Over the years we had the opportunity to work with some amazing clients. So of course we were thrilled when we heard we were finalists at the European Search Awards. All these tense moments had us thinking about 2021, when we won 4 awards! Let us give some detail about the client and the awards.

Our House – Best Local Campaign (PPC):

Our team’s dedication and expertise in Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising resulted in us receiving the prestigious award for Best Local Campaign. Our House delivers a unique immersive and interactive experience by taking you through the history of House music. The challenge we had to overcome was that Our House lacks a strong and established brand name in Amsterdam. In order to overcome these challenges, we focused on research, audience analysis, creativity, originality, and swift adaptation. By directing our efforts towards local tourists, we were able to exceed our expectations and establish Our House Museum as a prominent player in Amsterdam’s competitive environment. We are super happy that all of our efforts have been rewarded by this giant accomplishment!

Nxt Museum – Best Integrated Campaign:

We collaborated with Nxt Museum on a one month long campaign aimed at boosting ticket sales on Mondays through Wednesdays, as those days have relatively low sales compared to the other days. Our solution was the integrated “Bring Your Date” campaign, incentivizing visitors to come to the museum on these days by offering a 50% discount on the second ticket purchased. Our creative campaign was applied to multiple channels, with an unified message tailored to the target audience, resulting in an above-target increase in ticket sales. Moreover, our discount code was used a total of 712 times, making a significant contribution to the campaign’s success. Besides all this, we also used out-of-the-box channels that are not as common within online advertising, such as Grindr, but fit this campaign perfectly. We are equally thrilled with receiving this award and very happy to share a second award with Nxt Museum!

Moments like this give us so much energy! Special thanks to Marlous and Rens for all their hard work, next stop will be the Global Search Awards in a month. Hopefully there is another moment to celebrate. We will keep you posted!

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt that your creativity went down the drain together with the last drops of your coffee? Exactly at the same time you see the last drop of your coffee flowing away, you get a new client who needs a brand new copy ad, and they need it right now. Or you’re in a need to refresh the content of your current ad copy? Great! 

So here’s the deal, instead of pulling your hair out while you’re googling everything about the topic, trying to find inspiration, read this blog to find out how to handle these situations and actually enjoy your coffee!

In November of 2022, the company OpenAI, a research and deployment company, released its new product called Open AI ChatGPT, version 3. The hype was real and on December 6th the service reached 1 million users and dominated Google Trends. ChatGPT works with a conversational model, you just simply ask the question after which the AI model provides you with an answer. You can also have a follow-up conversation which makes the conversation as coherent as you would have with a human. Currently, ChatGPT is free for everyone’s use, so let’s dig in!

In PPC-marketing (Pay Per Click)it’s all about that one click that leads up to the sale. Therefore you want to have the best content to draw the attention of your crowd, and make it convert. When you need the copy fast, and creativity is low, it can be a challenge to come up with fresh ideas. That’s where ChaptGPT comes in. Let me give some examples of queries and answers that would ease your struggles:

5 examples of questions and answers to use as PPC content

1. Can you write me some headlines for a company that sells soft drinks, max 30 characters for each headline?

Answer:

1. “Sip Your Way to Happiness”
2. “Refresh Your Taste Buds”
3. “Drink Up, Smile More”
4. “Quench Your Thirst Instantly”
5. “Satisfy Your Cravings”
6. “Savor the Sweetness”
7. “Revitalize Your Spirit”
8. “Taste the Joy of Refreshment”
9. “Elevate Your Mood with a Sip”
10. “Indulge in a Flavorful Treat”

2. Can you write me description lines for a soft drinks company? Max 90 characters per line.

Answer:

1. “Refreshingly delicious flavors that quench your thirst!”
2. “Enjoy a sip of happiness with our all-natural drinks.”
3. “Get a burst of flavor with every sip!”
4. “Stay hydrated with our tasty and healthy beverages.”
5. “A drink for every moment, from morning to night!”
6. “Join the movement to a healthier, more sustainable future.”

3. Can you write me headlines with max 30 characters and descriptions that would include social proof?

Answer:

1. “Trusted by millions worldwide”
2. “Recommended by 95% of users”
3. “Loved by thousands”
4. “Proven results: 5-star ratings”
5. “Endorsed by experts”. 
6. “Over 95% of customers would recommend us to their friends and family!”
7. “Our product has received rave reviews from industry experts and customers alike.”
8. “Join the thousands of happy users who have transformed their lives with our products.”

4. What would be the USPs of a company that sells soft drinks?

Answer:

1. “Unique flavors”: Offering a range of unique and exotic flavors not available in other soft drink brands.
2. “Health benefits”: Position soft drinks as healthier alternatives with lower sugar content or added vitamins and minerals.
3. “Convenient packaging”: Providing innovative packaging options like recyclable cans or on-the-go packs.
4. “Sustainability”: Highlighting the company’s commitment to sustainability, such as using eco-friendly packaging or sourcing ingredients from sustainable sources.
5. “Heritage”: Tapping into the brand’s history, heritage, and legacy to create an emotional connection with the customers.
6. “Quality ingredients”: Using premium quality ingredients and highlighting the absence of artificial preservatives, colorings, and sweeteners.

In case your client doesn’t have a properly built website, the quality score of your keywords is low and the landing pages are already stuffed with keywords. You need some new ideas, and while we’re at it we might as well ask ChatGPT to provide us with some fresh ideas that can make the client’s landing pages more appealing. Let’s GO!

5. Can you suggest some new ideas for a landing page for a soft drinks company? That was not mentioned in headlines, descriptions, or USPs previously.

Answer:

1. “Lifestyle pairing”: Offer suggestions for different occasions and lifestyle choices where your soft drinks would be the perfect accompaniment, such as at a picnic, during exercise, or for a relaxing evening at home.
2. “Social media buzz”: Showcase user-generated content from social media, such as photos and testimonials from happy customers.
3. “Interactive quiz”: Create a fun quiz for visitors to take that helps them find their perfect flavor match, increasing engagement and encouraging them to try more of your products.

All in all, these are just a few examples of how to use Open AI ChatGPT. The most effective approach will be depending on your targeted audience, brand messaging, and goals. The possibilities are endless and there is no right or wrong, so ChatGPT encourages us to keep experimenting in order to broaden our horizons! 

What you should take into account when you want to use ChatGPT

Keep in mind that you don’t want to one on one copy these generated pieces of text, because while it seems like a fast win, it can play against you in the future. Google is trying its best to detect whether content has been AI generated. We have seen penalties for (AI) generated pieces of text in the past, so think about a long-term strategy to use ChatGPT for your PPC marketing. Both sides are rapidly evolving, and it’s a must for every content creator to keep up with these technologies. This is just the beginning and sure this is not going to be the only service, but at the point of writing it is the best. 

Also want some graphics to go with your PPC content, please check out both DALL E and Mid Journey. If you’re mastering both in terms of the rights queries you can really enjoy that coffee that first went down the drain. 

Be independent of AI and collaborate with Hide and Seek?

Despite the emergence of various AI tools, there are still limits to it. We are here for you to fill that gap. Contact us or fill out our contact form below!

As you have read in our research on Social Media use in the Netherlands, Pinterest is in the top 3 when it comes to growth in users. With 444 million monthly users, Pinterest has more users than the US population.

The popularity of Pinterest is not surprising, since Pinterest is a unique channel to find inspiration, make plans for the future or share useful tips. People on Pinterest are looking for new inspiration and are often on the cusp of buying new things. It therefore resembles a search engine more than a social media channel. This is also why Pinterest makes a unique channel for advertisers. The audience on Pinterest is open to new ideas and that means that your advertisement is not a nuisance, but provides inspiration at the right time!

In this blog, we will tell you more about the new possibilities and best practices for advertising on Pinterest.

New possibilities

AR Try-On

Pinterest offers many unique ways to search and advertise. For the American market, Pinterest recently launched AR Try-on pins. This new feature makes it possible to try out furniture or beauty products from the comfort of your home. It uses augmented reality techniques to create 3D images of your products. The decision to buy something is made easier and more fun. Once the customer is convinced about the product, they just click the pin again, and they will be directed to the resellers’ page to buy the product. With this new feature, Pinterest continues to develop as a conversion channel.

Slideshow for collections

The function “Slideshow for collections” makes it possible to automatically create collection ads. Pinterest creates a dynamic collection of ads from products from your catalog. This new advertising feature is based on the understanding that Pinterest shoppers love video content and that they often actively search for more than one product at a time. This video-like content collection would therefore be perfect to showcase all your products.

​​6 Best practices for your Pinterest creatives

The new features show that the shopping experience is central to Pinterest. Pinterest is a visually-focused channel and the creatives on Pinterest have a very high esthetic character. As an advertiser it is important to go along with that idea and standard of content. We are happy to share our best practices on creating Pinterest ads that truly stand out.

Use video

Grab attention with moving images! Short videos are very popular in today’s media landscape. Think of the rise of Instagram Reel, TikTok videos and YouTube Shorts for example. It is more and more seen, that the static image is increasingly giving way to video-like content. Respond to this trend with short, clear videos. Especially for an audience that is higher in your marketing funnel, video ads are a good option.

Use text over the image (but not too much)

Text can really bring your Pins to life. However, it is wise to keep texts short and simple. Make sure your text matches your advertisement and use a clear call to action. This increases the relevance of your ad and keeps your message clear.

Be direct

The decision to keep watching or keep on scrolling is made in a split second. Make sure your pin sends a direct message. For example, with the call-to-action button “Available now” you can create curiosity about your newest products.

Use vertical formats

Vertical Pins allow you to maximize your screen real estate and tell your story! Pinterest recommends an aspect ratio of 2:3, or 1000 x 1500 pixels.

Use valuable content such as ‘How to’s’

It’s no secret that users search Pinterest for inspiration and how-tos. Use your Pins to show how your brand fits into the lives of your target audience. Create creatives in which you share useful tips or show how your product can be used. This way you make a connection with users, and share useful tips as well!

Show your logo

Last but not least; Show your logo! Your brand’s channel is not visible on Pinterest by default. It is therefore important to ensure that your logo is always clearly visible on your pins. This way you ensure good brand recognition.

Overall, a lot is possible on Pinterest and the platform offers unique possibilities compared to other social media channels. Pinterest is always innovating and mainly responds to the shopping experience for the public. The audience on Pinterest is always searching and is ready to discover and buy new products. Although Pinterest has a broad audience, it has a particularly strong representation among audiences interested in Interior, Beauty, and Health. For advertisers in these industries, Pinterest advertising is definitely worth a try.

Pinterest distinguishes itself as an advertising platform because of its highly esthetic character, and therefore we often see good results when it comes to awareness purposes. Pinterest allows advertisers to truly express themselves!

In this blog about DV360, you will learn more about the targeting and content options, so that you know exactly how you should brief your content creators, or design the content yourself.

Audiences, placements and moments

Just like the Google Display Network (GDN), DV360 offers the same options to set your targeting as optimally as possible. For example, you can use custom audiences, keywords, affinities and in-market audiences, and high-quality target groups from multiple publishers. If you would like to make direct use of inventory at a publisher of your choice, you will have to deal with the publisher’s targeting options. Publishers can often figure out what the preferences of their platform users are by means of cookies. That’s why publisher may provide you with the following targeting options:

Content

• Placement: target based on channel, format, video, device type and position.
• Genre: target content from a specific genre: comedy, sports, music, etc.
• Contextual: target the contents of the inventory, which align with the advertiser’s product.

Audience

• Demographics: determine a target audience based on age, gender, education level, income or social class.
• Interest: determine a target group based on interests: finance, automotive, etc.
• Intent: determine a target audience based on purchase intent.
• Retargeting: determine a target group based on a previous contact moment.

Location & Moments

• Location: province, region, zip code area
• Moment: day selection or exclusion, weather triggers, current news or events
• Time: specific period or moment: work, shopping, breakfast or drink

The right aspect ratio, and the right duration

The inventory on which your advertisements are served consists of different places and therefore different sizes. You will be able to find dimensions overviews from almost every publisher. Not just about design choices, but also about which dimensions have the best chance of winning bids.

Specific wishes mean extra costs

The more specific you want the content to be in terms of dimensions and places where your content should be shown, the higher a bid will be. Indeces are widely used to map out how high a bid becomes as your personalization increases. Indices, in a programmatic context, are used to “tax” the degree of preference you impose on spot length, position in the instream, etc. For video advertising, it might look like this:

Spots in the instream

Advertisements can be shown in different spots in the instream. In other words: your ad can appear when someone starts a video (pre); while watching the video (mid); or at the end of the video (post). The extent to which you want to have control, could be indexed like this:

• Pre | mid | post
  • Index 100
• Pre | mid
  • Index 120
• Pre
  • Index 130
• Mid
  • Index 125
• Post
  • Index 60

Spot length (video)

Perhaps you have a preference for the duration of your ad. You could, for example, want to advertise a lengthy video. For a publisher, a longer video is often more difficult to serve. That’s the main reason why you probably won’t be paying extra for the shortest le ngth a video could be displayed:

• 5 t/m 20 sec
  • Index 100
• 21 t/m 25 sec
  • Index 115
• 26 t/m 30 sec
  • Index 130
• > 30 sec
  • Not possible

Part of the inventory

The publishers where you could be advertising are large in number. In addition, a publisher often manages different platforms, websites and channels — so plenty of choice! If you would like to narrow down your options, for example only serving your ads on a specific part of the inventory, then that may be possible. However, the costs will rise quickly, because, despite the fact that many people are present on the platform, it is still not a Google Display Network, which claims it is 90% of the internet. The more specific your inventory strategy is, the more difficult it becomes to serve your ad, making advertising more expensive. The following terms are good to remember when specifying on which part of the inventory you want to serve your advertisements:

• Run of Network (all available or unused inventory from a publisher)
  • Index 100
• Run of Channel (a specific channel from a publisher, such as sports, lifestyle or tech)
  • Index 130
• Run of Site (a specific website from a publisher)
  • Upon request — probably the most expensive option

A publisher wants to serve your advertisements as much as possible. The positions, lengths and spots that are easiest for the publisher are indicated with index 100. Depending on the strategy to be pursued, it is wise to focus as much as possible on those index 100 options. In this way your ads will be served as much as possible, and you will avoid unnecessarily high costs.

What you need to know

If you want to advertise on the inventory of publishers, you will have to make a number of considerations. You do this by taking the following into account:

• If you want to target the available inventory within DV360, you can use the same targeting options as those of the GDN: affinity, in-market, custom audiences, etc.
• If you’ve made a deal with a publisher and want to optimize your targeting further, you can. Publishers often offer satisfactory targeting options, because they can track their users through cookies. You’re a bit more limited, though, as any level of specification is taxed extra by indices.
• Publishers often offer an overview on which their indices are specified.
• The more restrictions you specify regarding targeting, places and duration and dimensions of your content, the higher your CPM bids will become. Remember: a publisher wants to serve your advertisements as much as possible — for you and themselves. So make it as easy as possible for publishers to serve your ads.

Are you ready for premium advertising?

Have you seen the added value of DV360 after reading these articles? Then, just like our other customers, start with this valuable addition to your marketing mix. By being present on premium placements, you greatly strengthen your brand. You will be shown instream alongside other major brands and on platforms where people prefer to get their entertainment, news and information from. This way you can ensure that your brand is taken even more seriously. And the great thing is: we take the complete implementation off your hands!

According to the General Data Protection Regulation, also known as GDPR, it is important that the privacy rights of the user are guaranteed. For this reason, every website has to inform users about its cookie policy.

What is the Google Consent mode

There are different types of cookies: Functional cookies, Analytical cookies and Marketing cookies. Cookies are used to distinguish users from each other. If you want to use cookies, you may only do so once the visitor gives permission. Once consent is given, this cookie data is stored in consent mode. This also falls under the term tracking, gaining insight into how the user behaves in relation to your advertisements and website. However, this also means that as soon as a user doesn’t give permission, you don’t know what this user is doing on the website. In the past year, privacy has been tightened and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to see the effects of the campaigns. Google, therefore, came up with a new privacy solution. The Google Consent Mode. Using the Google Consent Mode it is possible to measure conversions and events, while also respecting the privacy preferences of the visitor.

Google Consent Mode uses two new components: ad_storage and analytics_storage. These parts (Google tags) are used to control the behavior of the cookies for Google Ads and Google Analytics. Based on accepting or not accepting the cookies, the Google Consent Mode works in two different ways.

1. Once permission is given, all settings work as normal and you can use the conversion measurements and remarketing as desired;
2. When the user doesn’t give consent, the consent mode uses a so-called ping to communicate that a conversion action has been performed. This ensures that you can measure conversions but the visitor can’t be identified.

Despite the fact that you miss out on detailed data about the visitor, and can therefore not include this visitor in remarketing and personalized advertisements, it’s possible to measure conversions thanks to Google Consent Mode.

Conversion Modeling Google Ads

Why is it important that conversions are measured and assigned to the campaigns that have brought users to the website?

Since April 2021, conversion modeling for Consent Mode has been available in Google Ads. When Google can’t directly observe the conversions, they use conversion modelling. This is done through the mentioned ad_storage. This data can’t be traced back to an individual user. This means that if someone doesn’t accept the cookies, events and conversions will be found through the modeled conversions. With the help of the modeled conversions you still receive the events but without personal data. Which in turn provides a more complete overview of all conversions that take place.

More complete conversion path

The conversion modeling provides a more complete overview of the completed conversion path because of:

• The ability to optimize campaigns more effectively. Due to the privacy enhancements, it’s no longer possible (if a user does not give permission) to see which device type or browsers the visitor uses. Thanks to the modeling, Google ensures that the distorted view you get, is resolved and corrected throughout the report.
• In addition, it’s possible to perform accurate and privacy-oriented measurements. All conversions that Google can’t detect use the modeled conversions. This data can’t be traced back to the individual, but does show whether a conversion has taken place on the website. This provides a more complete report about the conversions the campaign is delivering.

Implement the Google Consent Mode

Would you like to have more data and insights about what happens on the website and see all the conversion actions that are completed? Then implement the Google Consent Mode now.

Do you have questions about how to implement this Consent Mode? Contact us directly! Hide and Seek is happy to help you with the implementation.

TikTok has been making a lot of noise these past few months. The new social medium by the Chinese company Bitedance is taking over the western market at an impressive rate. TikTok has been downloaded over 2 billion times so far and was the most downloaded application on the App Store in 2020. Saying that there is a new player in town would be an understatement.

This rapid penetration into the social market means that advertisers need to adapt and start developing some curiosity towards this novel platform. So, here is what you should know about TikTok and what it might mean for your business.

Young and international 

In a very short period of time, TikTok has become the 7th most-used social network in the world with 689 million active users. According to statista, 62% of TikTok users are between the ages of 10 and 29; and according to Adweek, 71% of American Gen Zers use the app. Does it matter? Well, if you’re advertising for retirement homes it probably doesn’t but if you’re selling anything else it does. Why? Because Gen Z, Aka the digital natives, are slowly entering the global workforce and gaining purchasing power by the day. If you still aren’t convinced, here’s a finding that might make you change your mind: According to the same Adweek report, almost half of the users said they bought from a brand they saw on the platform.

TikTok is like no other platform, the feed is composed of a stream of short (60 seconds max) videos made by other users. TikTok users will often tell you that the app is extremely addictive and that it is easy to spend long periods of time scrolling from video to video. In fact, the average TikTok user spends 52 minutes a day on the app.

Advertising on TikTok

In-feed Video Ads 

As you will see, TikTok offers many different ways to advertise on its platform but in-feed video ads are the most common. In-feed video ads are short video ads that appear on the “for you” page. These ads appear at random moments when the user is scrolling through the feed which makes them blend organically within the rest of the content. 

Brand Takeovers 

The Brand Takeover is a format that enables advertisers to show ads to users before they can access their feeds. This format ensures visibility as the ad takes up the totality of the screen and are shown anywhere from 3 to 5 seconds. 

Topview 

Topview is very similar to Brand Takeovers with the only difference being the time for which they are shown. While Brand Takeovers only allow the ads to show for a couple of seconds, the Top View format enables advertisers to show ads for an entire minute. Both the Brand Takeover format and the Topview format enable brands to have a  strong visibility and powerful scalability across all users. These formats present CPMs between 6 to 9 euros.

Branded Hashtag Challenge (HTC) 

Another interesting way to advertise on TikTok is through something called the branded hashtag challenge. The branded hashtag challenge is not an ad format but rather a social activation created by the advertiser which can be reinforced through paid advertising (e.g. In-feed Ads, Brand Takeovers ect). These social activation models allow brands to engage their audience by making them part of the campaign. Users can use these branded hashtags and create content in response to the branded hashtag challenge either for fun or through an incentive set by the brand (e.g. winning a prize). This strategy not only allows brands to engage users but also enables them to spark organic visibility on the platform.

Merkeffecten

Ten slotte laat TikTok merken hun eigen merkeffecten creëren die gebruikers kunnen gebruiken bij het maken van inhoud. Deze effecten omvatten stickers, AR-filters en lenzen die gebruikers aan hun eigen video’s kunnen toevoegen. Merkeffecten duren 10 dagen.

Tips en best practices

Authenticiteit

Wees authentiek met uw inhoud. Wees niet opdringerig en probeer op te gaan in je merk terwijl je in lijn blijft met je merkimago. Probeer niet te hard om relevant te zijn door TikTok-trends in uw advertenties te kopiëren. Deze trends duren niet erg lang en gebruikers zullen niet veel waarde halen uit merken die gebruik maken van rages. Vertel uw merkverhaal eerlijk, eenvoudig en creatief.

Influencers zijn een troef

Influencers zijn individuen met een grote aanhang die merken kunnen integreren in hun content. Dit maakt de reclame vaak natuurlijker en betekent dat u wordt blootgesteld aan een zeer betrokken publiek. Influencers zijn zo belangrijk dat de app een service heeft gelanceerd met de naam “Creator Marketplace”, waar merken en influencers kunnen samenwerken.

Muziek is de helft van de reclame

TikTok staat erom bekend geluid een integraal onderdeel te maken van de platformervaring. De app heeft ervoor gezorgd dat verschillende artiesten snel aan populariteit winnen door fragmenten van hun nummers viraal te laten gaan. Gebruikers kunnen fragmenten van nummers of geluiden van andere TikToks gebruiken die ze vervolgens aan hun video’s kunnen toevoegen. Hoewel dit misschien een heel klein aspect lijkt, is het de belangrijkste manier waarop TikTok zich onderscheidt van zijn concurrenten. Adverteerders moeten zich bewust zijn van de geluiden of liedjes die ze in hun advertenties gebruiken, aangezien dit een factor is die de advertentie kan maken of breken. TikTok heeft een tool genaamd ‘Smart Video Soundtrack’ die je video automatisch koppelt aan de beste soundtrack. Het gebruik van deze tool kan leiden tot meer exposure.

Experiment

TikTok is nieuw, maar digitale advertenties niet. Merken en adverteerders moeten experimenteren om te zien wat voor hen het beste werkt. De advertentiekant van TikTok (ook bekend als TikTok voor bedrijven) is zeer uitgebreid en stelt u in staat uw campagnestatus, uw advertentie-uitgaven en vele andere statistieken zoals CPM, CPC, CPA, CTR, conversies en meer bij te houden. Als u deze statistieken gebruikt en leert van andere succesvolle casestudies, bent u op de goede weg om TikTok voor u te laten werken.

Branded Effects 

Finally, TikTok lets brands create their own branded effects users can use when creating content. These effects include stickers, AR filters, and lenses users can add to their own videos. Branded effects last for 10 days.

Tips and best practices

Authenticity 

Be authentic with your content. Don’t be salesy or pushy, try to blend in while staying aligned with your brand image. Don’t try too hard to be relevant by copying TikTok trends in your ads. These trends don’t last very long and users won’t gain much value from brands leveraging fads. Tell your brand story honestly, simply and creatively. 

Influencers are an asset 

Influencers are individuals with a large following who can integrate brands within their content. This often makes the advertising seem more natural and means that you will be exposed to a highly engaged audience. Influencers are such a big deal that the app launched a service called “Creator Marketplace” where brands and influencers can collaborate. 

Music is half of the ad

TikTok is known for making sound an integral part of the platform experience. The app has made several artists rapidly gain popularity by having snippets of their songs go viral. Users can use snippets of songs or sounds from other TikToks that they can then add to their videos. Although this might seem like a very minor aspect, it’s the primary way TikTok differentiates itself from its competitors. Advertisers need to be mindful of the sounds or songs they use in their ads as this is a factor that can make or break the ad. TikTok has a tool called “Smart Video Soundtrack” which automatically  pairs your video with the best soundtrack. Using this tool can lead to more exposure. 

Experiment

TikTok is new but digital advertising isn’t. Brands and advertisers need to experiment to see what works best for them. The advertising side of TikTok (aka TikTok for business) is very comprehensive and allows you to track your campaign status, your ad spend and many other metrics such as CPM, CPC, CPA, CTR, Conversions and more. If you leverage these metrics and learn from other successful case studies you will be on the right track to make TikTok work for you. 

Previously we wrote about Spotify as an advertising channel which was received with great interest. However, quite a few features have recently been added to this channel. For example, the completely new Ads Studio interface (currently still in the Beta test phase in which Hide and Seek participates), the easy creation of audio spots, and a reduced starting budget! Therefore, an update on our part is in order.

There are quite a few large streaming services on the market and Spotify is still one of the largest worldwide. The platform has approximately 248 million monthly users who listen to music on Spotify for an average of 146 minutes a day. The platform has a Free version and a Premium version. The free version has users hearing and seeing advertisements between songs and while searching for music. Currently, there are approximately 141 million users who still use the free version and thus hear and see advertisements; this is more than half of all users! In the Netherlands alone we’re talking about 1.7 million Dutchies who can potentially be reached with advertisements (Spotify, 2020).

Those who know Hide and Seek know that we serve and have served many customers in the music industry (portfolio). Advertising for Spotify can be very interesting for the music industry. However, the channel is also widely used by companies that are not in this industry. For example, brands from different sectors advertise on Spotify. For these companies, branding is the main goal to complement the other channels that advertisers use.

Advertising options on Spotify

Spotify has several advertising options. The types of advertisements have remained virtually the same, but a few things have changed in the places where they can appear. The different types + available placements are:

• Audio Advertisement
• Video takeover
• Sponsored Sessions
• Leaderboard
• Overlay
• Homepage takeover
• Branded Playlists

Audio

Audio Advertisement

Audio Advertisements are played between songs and can basically be compared to radio spots. A user will hear up to 30 seconds of advertisements every 15 minutes. In addition, a clickable image can be uploaded as an ‘album cover’. The click can lead to an external website and is free. Audio Ads are available on all devices.

Video

Video takeover

With the video takeover, a video ad is displayed for a maximum of 30 seconds (between songs) while a user actively uses the app. Because ads are only launched when the Spotify desktop or mobile app is displayed, the view rate is high when compared to industry benchmarks. In addition to the video, a clickable companion banner can also be displayed here as an advertisement extension.

Sponsored Sessions

With a sponsored session, your brand becomes a gateway to an improved streaming experience. Users get 30 minutes of ad-free listening “sponsored” when a video ad of up to 30 seconds is viewed. The video ads are started by the user himself, so the view percentage is (again) very high. This format is only available on mobile and tablet.

Display

Leaderboard

These screen ads are only displayed if the user actively uses Spotify. Ads will not run if the app is minimized, making ads 100% visible. The ads are clickable and run for 30 seconds. Only one ad is shown at a time. Leaderboard ads are available on desktop and the web app.

Overlay

With an overlay advertisement, the user is served your brand message immediately when returning to the Spotify app (mobile or desktop). This ensures a maximum brand impression, which the user cannot ignore. Then a click on the ad can lead to the chosen landing page.

Homepage takeover

This format is a combination of a background image and an interactive area that takes over the Spotify homepage for a full day. Users can click on both the background image and the interactive area.

Sponsored

Sponsored Playlists

With the branded playlists option, a brand can take over the Spotify playlists like “today’s hits”, “chill playlist” and so on. This allows brands to appear in users’ favorite lists. It is of course important that the brand and the message match the playlist. An ad can lead to another playlist through advertisements, but also appear within the playlist with interactive advertisements. A link to an internet page or content on the platform itself is possible.

Further Spotify Updates

Ads Studio

Recently, Spotify has released the ads studio in which ads can be set up in a simple and intuitive way. At the time of writing, the ads studio is still in Beta mode and we at Hide and Seek are participating in the beta test in the Netherlands!

In the ads studio it is easy to upload an ad. Don’t have an audio ad ready yet? Spotify offers the service to have a script written by you voiced by a voice actor and to create the advertisement for you, free of charge!

In addition, you can measure the results of your ads in the ads studio in real time. Which means that you have insight into which audiences listen to your ads (or your music!) And which audiences do not. This can be very valuable information to sharpen the ad targeting.

Targeting

Since our last spotify update, a number of targeting options have been added and especially the interest categories have been adjusted and improved. Below again the different targeting options:

• Demographic features: Advertising based on gender or age.
• Location: Advertising based on the location of the user.
• Time: Advertise based on the user’s local time
• Interests: Advertising based on the user’s interests
• Genres and listening behavior: advertising based on music genres. Whether the user is classified in a particular genre is determined by what the user has listened to on Spotify for the past 30 days.
• Fans of certain artists (condition is that the artist is mentioned in the ad).

Reduced starting budget

And last but not least, there is the reduced advertising budget for a starting Spotify advertiser. Previously, the minimum amount to start with was set at € 7,500, but this has been lowered to just € 250 for now. So starting small has become an option for those who want to try out the platform.