This Much I Learned: Spotify’s Olga Puzanova on forging cultural connections
In the latest episode of Marketing Week’s podcast series, Spotify UK marketing director Olga Puzanova discusses how the platform plugged into lockdown culture and used its brand of data-driven storytelling to dial up the audio experience.
From the explosion in podcast listening to the rise of invite-only app Clubhouse, the past year has shone a spotlight on the importance of audio to people living under lockdown.
One company to capitalise on this audio boom is Spotify, which spent the past 12 months working to cement its position at the centre of music culture. In the first quarter of 2021 alone, the brand launched into 86 new markets, with the number of global monthly active users growing 24% year on year to 356 million.
A crucial way Spotify builds connections with consumers is through data-driven campaigns, which took on new meaning during the pandemic. With gyms closed and users looking for at-home workouts, the streaming platform rolled out ‘Pumped’, a fitness microsite offering free personalised HIIT workouts. Then for the 2020 edition of ‘Wrapped’, Spotify’s end of year celebration, the marketers paid tribute to frontline workers and the creative industries.
Under the watch of UK marketing director Olga Puzanova, Spotify launched the ‘Listening Is Everything’ brand platform in September, showcasing audio content beyond music and playlists in a bid to forge deeper connections with users.
In this podcast, Puzanova discusses how her team reacted to the Covid crisis, their use of data to create culturally relevant campaigns and why a can-do attitude is the number one skill she looks for in potential marketing recruits.
From opening up about mental health issues to closing the career confidence gap, you can listen to previous episodes of Marketing Week’s This Much I Learned podcast on iTunes, Soundcloud and Spotify.
