digital advertising.

“This acquisition will enable IMS to develop some of the highest-potential geographies across Europe and Asia, and create a truly global company. IMS and Httpool together can offer an end-to-end solution in digital marketing campaign delivery, helping partners with our deep knowledge of local markets, and empowering local publishers, advertisers and 1000s of digital professionals and entrepreneurs,” said IMS CEO Gastón Taratuta.

“With the coming together of IMS and Httpool, we enhance our digital offerings to include superior services for ad targeting and delivery. Moreover, this allows SPN to augment its service offerings to an already robust list of advertisers. This initiative will go a long way in helping us grow our digital business,” said Sony Pictures Network India CEO NP Singh.

“We have always been committed to providing cutting edge technology and media products along with exceptional services with access to best practices, and joining the Sony-IMS family enables us in taking this ambition forward. Integration of Sony’s eminent presence in the country and Httpool’s expertise will further elevate the digital advertising experience for all our partners and provide us with a platform to create a greater impact in an exhaustive market like India. This association will not only help Httpool India to showcase our expertise but also fuel our growth to help expand our proprietary solutions across the market,” added Httpool India MD Sunny Nagpal.

“Httpool and its team established an amazing international position, developed complementary ad technologies and share the same entrepreneurial values as IMS. By joining forces, the two groups can make a lasting impact on the broader digital ecosystem through continuous innovation, openness, creativity and partnerships,” Taratuta added.

July 6, 2017
Now, stream Saavn’s Unlimited Music in Canada sans data use

MUMBAI: Saavn, south Asia’s leading digital music streaming service, is being added to the list of music streaming apps included in Videotron’s Unlimited Music service, bringing the total number of supported apps to 19. Saavn, an audio entertainment streaming platform featuring Bollywood, Hindi and Indian regional music, is currently accessed in 196 countries and offers 30 million tracks in 13 languages.

Unlimited Music lets Videotron customers stream music using popular music apps such as Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Deezer and Stingray Music without using up any of their data plan. Videotron, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quebecor Media Inc., is an integrated communications company engaged in cable television, interactive multimedia development, Internet access, cable telephone and mobile telephone services.

“Saavn enriches Unlimited Music’s offerings, opening up a whole new world of music,” said Videotron VP marketing Bertrand Hébert. “We are constantly innovating for our consumers and this partnership with Videotron allows us to reach out to their wide network with our content offerings and large music library,” said Saavn VP – carrier partnerships Gairik Bhattacharya. “We hope listening to Saavn will enhance and elevate the experience for users in Canada.” he added.

Unlimited Music is available across Videotron’s LTE network, which covers nearly 90% of Québec’s population and supports speeds of up to 150 Mbps. It is a free service for all subscribers to a Premium mobile plan.

Also Read:

One Digital launches ‘Hip Hop Highway’ on Saavn

Airtel launches hybrid DTH STB, to have 500+ channels, Netflix & YouTube preloaded

British Council’s ‘Mix the City’ makes Mumbai comes alive

Arre appoints Viacom18’s Jaideep Singh as director

April 15, 2017
WeTransfer appoints Httpool as India partners

MUMBAI: Httpool has added another global major to their extensive kitty of partners, with WeTransfer. The international cross-channel advertising network, that has partnered to monetise WeTransfer Ad inventories in 15+ markets in Europe, will also now be representing them in India.

Founded in 2009, WeTransfer is the pioneer of effortless file transfer. With seamless and deeply integrated access they have over 40 million active users every month! WeTransfer provides brands with an extensive ad inventory to reach their target audience effectively through full-screen background or wallpaper spots.

Httpool; an international cross-channel ad network, is an optimal partner for media agencies seeking integrated digital advertising solutions. Httpool employs the most advanced proprietary and licensed technologies to offer the broadest range of ad network products and ad tech solutions across display, video, engagement, social and performance channels, on all devices. It represents Twitter, LinkedIn, BBC, AOL, Spotify and other selected global and local publishers across 30+ Central and Eastern European and Asian markets. Httpool India was founded in 2010 and has offices in Mumbai and Delhi that work with all major agencies and brands.

WeTransfer’s John De Lang explains: “Httpool brings with them extensive experience and leadership in the digital space. We have been working with them for a while now and they have been representing us in multiple markets across Europe and Asia; we are pleased to have them represent our platform within the Indian market too.”

Httpool India managing partner Amit Gupta adds, “WeTransfer experiences a lot of traction from varied target groups belonging to diverse fields, making it a great platform for advertisers. We look forward to this exciting and challenging journey in an exhaustive market like India”

March 17, 2017
Streamers 50% of online population; 60% content streaming on mobile devices: GroupM

NEW DELHI: Globally online streaming is getting mainline. Or so it seems. Streamers make up almost 50 per cent of the online population, while over 60 per cent of content streaming, led by music, is now done over mobile devices and much of it can be linked to “moods and moments”, according to a study done by GroupM and Spotify.

The report, put out by GroupM on its website early 2017, says the TV and movie streaming landscape is currently dominated by paid subscriptions, which promise users a high-quality, ad-free viewing experience. The TV and movie streamers make up about 40 per cent of the streaming realm.

According to the study, if the entry price point for TV and movie streaming is typically a monthly subscription fee, the entry price point for music streaming is even better: free. Because while most music streaming services do offer a paid subscription plan—much like the top video services— some, such as Pandora, Spotify, YouTube, and SoundCloud, also offer a completely free listening experience, supported by ads.

The study, undertaken in seven markets, including the US and parts of Europe, further observes that approximately 20 per cent of mobile music steamers report listening to music while out running errands and 30 per cent say they listen to music while showering.

Streaming audio and video content now play a constant role in people’s daily lives—and this drives a whole new set of consumer behaviours that the analysts like to call the streaming mindset. GroupM feels as people clamour for more content that they can get anytime, anyplace, their consumption habits span a wider range of media types and drive higher engagement across their day. The result is a greater value on access to content over ownership.

As streaming becomes standard, it’s now an expectation for consumers to have access to all media, all the time. In the process, the concept of “ownership” has become outdated. The study found that streamers are 23 per cent more likely than non-streamers to report valuing access to content over ownership, not only for music but for TV and movie content as well. “Controlling for demographic variables, this sentiment runs true across generations. Similarly, streamers in more mature markets (for example, the US) are more likely to endorse an access mindset, suggesting that the sentiment indeed grows over time,” the study observes.

“Today, streamers make up almost 50 per cent of the online population, according to our survey. So it’s time to see streaming as the norm rather than the niche— as an integral piece of your media plan rather than an afterthought,” observes Rob Norman, Chief Digital Officer, GroupM, adding that for brands and marketers, these on-demand, on-the-go streaming services have the potential to provide unprecedented levels of consumer under¬standing.

This ‘moods’ and ‘moments’ approach has the potential to open up about $220 million in new ad revenue in the seven markets surveyed, AdAge comments.

For this study, GroupM paired Spotify’s streaming data for its +100 million users alongside GroupM’s LIVE PANEL, a 30-market consumer resource panel built from a Lightspeed database of 5.5M consumers. To add some context to the product and LIVE PANEL data, GroupM also surveyed 20,000 people around the globe to uncover the streaming state of mind.

“Our results reveal rising trends, key metrics, and important truths that can ultimately help make sure your media plan is future-proof, built around high-quality content and made for the consumers of tomorrow,” Norman explains.

January 6, 2017
Streamers 50% of online population; 60% content streaming on mobile devices: GroupM

NEW DELHI: Globally online streaming is getting mainline. Or so it seems. Streamers make up almost 50 per cent of the online population, while over 60 per cent of content streaming, led by music, is now done over mobile devices and much of it can be linked to “moods and moments”, according to a study done by GroupM and Spotify.

The report, put out by GroupM on its website early 2017, says the TV and movie streaming landscape is currently dominated by paid subscriptions, which promise users a high-quality, ad-free viewing experience. The TV and movie streamers make up about 40 per cent of the streaming realm.

According to the study, if the entry price point for TV and movie streaming is typically a monthly subscription fee, the entry price point for music streaming is even better: free. Because while most music streaming services do offer a paid subscription plan—much like the top video services— some, such as Pandora, Spotify, YouTube, and SoundCloud, also offer a completely free listening experience, supported by ads.

The study, undertaken in seven markets, including the US and parts of Europe, further observes that approximately 20 per cent of mobile music steamers report listening to music while out running errands and 30 per cent say they listen to music while showering.

Streaming audio and video content now play a constant role in people’s daily lives—and this drives a whole new set of consumer behaviours that the analysts like to call the streaming mindset. GroupM feels as people clamour for more content that they can get anytime, anyplace, their consumption habits span a wider range of media types and drive higher engagement across their day. The result is a greater value on access to content over ownership.

As streaming becomes standard, it’s now an expectation for consumers to have access to all media, all the time. In the process, the concept of “ownership” has become outdated. The study found that streamers are 23 per cent more likely than non-streamers to report valuing access to content over ownership, not only for music but for TV and movie content as well. “Controlling for demographic variables, this sentiment runs true across generations. Similarly, streamers in more mature markets (for example, the US) are more likely to endorse an access mindset, suggesting that the sentiment indeed grows over time,” the study observes.

“Today, streamers make up almost 50 per cent of the online population, according to our survey. So it’s time to see streaming as the norm rather than the niche— as an integral piece of your media plan rather than an afterthought,” observes Rob Norman, Chief Digital Officer, GroupM, adding that for brands and marketers, these on-demand, on-the-go streaming services have the potential to provide unprecedented levels of consumer under¬standing.

This ‘moods’ and ‘moments’ approach has the potential to open up about $220 million in new ad revenue in the seven markets surveyed, AdAge comments.

For this study, GroupM paired Spotify’s streaming data for its +100 million users alongside GroupM’s LIVE PANEL, a 30-market consumer resource panel built from a Lightspeed database of 5.5M consumers. To add some context to the product and LIVE PANEL data, GroupM also surveyed 20,000 people around the globe to uncover the streaming state of mind.

“Our results reveal rising trends, key metrics, and important truths that can ultimately help make sure your media plan is future-proof, built around high-quality content and made for the consumers of tomorrow,” Norman explains.

January 6, 2017
IoT is risk to networks; Netflix, PayPal, Twitter and Amazon temporarily shut in cyber attack

MUMBAI: Nobody is safe until everybody is safe, it is said. The most hyped and happening currency in the world of communication as well as the best weaponry in the wireless world — the Internet — was under attack. Cyber attackers can DDoS (Distributed denial of service) for a range of purposes, including censorship, protest and extortion.

Users in Europe and Asia may, however, experience fewer problems than those in the U.S.

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are investigating the disruption that appears to be the result of repeated attacks on a critical internet infrastructure service.

Major internet services including Amazon, Twitter, Spotify, Reddit, SoundCloud, OTT services like Netflix, and Airbnb, suffered severe service interruptions and outages on Friday as a US internet provider came under a cyber attack. The attack meant that millions of internet users could not access the websites of major online companies.

Other sites experiencing issues include Boston Globe, New York Times, Box, Github, Freshbooks, Heroku and Vox Media properties.

A map published by the website downdetector.com showed service interruptions for Level3 Communications, which is dubbed as the “backbone” internet service provider, across much of the US east coast and in Texas. Dyn, the internet service company, which manages and routes internet traffic, said that it had suffered a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on its domain name service shortly after 1100 GMT. The service was restored in about two hours, Dyn said.

The website Gizmodo said it had received reports of difficulty at sites for media outlets including CNN, The Guardian, Wired, HBO and People as well as the money transfer service PayPal. Dyn, which is headquartered in New Hampshire (US), said the attack went after its domain name service, causing interruptions and slowdowns for internet users. Dyn said it was continuing to investigate.

Amazon Web Services, which hosts some of the famed sites, including the homestay network Airbnb, and Netflix, said on its website that users experienced errors including “hostname unknown” when attempting to access hosted sites but that the problem had been resolved by 1310 GMT.

Domain name servers are a crucial element of internet infrastructure, converting numbered Internet Protocol addresses into the domain names that allow users to connect to internet sites. DDoS attacks involve flooding websites with traffic, making them difficult to access or taking them offline entirely.

Carbon Black founder and a former NSA engineer said that the internet continues to rely on protocols and infrastructure designed before cyber security was an issue. He said that growing interconnection of ordinary devices to the internet, the so-called “internet of things,” increased the risks to networks.

Dyn chief strategy officer Kyle York told ABC News that DDoS attacks are daily occurrences, but this one is “just incredibly sophisticated and complex.”

DDoS attacks are generally unsophisticated in nature. Akamai security advocate Martin McKeay said that anyone from a young hacker messing around, to hackivists, to a criminal organization or even a nation state could be behind the attack.

October 22, 2016