Spotify Wrapped is one of the best marketing strategies going. Good luck trying to replicate it.

""What's your age?" isn't typically a fair question, but Spotify's making it OK. Spotify Wrapped is back, and the big, new feature for the streamer's year-end recap for users is the "listening age." While some weren't too exciting - my listening age (34) wasn't far off from my real one (36) - others had a different experience, like newsletter editor Grace Lett, 28, whose listening age was 51."

"The whole thing might seem like a silly gimmick (it is), but it's also the perfect representation of Spotify Wrapped: a smart marketing tool to get people talking about their Spotify use with each other. There's also a method to the madness. Wrapped isn't just about doing a quick search of users' top artists and songs. (Justice and "Hate" by ThxSoMch for me, since I know you were dying to know.)"

"Wrapped takes the entire year, with work for next year's edition beginning as soon as the current year's drops. Executives analyze reactions on social media and figure out how to adjust going forward. Three Spotify executives walked BI's Henry Chandonnet through the whole process. Spotify Wrapped isn't easily replicable. Like most popular things, plenty of companies have tried recreating Spotify's success. That includes rival YouTube, which launched YouTube Recap this year."

Spotify Wrapped returned with a new "listening age" feature that estimates users' musical age from listening habits. Some users saw listening ages close to their real ages while others encountered surprising mismatches. The feature functions as a marketing mechanism designed to encourage sharing and conversation across social platforms. The Wrapped team reviews social reactions and begins work on the next edition immediately after release, adjusting based on feedback. Competitors have attempted similar recaps, including YouTube Recap, but few have matched Wrapped's cultural reach. Music recaps balance nostalgia and social engagement, making them especially shareable compared with other activity summaries.

Read at Business Insider