News & Insights

New to Ad Studio: Optimize campaigns for video ad views

Written bySpotify Advertising Team

UPDATE: As of 12/12/23, the Video Views objective is now available to self-serve advertisers worldwide.

Self-serve advertisers now have the ability to optimize their campaigns using Ad Studio’s new Video Views objective—making it possible to reach ad-supported users who are more likely to view a video ad while the Spotify app is in-focus.

Like the Clicks objective—which launched in March this year—the Video Views objective is designed to drive mid-funnel outcomes for advertisers, increasing consideration for their product, service, or brand.

Today also marks the launch of Opt-In Video—a new, non-interruptive video ad format that’s unique to the Video Views objective in Ad Studio.

Below, we explain the details of these two new features and the opportunities they can bring to advertisers running campaigns on Ad Studio in 2023 and beyond.

What is Opt-In Video and how does it work on Spotify?

Opt-In Video is a new, non-interruptive video ad format that Spotify users will encounter on the Now Playing View (NPV), when they are engaging with the app. By leveraging the power of machine learning to understand listening habits—combined with the scale unlocked by the NPV—Spotify can target listeners who are in-view and likely to watch your video ad.

When an ad-supported listener enters the NPV while streaming music, a video ad is rendered after two seconds, in place of the audio artwork. Ads will autoplay with the sound off as music content continues to play on mobile with the screen in focus. They’ll have a choice of three actions to take at any point while the ad is playing:

  • Click the ad to unmute and expand the creative to full-screen, pausing the current track
  • Click the CTA button to trigger a visit to an-advertiser specified URL in our in-app browser
  • Dismiss the ad and return to the standard NPV to continue listening

If the listener doesn’t take any action, the ad will play to completion with the sound off. Check out the demo of Opt-In Video in use, below:

What is the Video Views objective and how does it work?

Ad Studio’s Video Views objective breaks new ground for self-serve advertisers on Spotify, making it possible to reach listeners showing intent to engage and interact with a video ad. The new Opt-In Video ad format, unique to Ad Studio, means you can now deliver your brand message with video at scale, as listeners engage with the Spotify app in-focus.

The Video Views objective optimizes campaigns for three-second views of video ads—a marker that we believe is a reliable signal of intent. The objective is the fourth to launch in Ad Studio and the second that’s designed to drive mid-to-lower funnel outcomes (like website visits) for advertisers. Learn more about advertising objectives in Ad Studio here.

What benefits do these updates unlock for Ad Studio users?

Today’s launch introduces new benefits to Ad Studio users in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom.

  1. Delivered in the Now Playing View (NPV) when we know the app is in-focus, Opt-In Video ads allow your brand to be front and center, alongside the music content listeners have chosen to stream.

  2. Opt-In Video ads are optimized to reach listeners who are more likely to be receptive to your brand message.

  3. Opt-In Video ads are served only when the app is in-focus, to deliver high viewability and increased consideration.

  4. Responsive design puts the listener in control to drive more qualified engagement.

  5. Greater reach enabled by Opt-In Video increases the supply of video inventory available to Spotify Ad Studio campaigns.

  6. Non-interruptive video provides you with richer signals of engagement and success of your creative assets through measurement of opt-in video views.

How are video views measured?

By optimizing for video ad views in Ad Studio, you’ll increase your chances of listener engagement and consideration; a video view will be counted once your video plays for at least three seconds.

You can also measure listener engagement of the Opt-In Video format with the 'expands' and 'expand rate' metrics provided in Ad Studio's reporting tool. Video expands are the number of times an in-focus listener has tapped your ad to expand it, while the expand rate is the number of ad expands divided by the number of ad impressions.

  • ~75%

    of daily listeners engage with the Now Playing View (NPV) on the Spotify app¹

Creative best practices

You can start leveraging the Video Views objective from today—but before you do, consider some of these best practices in order to maximize performance.

Steer away from voice overs or messaging that can only make an impact with sound on—listeners need an eye-catching visual to prompt them to opt in.

Don’t leave anything to chance—once a listener has opted in you need to deliver a clear and compelling message that may trigger a path to purchase. Spotify’s Sonic Science research suggests that naming your brand within the first five seconds can also make your ad 17% more engaging.2

Your video ad will be cropped to fit within the album art area, with the full video viewable in the expanded view. To ensure full accessibility, position your key messaging within these margins.

When viewed in the NPV, the edges of your creative will be slightly masked, so it’s important to ensure key messaging is front and center.

Opt-in video isn't responsive to phone orientation so be sure to use vertical creative to maximize screen space.

Ready to reach more Spotify listeners with your video creative?

Sign in to get started on your next Ad Studio campaign today!
  1. Daily Active User and Alpha test data from May 1 to July 15, 2023.
  2. Neuro-Insight Sonic Science Study, 2023, US, US N=135, UK N=132 (“All media formats" = TV, radio, digital audio, digital video and social media)

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