In our third recap of what went down on Spotify Beach at The Cannes Lions 2023 Festival of Creativity, we shift the focus onto innovation—and the subject that’s got everyone talking this year, AI. Read on to catch up on the gossip, and understand how Spotify’s cutting-edge features can help your business or brand stay ahead of the curve when it comes to reaching your audience, and turning them into customers.
New opportunities will emerge from AI
From perceptive panel discussions to casual chats, AI and its potential impact on creativity was a hot topic along the Croisette, to say the least.
On Tuesday at Spotify Beach, Spotify Founder & CEO Daniel Ek took a moment to pick Trevor Noah’s brains on AI, during ‘The Cutting Edge of Creativity’, and find out what excites our latest podcast creator about the technology, as a creator and storyteller—and whether or not people should be concerned.
“Broadly, I think AI is both inspiring and terrifying in equal measure, because I think it’s going to make us question many of the things we’ve taken for granted in our lives,” Trevor reflected. “I think AI is doing what many other technologies have done to people [in the past]. Think about the farmer who was displaced in the age of machinery. That was their AI. Previously they’d have needed hundreds of people to toil the land, and then these combine harvesters came along and displaced all those people. That changed how they saw what they were doing and why they were doing it. And then you look at the telephone exchange: people used to place a call for you, but when that became automated those people lost their jobs. But years later new jobs emerged. So we should never take for granted the momentary disruption that new technology causes, because it affects all of us—but what we’ve seen time and time again there is a lag between new technology emerging, and new opportunities being discovered.”
“I think the possibilities are endless. Now, you can [use an app] to almost have a live conversation with somebody you've never met before, in a language that you’ve never learned how to speak—and it can flow. It's wonderful, you know, it bridges divides that we’ve just accepted for hundreds and hundreds of years. And so, when I think of that as a tool for a creator, I think about how amazing it would be to be able to communicate with anyone, anywhere, about anything, you know? How do I make a podcast in any language whilst still being me? I think that's phenomenal. I think that's where AI as a tool can be an amazing opportunity, because it can expand on what you’re already able to create… It could be a tool that helps you to be more and experience more. And so I think we should be overly cautious, but I don't think that should stop us from trying to advance with any new technology that we discover.”
How can Spotify’s innovative features help me connect with fans who are discovering new music and podcasts—and how does this give me an edge over competitors?
Back in February, Spotify announced the release of DJ—our AI-powered DJ that’s designed to know Spotify listeners and their music taste so well it can select both new songs and familiar throwbacks it knows they’ll love.
Prior to Cannes, we chatted with Grace Kao, Spotify’s Global Head of Advertising Business Marketing, about DJ and how Spotify might continue to leverage AI further down the line.
“For me, AI is all about scaling a better experience for our listeners so that there’s a surprise and delight in every interaction—versus scaling without prioritizing the creative quality of that experience. That’s not good enough for our listeners. So the question we ask ourselves [going forward] is how can we put AI in the hands of great creators, storytellers, makers and designers of the ad industry, to scale ad experiences that surprise and delight listeners, and that at their core are human.”
For the time being, Spotify’s AI-powered DJ is a Premium and music-only feature of the app—meaning listeners are not served ads. However, advertising represents an interesting canvas for future exploration. We’re currently focused on education as we explore how best to utilize generative AI and machine learning to support advertisers and publishers. We’re excited about the potential and believe that machine learning and AI can improve business outcomes, make brand safety solutions more powerful, and support creative development at scale.
Plus, there’s plenty more in the way of innovation for advertisers—no matter the size of their business or agency—to get excited about.
Earlier this month we launched Spotify Ad Analytics, our one-stop solution to help brands, businesses and agencies of all sizes measure the impact of their ads at every stage of the marketing funnel, across all ad formats. What’s more, podcast publishers are able to offer conversion tracking and attribution for their own direct sales, meaning advertisers and agencies get centralized visibility into digital audio ad performance, and a deeper understanding of who’s streaming their ads across podcasts and music on Spotify. And best of all? It’s free of charge.
Spotify's Senior Product Marketing Manager, Kelsey Woo, joined our team on the ground to provide Spotify Beachgoers with a little more context to this innovative tool:
“At Spotify, we believe great media ecosystems need great measurement to thrive—which is why we’ve introduced Spotify Ad Analytics. Measurement helps advertisers understand which strategies are helping them reach their goals, and improve marketing decisions to drive ROI. Every advertiser insight and optimization contributes to a more relevant experience for our listeners, and to more impactful monetization for our creators.”
What’s more, we just rolled out Objectives on our self-serve ad manager, Spotify Ad Studio, as a new way to build campaigns that align with your advertising goals—whether that’s to drive awareness or more meaningful consideration for your brand and product. You can choose from Reach, Impressions and Clicks to ensure your message is heard by the right audience based on your campaign goal, and select automatic placement to prioritize getting more listeners to hear and see your ads, regardless of whether they’re listening to music or podcasts on Spotify.
Ready to kick off your next Spotify Advertising campaign?
If you’re feeling inspired to take advantage of Spotify Advertising’s innovative features, get in touch using the form below, and let’s talk! Or get started right away with our self-serve ads manager, Spotify Ad Studio.