How Spotify makes B2B marketing worth listening to - Bridget Evans

Jon Evans (0:00)

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All right, without further ado, let's go on with the show.

Bridget Evans (0:40)

If there is a place where B2B marketing does not have to be corporate and boring, it's at Spotify.

Jon Evans (0:47)

In this episode, we're going to be talking all about the power of audio and why it really matters.

Bridget Evans (0:53)

We see lift across the entire marketing funnel from awareness to consideration to purchase intent to sales. They opened up the media plan, and that Excel spreadsheet turned into the first ever music video created inside a spreadsheet.

Jon Evans (1:07)

I'm joined by the head of B2B marketing, Bridget Evans.

Bridget Evans (1:10)

Cannes is our B2B marketing temple, but really for Spotify, it is a cultural temple throughout the year.

Jon Evans (1:16)

We can all remember those jingles like, the Milky Bar kid is tough and strong, the Milky Bar kid just can't go wrong.

Bridget Evans (1:23)

Stop trying to be the first at something. Just be the best at something.

Jon Evans (1:29)

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Uncensored CMO. In this episode, we're going to be talking all about Spotify with Bridget Evans. Welcome to the show.

Bridget Evans (1:36)

Thanks for having me.

Jon Evans (1:37)

It's great to have you.

Bridget Evans (1:38)

I appreciate it.

Jon Evans (1:39)

I'm excited to be here. I think you win the prize for Best Studio, which is appropriate, of course, given we're here in Spotify HQ. But it's a pretty amazing setup you've got.

Bridget Evans (1:49)

I know it is. This is my favorite one. We have a few, but I like the color and the awards that are back there. And yeah, I love getting the chance to come up here.

Jon Evans (1:58)

Well, you're getting a lot of love from Producer James here because he just walked in and said, You've done my work for me. So for everyone listening, tell us a little bit about Spotify and maybe some things people don't already know.

Bridget Evans (2:08)

Yes.

I think a lot of people know that Spotify is synonymous with music. But I think what people might not think of with Spotify right now is that it's just so much more than audio. Like if people actually take a minute to think about how they use Spotify, often it's like, oh, that's right, because I'm interacting with it in so many different ways now. But of course, audio is always our core. You listen to music, you listen to podcasts, you listen to audiobooks.

But increasingly, people are watching podcasts. We're recording this. People are watching a lot of our other video content that we have on platform. We have fitness content. We have our Billions Club franchise, where people can watch artists and their live performances. We have music videos. And that also goes beyond video. So if you think about just looking at your phone to look at music lyrics or to learn more about the kind of DNA behind the song, or especially with Gen Z, but really with all of our users, thumbs on the phone to build a playlist or search for something, or share your wrapped report with the world. And so I think something that people don't often think of is how that music experience, that podcast experience and that audiobook experience is so much more than just listening, even though listening, of course, is at its core.

Jon Evans (3:23)

Now, I'm going to make an argument, and again, everyone listening is going to go, of course you would say this, but I think audio is probably the most underrated kind of channel, right?

And you've got a new reporter, haven't you, called Sound On. What does that tell us?

Bridget Evans (3:38)

Yeah, so what we really wanted to understand is where is audio going in the future? And we call it the Sound On era as a report, not because we're saying it's the Sound Era, but Sound On in everything you do. So if you think like as a marketer, how can I best reach people all throughout their day, no matter what they might be doing or resonate with them during different moods and different moments, audio plays a really, really important role in that. Of course, you're not necessarily watching videos if you can't hear it. So you have audio on and sound on during the watching and the visual experience too. But you also might be cooking and listening to Uncensored CMO. You might be on a run listening to music. And so that's really what we wanted to better understand through the research is how is consumer behavior shifting and what role does audio play in that. And we have a ton of really interesting findings that came out of the report. One of them, I'll say, is not just that audio is an important part of daily routines and people's lives, but it also is going to continue to play a larger role in all of our lives. And I think AI has a lot to do with this. On Spotify, for example, we have AI-prompted playlists. So yes, you can search for music and you can listen to music based on what Spotify thinks you'll love next through playlists that we recommend for you. But we have a new feature where you can literally tell Spotify exactly the type of music you want to hear. So for example, I can say, give me a sunny afternoon upbeat playlist for a Tuesday with some great 90s alt rock, but also throw in some Taylor Swift. And so you can just get a lot more precise and personalized. That's a way on Spotify that I think voice and audio will play a larger role. But it's far beyond Spotify.