Spreadbeats (case study)

Spotify has launched a new B2B campaign, ‘Spreadbeats,’ featuring a music video created and distributed entirely within a media plan spreadsheet. Aiming to make media plans as vibrant and energetic as Spotify’s brand and platform, the campaign follows a single cell—E7—and its evolution into a colorful 3D character. This transformation acts as a metaphor for the creative ways brands can reach audiences through both audio and visual formats.

“The media plan is the unsung workhorse of our industry, and it’s not necessarily the first thing you’d think of to tell a story creatively,” said Rich Frankel, global creative director at Spotify. “Through Spreadbeats, we are using the analytical tools of our trade to deliver a memorable experience. We hope to inspire our brand and agency partners to never look at a media plan from Spotify the same way again.”

Adrian Bingham, Head of Sales, AUNZ, added, “We know how important media plans are to our industry and that they are generally the unsung heroes of our campaigns. With Spreadbeats, we wanted to inject some of the creativity and energy the Spotify brand is known for, to create something unique for the industry.”

The campaign is backed by a soundtrack produced by US DJ John Summit. “I know my way around a spreadsheet almost as well as a DJ mixer,” Summit said. “My first ever job was in accounting, where I got really good at using spreadsheets and I think there can be creativity in every job. That’s why I was so excited to partner with Spotify on this project and to use my track, ‘Shiver,’ to convey emotion where people might not typically feel it.”

Rather than inserting a pre-made video into the spreadsheet, Spotify coded the music video directly within the spreadsheet, using built-in functions such as ASCII, Graphs, Unicode, and conditional formatting. The project was created in partnership with Uncharted and FCB NY.

After weeks of testing across 14 markets—including the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, India, and Singapore—Spreadbeats will drop directly into unsuspecting brand and agency inboxes this week, inviting recipients into a world they may not want to leave.