Spotify ad creative production
Scripts, voice, music, sound design, video and static, all produced in house and delivered to Spotify's technical specifications.
The creative is the campaign
You can fix a mediocre audience with better targeting. You cannot fix a mediocre thirty seconds with anything. In a channel with no visual to carry the load, production quality and writing quality are the performance levers.
Concept and script
Multiple written routes per campaign, tested out loud before production, written to length rather than trimmed to fit.
Voice and recording
Casting, direction and studio recording, with alternates so the edit has options.
Music and sound design
Beds, stings and design that support the message. Mixed and mastered to the platform loudness requirement.
Video production
Shoot or motion design, edit, grade and sound mix, produced natively in portrait and landscape.
Static and Canvas
Companion display units, in-feed and leaderboard imagery, and Canvas loops built from the same idea.
Variant production
Enough versions to run a real test, then ongoing production as the winners emerge.
Sixty five words, one idea, no filler
Spotify's own guidance is around sixty five words for a thirty second ad. That is roughly one clear proposition, one reason to believe it and one instruction. Everything else is what gets cut, and cutting it is the job.
What arrives at the end of a production sprint
Every asset a Spotify campaign can use, produced together so they share a message rather than drifting apart across three suppliers.
| Asset | Format | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|
| Audio ad | MP3, WAV or OGG, up to 30 seconds, minus 16 LUFS stereo | Music streaming and podcast streaming ad insertion |
| Companion image | 600 by 600 pixels or larger, 1:1, JPEG or PNG under 200 KB | Displayed alongside the audio ad, clickable |
| Canvas loop | Short looping visual | Adds motion to the audio placement where it earns its place |
| In-stream video | MOV or MP4, up to 30 seconds, 9:16 and 16:9 | Full screen during active browsing sessions |
| In-feed video | MOV or MP4, produced for the feed context | Within the browsing experience |
| Display units | Static imagery at the required placement sizes | In-feed and leaderboard placements |
| Variants | Multiple scripts, reads, edits and images | Testing from launch rather than after the first report |
Platform figures and specifications quoted across this site come from Spotify Advertising and Spotify's published quarterly results. They change, so treat them as a starting point and check the current documentation before you plan a budget.
Produced for the placement, not adapted from a TV cutdown
The most common creative failure on Spotify is an asset that was made for somewhere else. A television cutdown assumes a visual that is not there. A social edit assumes captions someone is reading. A radio spot assumes a broadcast context and a different loudness target.
Making the work natively is usually cheaper than repairing it, and always better.
- Concepting and scripting written for the format from the outset
- Voice casting, direction and recording, with alternate takes supplied
- Original music, licensed beds and sound design as the idea requires
- Video production, motion design, editing, grading and sound mixing
- Companion display and Canvas built alongside the audio, not bolted on
- Every asset delivered to Spotify's current technical specification
Frequently asked questions
Can we buy creative production without the media buying?
Yes. Plenty of brands run their own media and just need assets that meet the specification and do not sound like everything else in the break. We are happy to work that way.
How many creative variants should we launch with?
Enough that the first fortnight teaches you something. In practice that usually means at least three distinct scripts rather than three reads of the same script, plus companion imagery for each. One execution gives you a result but no explanation.
Do you handle music licensing?
Yes. We work with licensed library music, commission original beds, and advise on the clearance implications of anything you want to bring to the table.
How long does production take?
Audio with voice casting typically takes a couple of weeks from approved script. Video depends heavily on whether it is a shoot or motion design. We give a dated schedule at kick-off rather than a range.
Can you work to our existing brand guidelines?
Yes, and we will also tell you where a guideline written for print or television is actively hurting an audio ad. Tone of voice in particular tends to need translating rather than applying literally.
Other things we handle
Ready to scope this properly?
Two minutes on the enquiry form and we will come back with a view on whether this is the right channel for the objective, and what it would take to run it well.