Challenge:
Recommend a new channel to reach technologists in a natural way.
Solution:
Based on comprehensive audience research, we recommended that Capital One DevExchange launch a Spotify channel and co-create playlists with technologists.
Strategy:
Noisy open offices, endless meetings, annoying distractions — how are today’s technologists and developers supposed to get any work done? These folks had to add a secret weapon to their toolkit: Headphones and music. Headphones have become today’s “Do Not Disturb” signal in the office. And music became a catalyst for productivity, focus, relaxation, and much more. But there was still an annoying problem: how do you find the right music for the task at hand?
Capital One, a bank that has made major pivots toward technological innovation, asked us to help them engage their target audience of technologists. Our insights lead us to develop playlists on Spotify that were co-created with the tech community to solve those common work life pain points.
It was crucial to pick the right platform, create the right content, and promote that content in a compelling way.
For the platform, we discovered that this audience was already highly engaged on music channels like Spotify, but very few companies were trying to reach them there.
Then we needed to create compelling content. It all centered on the idea of “helpful playlists.” Need to focus? Listen to the “Do Not Disturb” playlist. Need to solve a complex problem? Listen to the “Achievement Unlocked” playlist.
Finally, we found that video content was an effective way to grab this audience’s attention on Spotify—by agreeing to watch a video, they can avoid other ads for 30 minutes. We crafted a relatable video campaign on Spotify, which resulted in high traffic to the flagship Capital One DevExchange playlist, and drove participation from this audience to add their favorite songs. This campaign is still going strong, building equity with technologists for Capital One by helping them tune out common work life frustrations.
My Role:
- Lead Strategist
- Copywriter
Highlights:
- Conducted a comprehensive digital ethnography (audience research)
- Identified potential channels and pitched the clients on those
- Crafted the strategic campaign plan
- Wrote playlist titles, playlist descriptions, and paid media ads
- Created video concept and wrote script
- Monitored campaign with paid media planner to optimize performance
Channel:
Playlists:
The channel was launched with a video that hit on the technologists' need for music and positioned the DevExchange channel as the ultimate solution:
