Now that the cold is setting in, people are starting to get ready again. No, not before Christmas or complaining about the (again) premature arrival of spiced nuts in the supermarket. People are eagerly anticipating the launch of the one and only Spotify Wrapped.
What happened to cause this to set tongues wagging so early? And what psychological motivations are behind this successful marketing campaign by Spotify?
Time to put my neuromarketing glasses back on and analyze the psychology behind the success of Spotify Wrapped.
Curiosity
An often overlooked ‘trick’ is announcing your personal Wrapped. It starts with a notification or an email with just the words: ‘Your personal Wrapped is ready for you’.
There is the same psychology behind this as with a slot machine. With a slot machine there is a so-called ‘variable’ reward. You pull the handle of the cabinet every time, sometimes it ‘hits’ and sometimes it doesn’t. This also applies to the notifications on your phone. Sometimes it’s a nice message from your partner, other times it’s a useless comment from a vague friend in a group app.
The key, however, is that you don’t know this in advance. And it is precisely that variability that makes that notification so addictive. Spotify’s notification stimulates your curiosity and that variable reward is waiting for you. You want to know immediately what your personal situation is like.
By the way, this is a trick that they have of course copied from the other tech giants in America. Take Google Photos for example, which displays a notification: ‘photos have been shared with you’. Of course, they could very well show the relevant photos in the same email. But they want you to take that step to open the app again.
What your Wrapped says about your personality
We humans love to belong to groups. To distinguish ourselves. Take Apple’s white AirPods. At the time, all earbuds were black, making it easy to see who didn’t have an iPod and who did. Simply because of the wires hanging out of your ears.
The tech giant from America is of course not alone in this. Almost all clothing brands are automatically used to signal to others which group you belong to. Nike, Adidas, Gucci, you name it.
It is logical that clothing brands are used so much for this, after all they are clearly visible. That is what makes the insight of the smart marketers at Spotify so great. Your taste in music is extremely personal. It is not without reason that there are the Swifties, diehard fans of ‘The Boss’ or – who remembers them – the Beliebers.
You can imagine that I felt even more connected to my godfather and aunt when I heard that they were also Muse fans. (And apparently we had even been to the same concert – without knowing about each other).
The most important psychological underlying reason why Spotify Wrapped is so successful is that it allows us to show our identity to the outside world.
What can you do with this as a marketer?
Admittedly, not everyone has such a great opportunity as Spotify. Still, it is interesting to look at the products and services you offer. An important condition is that it is something that someone really wants or can distinguish themselves with. That is not the case for many products. But for example for wine and visible tech products such as laptops, telephones or wareables and cars.
I recently saw a great example of an online wine trade. Around the same period as Spotify Wrapped, they sent an email with which wine country the customer ordered most often, which grape was apparently their favorite and their newly discovered winery. With, of course, a nice suggestion for a new wine that fits nicely with this taste profile.
Connectedness
Besides the fact that your ego likes to show your identity to the world, we also think it is very important to belong to a group. And not only to hear it, but also to feel a social bond with it. Research shows that discussing personal content leads to an increased sense of connection (Sedikides et al., 2004).
Just seeing what your friends listen to (and thus a glimpse into their musical souls) makes you feel like you know them better. The shareability of Spotify wrapped responds nicely to our need to strengthen social ties with our music preference.
A flywheel
Wrapped was not only successful at its first launch, its success continues to grow every year. This is a typical case of the ‘Bandwagon effect’. This is a psychological ‘bias’ that shows that people join certain groups, or follow other trends, simply because others do so. You’re jumping on the bandwagon, so to speak. Closely related, of course, to its counterpart: social proof. If others do it, then it must be good.
The great thing about this is that it also creates a certain FOMO (fear of missing out) for anyone who cannot participate. Spotify consistently sees an increase in the number of new users after the release of Wrapped.
Nostalgia
The last psychological insight I want to share with you is the power of nostalgia. By looking back at the past year with Wrapped, that nostalgic feeling is boosted. Studies show that nostalgia activates brain areas linked to emotions, a ‘sense of self‘ and pleasure (Speer et al, 2014). Music is a perfect carrier, it automatically brings you back to beautiful memories of good times.
Because I can’t resist
Okay, okay. A few more fun insights that I couldn’t resist sharing with you. Spotify Wrapped is of course the pinnacle of personalization. And while this can certainly go in the wrong direction (for example, if people didn’t know that you know this about them), we at Spotify are completely open to this. It’s like your best friend who knows exactly what you like and what you don’t. That gives a feeling of connection.
In addition, the music player also uses Wrapped to bond with you. First of all, you find the data valuable because you worked for it. You’re the one who listened to all those songs for hours. A typical case of the IKEA effect. You find something more valuable if you have had to put in the work yourself.
But in addition, your listening figures also evoke a psychological classic from Cialdini: consistency. The ‘confrontation’ with the amount of time you have spent with the app makes you confirm to yourself that you use the app a lot and therefore find it valuable.
Very useful if, for example, you are unsure about canceling your subscription. At least, very handy for Spotify’s wallet .
Header image source: Charles McClintock Wilson / Shutterstock.com
Source: www.frankwatching.com
