Spotify’s year-end “Wrapped” campaign, long considered a touchstone for creative use of data, introduces some new elements for 2024 but continues to lean into out-of-home advertising that crunches streaming numbers in fun ways.

Fans of the “Wrapped” billboards going back to 2016 will recognize the format of the OOH executions, which filter artist and song data—representing cultural moments and trends—through different geographic and psychographic lenses. The artists featured in the ads include top streamers from Beyoncé to Karol G to Shaboozey.

Most of the ads are static 2D boards (see examples below), but Chappell Roan got the royal treatment with a unique neon-sign installation in West Hollywood (above) inspired by her hit song “Pink Pony Club.”

Matt Luhks, senior director of global marketing at Spotify, said at a press briefing on Tuesday that the creative team was particularly excited about the design system for this year’s “Wrapped,” featuring lots of dynamic shapes in blues and pinks. 

“Every year, our goal is to make ‘Wrapped’ bigger and better than ever before,” he said. “This year we played with color, shape and movement to create something really fun and eye-catching. It’s meant to capture the spirit of the year. It really put artists at the center of the story. And it looks just as good on a billboard as it does on your mobile phone.” 

The billboards follow previous teaser ads that played around with the Spotify logo in various ways, featuring it wrapped in snakeskin and as a bejeweled crown, coffee foam and a Southern belt buckle.

Along with the advertising, the in-app “Wrapped” experience is also seeing upgrades, with the user data on streaming extending beyond music to podcasts and audiobooks. The latter are also getting their own global charts ranking the top creators, much as Spotify has long produced for musical artists.

Of particular interest to the ad community, Wrapped 2024 also includes Wrapped for Advertisers, a personalized, data-rich experience designed for some of the top brands that advertised on Spotify this year. Advertisers will learn the number of total minutes Spotify users streamed their ads as well as insights about those listeners, from their top music and podcast genres, favorite dayparts for listening and more.

“2024 was a year of transformation for Spotify’s brand identity to reflect a more expressive and open Spotify at the center of culture—and ‘Wrapped’ is the visible culmination of that work,” said Marc Hazan, VP of partnerships and marketing. “The 2024 ‘Wrapped’ design is eye-catching and dynamic, and it features the Spotify logo in ways we’ve never seen before, immersed in music trends that fans loved this year. ‘Wrapped’ embodies this in a fresh, new way for listeners to enjoy around the globe.”

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• The best ads of 2024 (so far).

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