Brand Strategy / Positioning
Media & entertainment – streaming services
Spotify Technology S.A.
Media & entertainment – streaming services
Spotify Technology S.A.
Unlocking the potential of human creativity and providing the right music or podcast for every moment.
Music, creativity, accessibility, convenience.
Trendy, young, fun, humorous, human, for everybody.
“Listening is everything”
(no longer in use)
1. “Barça x Spotify x Travis Scott” (2025)
2. “Only You: Lil Nas X” (2021)
3. “Spotify Ad Studio Stories: Wavo” (2019)
4. “Play This At My Funeral” (2017)
5. “This Is Spotify Running” (2015)
“Our mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity—by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by it.”11
“With Spotify, it’s easy to find the right music or podcast for every moment – on your phone, your computer, your tablet and more.
There are millions of tracks and episodes on Spotify. So whether you’re behind the wheel, working out, partying or relaxing, the right music or podcast is always at your fingertips. Choose what you want to listen to, or let Spotify surprise you.
You can also browse through the collections of friends, artists, and celebrities, or create a radio station and just sit back.
Soundtrack your life with Spotify. Subscribe or listen for free.“12
Spotify was in advanced talks to acquire SoundCloud. It has abandoned the plans though, as it didn’t want to incur new costs before its IPO.13
1. Marketing Week on Spotify’s B2B strategy to boost brand awareness among advertisers
M. Innes, “Spotify’s B2B Marketing Boss On Moving From Awareness To Education”, Marketing Week, Apr 2025,
https://www.marketingweek.com/spotify-b2b-marketing-awareness/
2. Adweek on Spotify’s personalized pet playlists
D. Cohen, “Spotify Rolls Out Personalized Pet Playlists, Debuts My Dog’s Favourite Podcast”, Adweek, Jan 2020,
https://www.adweek.com/digital/spotify-rolls-out-personalized-pet-playlists-debuts-my-dogs-favourite-podcast/
3. Interview with Alex Bodman, former Global Executive Creative Director at Spotify
K. Richards, “Spotify Creative Shares How The Brand Came Up With Its Latest Witty Work”, Adweek, May 2018,
https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/spotify-creative-shares-how-the-brand-came-up-with-its-latest-witty-work/
4. Fast Company on Spotify’s rebrand and design evolution
L.Tischler, “Spotify Unveils A Bold New Brand Identity”, FastCoDesign, Mar 2015,
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3043547/spotifys-new-look-signals-its-identity-shift
Spotify was founded in 2006 and officially launched in 2008. Within its first decade, it entered Interbrand’s list of the 100 most valuable global brands, becoming for millennials arguably what MTV was for Gen X in the 1990s – the ultimate destination for music and cultural discovery. In recent years, Spotify has significantly expanded its scope and now positions itself as a global audio platform. In addition to music, it integrates podcasts and audiobooks, making it one of the largest podcasting platforms in the world1 and a growing player in audiobooks.
Spotify articulates its corporate mission as “unlocking the potential of human creativity – by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by it”2. While this originally focused on musicians, it now extends to podcasters and authors as well.
Recognising that music, podcasts and audiobooks accompany people throughout their day, Spotify positions itself as a personal audio companion, defining its brand proposition as “the right music or podcast for every moment”3, an evolution from its earlier promise of “the right music for every moment”.
The last time Spotify underwent a rebranding process was in 2015. The transformation of the visual identity was intended to change how the brand was perceived. First of all, Spotify wanted to emphasise that it’s a music and entertainment brand, not a tech platform. Secondly, it wished to show its audience that the brand and the Spotify experience are as rich, energetic and lively as the music the service offers4. At a more tactical level, Spotify felt the previous look was outdated (particularly the shade of green it was using) and that there were too few brand and creative assets available.5 The team working on Spotify’s new look wanted to convey the feeling a person experiences when listening to a song they love, which the company defined as an “emotional burst”6. The inspiration for this idea came from a video7 of a baby cheering up while listening to one of Katy Perry’s songs8.
While the core identity introduced in 2015 has remained, it has since been extended to support Spotify’s evolution into a broader audio platform. The same visual and tonal system now spans music, podcasts, audiobooks and creator tools.
Spotify’s communication continues to centre around the data the company collects – particularly how and when people listen to different types of content. The brand transforms this behavioural data into creative campaigns that are often humorous and hyper-personalised. Examples include “Spotify Wrapped”, a global end-of-year experience celebrating users’ listening habits; geo-targeted billboards highlighting quirky local trends; and social content that playfully references niche audience behaviours.
As former CMO Seth Farbman once said: “Data has been, and will be, a big part of our storytelling”9.
Spotify’s advertising proves that product messaging can be delivered in an emotional and highly engaging way. The company primarily communicates its wide selection of content along with ease of use, accessibility (“on your phone, your computer, your tablet and more”10) and personalisation features. Over the years, campaigns have promoted product innovations such as Premium for Family, personalised pet playlists, and more recently, tools like AI DJ and audiobook listening as part of Premium.
Unlike Tidal, which positions itself as a premium, artist-endorsed platform focused on sound quality, Spotify builds a more human and inclusive brand image. Its tone is light-hearted and humorous, emphasising entertainment value and celebrating the spontaneous bursts of emotion that great audio experiences can create – traits typical of a Jester brand.