Spotify has taken to TV for the first time in India as it hopes to gain dominance in one of the most populous markets in the world.
The brand is hoping that TV will reach a much wider audience and encourage more people to be wooed by its messaging around ‘there’s a playlist for that’. To drive up interest, Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor and Ishaan Khattar have been brought in to feature as the main characters.
Spotify launched in India earlier this year, hoping to tap into the growing trend for music streaming in the country. The launch campaign took a hyperlocal approach, using insights from across the country to explain that there is a playlist for every one of life’s moods and moments.
The TV execution, by Leo Burnett, is based on the same idea, the insight around India’s daily social fabric being so closely tied to music.
Amarjit Batra, managing director of India at Spotify, said: ‘‘Our insights highlight how music is an integral part of our users’ social and solitude experiences. Since our launch in India, we’ve engaged with our listeners based on how they experience music. The new campaign reinforces how seamlessly Spotify fits into their lives through availability of 50 million tracks, including the latest and most popular, access to 3 billion-plus editorially, algorithmic and user-curated playlists, seamless integration across apps and hardware, and the ability to listen to music, regardless of what they’re doing - working out, cooking, or multi-tasking on their phone.”
The campaign is also the first multilingual campaign for Spotify, an important strategy for brands hoping to be relevant for India’s diverse population. The campaign will feature four ads, each in English, Hindi, Telugu, and Marathi, all being aired on popular GEC, movies and English cluster channels. The campaign will also continue to have a strong digital component, with ads being shown across online video channels and Anil Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, and other artists and influencers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Rajdeepak Das, managing director India and chief creative officer South Asia, at Leo Burnett, said: “The youth in India often deals with the pressures of judgement, individuality, social norms, and more; in this chaos, music acts like a companion. In this campaign, Anil Kapoor makes a cool dad, who even in his 60s, is a young and energetic as a 20-year-old. Ishaan as the son is India’s new generation – full of energy and optimism. We had a riot of fun creating this campaign with both the brand and creative teams and Shakun Batra, the director. You can see the energy, and feel the vibe in the ads. We are very proud of this campaign, and are sure it is going to do great for the brand”.
