• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, November 15, 2016

WPP’s Data Alliance and Spotify have entered into a global partnership whereby the two companies will collaborate on data and insights, creative, technology, programmatic solutions, and new growth markets.

As part of the agreement WPP has access to the listening preferences and behaviors of Spotify’s 100 million users in 60 countries. The multi-year deal enables WPP and its clients to glean insights from the connection between music and audiences’ moods and activities, according to the holding company, which could enhance campaign planning and potentially lead to more relevant creative work.  “Music attributes such as tempo and energy are proven to be highly relevant in predicting mood, which enables advertisers to understand their audiences in a new emotional dimension,” the firm stated in a release.

Spotify has been ramping up its ad sales effort and has doubled its revenues in each of the last two years. The company told the Wall Street Journal earlier this year that it intended to reach larger scale agreements with major ad holding companies like WPP going forward. As part of the just-announced partnership WPP operating companies will be launch partners with Spotify for audio programmatic marketing platforms (PMPs) through AppNexus, which WPP has a stake in.

And as Spotify continues to expand its footprint, WPP operating companies will be the premier launch partner to Spotify in select new launch markets. Spotify declined to disclose ad spend commitments or other business terms, but a rep noted that WPP was receiving exclusive access to Spotify data for certain periods of time. “This is in addition to new opportunities for WPP clients to develop more relevant creative and enjoy enhanced levels of targeting through this data connection,” the rep added.

Alex Underwood, VP Global Head of Agency and Partnerships, Spotify, stated that “Today’s announcement lays the foundation for a long term strategic alliance between Spotify and WPP. This partnership will drive mutual growth and enable us to further unlock the power of technology, creativity and music data for brands.”

With the new deal WPP operating companies get so-called “first-mover access” to Spotify’s mood data via Wunderman’s Zipline Data Management Platform to boost targeting efforts. The holding also will have access to connected device usage data, while GroupM gets an exclusive infusion of Spotify data into its LIVE Panel via Lightspeed Research.

Also, Kantar is conducting media research in 12 markets to help measure the quantity and quality of the Spotify audience compared to radio listeners.

 “The insights we’ll develop from Spotify’s behavioral data will help our clients realize a material marketplace advantage, aiding delivery of ads that are appropriate to the consumer’s mood and the device used,” stated Harvey Goldhersz, CEO of GroupM Data & Analytics. “Additionally, when connected to all of the other consumer data we are able to gather from hundreds of sources, this will enhance our ability to have the most complete consumer view in order to help marketers achieve successful outcomes.”