Bed Threads and Who Gives A Crap are borrowing from Spotify Wrapped — and you should too
Spotify’s data-driven campaign has returned, providing lessons for other brands hoping to delight fans with their own buying habits.
Spotify Wrapped has returned for 2023, providing customers of the music streaming platform with a colourful run-down of their listening habits.
Its popularity means other companies should listen up, too.
Spotify Wrapped is an annual data dump informing people about their listening habits, and the most popular songs, artists, and podcasts in their region.
It offers vibrant slideshows of each user’s favourite tunes, allowing listeners to showcase their refined taste (or lack thereof) on social media.
And in a world besieged by cyberattacks and the theft of personal information, Spotify Wrapped offers itself as a relatively innocuous, and creative, reflection of customer data.
The popularity of Spotify Wrapped means other brands, many of which have nothing to do with music, have copied its broad format.
Branding and creative expert Ben Birchall says it makes sense that brands are borrowing what makes the Spotify campaign so compelling.
“It looks beautiful, it’s got a level of humour, and it’s just become basically a date in the calendar for people to say something about themselves on social media,” Birchall said.
“So it makes a lot of sense for other brands to jump on that.”
Brands can also learn from the way Spotify uses its customer data for the annual Wrapped slideshow.
It uses niche customer data to inform its internal recommendation algorithms, and to help advertisers channel their audio ads to the right listeners.
Brands can follow that broad concept to surprise customers with fun, intriguing insights.
However, it’s important not to give too much away, Birchall said.
“I think there is a fine line,” he said.
“People expect that they’re giving up some data, they’re happy to do that to a certain extent.
“But if you if you give away the game of how much data you’re actually collecting, it can actually backfire on you.”
Nailing that balance can provide a significant upside for businesses, Birchall added, noting that Wrapped has turned Spotify customers into advocates for the streaming giant itself.
“The ultimate endorsement of the brand is becoming an ambassador and becoming an advocate,” he said.
“Which is what Spotify has done so well and yes, these other brands are trying to try to emulate.”
Here are some of the brands that have copied or co-opted the Wrapped campaign.
Bed Threads
Bed Threads, the e-commerce retailer of bed sheets and linens, appeared to use customer data in its Wrapped post.
Like Spotify’s playlist showing the nation’s most-played songs, Bed Threads listed its most popular colourways, with ‘Oatmeal’ taking the top spot.
Bed sheets and music are obviously consumed in very different ways: if Bed Threads provided each customer with a personalised purchase list, it would be little more than an itemised receipt.
However, the brand did outline city-by-city colour preferences, echoing a new Spotify feature that matches a user’s listening habits to those of a major city.
2XU
Compression tights and activewear brand 2XU took a different approach, copying the aesthetics of this year’s Spotify Wrapped while highlighting the purported benefits of its products.
Instead of slides telling listeners how many hours of music they listened to in 2023, 2XU’s slideshow boasts about increased bloodflow and quicker running times.
Kate & Co. PR
The public relations firm took this year’s Wrapped as a chance to showcase its performance over the year.
According to the firm, it orchestrated 59 events and booked 748 courier deliveries, among others.
Go-To Skincare
Go-To Skincare took the PR firm’s approach one step further, using Spotify Wrapped as an opportunity to film some behind-the-scenes content.
In a video posted to Instagram, Go-To staff show their own Spotify Wrapped results (and reflect Australia’s deep devotion to Taylor Swift).
The clip reflects the growing trend towards personal, low-key footage as a viable marketing and branding tool.
Who Gives A Crap
Jumping on the trend might not necessitate candid office videos or in-depth stats.
Just ask Who Gives A Crap, which has revealed its own wrapped (Crapped?) social media slideshow.
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