The invention of the iPhone has enhanced the lives of many through its many helpful resources. It combined the functions of a music player, computer, and phone into one portable device. The reason for the iPhone’s widespread satisfaction for people of all ages is largely attributed to one key component. Apps.
The definition of an app is “a self-contained program or piece of software designed to fulfill a particular purpose”. As far as I’m concerned apps fulfill just about any purpose, want, or need imaginable. The abundance of information that apps provide us with is endless. I’m doubtful that many people have run into the problem of not being able to find an app to fulfill a particular function. There’s an app for everything.
The popularity of iPhones and the use of apps has created a wonderful marketing tool for many businesses. Since we are constantly on our phones using apps, businesses use them to target potential consumers.
One of my favorite apps that I use many times a day is Spotify. Spotify is a music app that offers every genre of music with playlists for any time of the day. I recently “splurged” and am paying $.99 cents a month (only for the first three months) for Spotify Premium, which allows you to listen to any song, anywhere you want at any time. You can make your own playlists of favorite songs and utilize Spotify’s mood playlists as well. For me, the most noteworthy difference between the free version of Spotify and Premium is the advertisements.
Before I entered the wonderful world of Spotify Premium, my Spotify experience was bombarded with ads. Many of you who don’t have Premium probably know that familiar voice that says “watch this short video for thirty minutes of ad free music”, followed by a catchy tune and a couple of advertisements. I don’t know how many times I’ve been running on the treadmill when my music stops and is interrupted for an ad. It makes it pretty hard to have the motivation to keep running when I can hear my panting as I wait for the advertisements to finish.
Although it is an impediment to myself as well as many others, advertisements on Spotify can be a successful marketing tool for many businesses. Take, for example, graze.com, a start-up company that offers snacks by mail. They promote “a new way to snack” through healthy, low-calorie snacks sent right to your door. Graze uses Spotify to appeal to tech-savvy people with healthy lifestyles. They used a campaign based on audio messages and featured a banner offering a discount for new customers. Graze exhibited two of the four P’s of the marketing mix; product and promotion. Their product is a box of nutritious snacks available for purchase online and they offered a promotion of a free snack box for new customers. Spotify ended up being the most cost efficient form of advertising for Graze and they continue to use it to gain more customers.
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| Example of the promotional banner Graze used to promote their new product. |
Businesses with ads on Spotify can use different marketing techniques to reach their target market. Content targeting is used to feature ads to listeners with particular interests and tastes by tracking favorite genres and playlists. There is also demographic targeting, which targets specific locations, genders, or ages. Businesses can also choose specific times of the day to feature their ads.
Although I prefer to listen to my music without the annoyance of interrupting ads, if I was in charge of promoting a particular product or service I’m pretty certain I would use Spotify to do so.
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