In a vigorous and comprehensive product launch, Spotify today introduces Spotify Ad Analytics, a set of advertiser tools and solutions across podcast and music advertising. The new pixel-based technologies announced today grew from the company’s acquisition of then-indie attribution company Podsights over a year ago. (RAIN coverage HERE). Chartable, another attribution company, was acquired in the same grab, but is not mentioned in today’s news.
While the focus is on Spotify advertisers, Spotify notes that users will “learn from your digital audio campaigns off Spotify, too” — this seems natural, as Podsights still does external client business.
There is an emphasis on a so-called “Spotify Pixel.” While this sounds like a newly conceived invention, pixel tracking has been at the center of audio campaign attribution for years. The pixels are related to, but different from, visual pixels. Audio pixels are bits of code which, when placed on the advertiser’s website, count visits resulting from an audio ad campaign. They also connect each visit to the listener’s demographic and psychographic profiles while tracking their activity on the website.
Audio pixel technology is at the heart of measuring campaign results, and crucial to creating a common currency with other types of digital advertising. Spotify is cleverly branding its bespoke version of pixel tech.
Another notable function of this announcement is to stitch together podcast and music advertising. The Spotify Pixel is the key branded element which offers Spotify’s whole colossal audio offering to advertisers with the company’s promise to measure effectiveness. There is a centralized dashboard for clients, which can even ingest off-Spotify ad campaigns using that Spotify Pixel.
So … even if Spotify doesn’t get all the advertising business, it makes a play for getting all the campaign analysis business.
