Social Music Marketing – 4 Companies on the Leading Edge

I walked into an Urban Outfitters yesterday to check out the sale rack and left with the Urban Outfitters iOS app. As their demographic continues to get younger they have struggled to stay hip. If there is one thing Urban Outfitters understands it is music. Blaring out of their Bose speakers is the hippest music this side of H&M.

I shamelessly found myself turning on Shazam while I was in the store hopeful to tag a few new songs. As I checked out I decided to download the Urban Outfitters Application to see if I could get a discount (I didn’t) and was pleasantly surprised to see they had a built in radio feature. From their application you can stream a curated playlist of their music.

But you don’t need an expensive native application to effectively use social music marketing (I just invented that buzzword). Many brands are starting to realize you can use Spotify to share your brands tastes with consumers. Below are some of my favorite brands testing the water in this new medium.

WARNING: THIS IS ONLY GOING TO WORK IF YOUR BRAND IS “COOL”

Social music marketing is only going to work if you are a relatable lifestyle brand. No one is going to want to share a playlist their dentist made. If your brand was a person what music would they listen to? If you are a ski resort it seems logical to make a playlist for different conditions (powder day, spring skiing, etc).

1. BMW USA – PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY PLAYLIST

BMW has 16 playlists on Spotify highlighting different driving themes.

2. FOCAL UPRIGHT – COLLABORATION PLAYLIST CURATED BY MARTIN KEEN

Focal Upright an ergonomic standing desk and seat company created a playlist for collaboration. They leveraged the star power of their inventor Martin Keen in creating this playlist. (disclosure Focal Upright is a client of Figmints)

3. URBAN OUTFITTERS – SUMMER IN THE CITY

Urban Outfitters has an impressive 11,500+ followers on their Spotify page. They also have a large social music play with the creation of their streaming music application.

4. MCDONALDS – GOOD VIBES ONLY

McDonalds has a verified Spotify profile. They use the platform for advertising and often sponsor official Spotify playlists in addition to buying advertisements on the platform. They have an impressive 67,000+ followers. Their food may not always taste the best but their taste in music is spot on.
WHERE IS THE VALUE?

Spotify reports the average user listens 148 minutes every day. Everyone listens to music and being able to connect with your most loyal brand ambassadors is a great opportunity. Imagine you are an outdoor clothing company and you make a great running playlist. One of your followers realizes what great taste your brand has in music and they share the playlist on social or through word of mouth. Not only does this enhance your brand image but it also creates great content that users are excited about sharing.

CONCLUSION:

Now it’s time for you to go create some playlists! Make sure to share the playlists on social, email, and through other mediums. You can also post your playlist on playlists.net for increased exposure. Please share any playlists your brand creates in the comment section below.