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Pandora gets personal on mobile ads, forging deep consumer bonds


During the session ?Pandora: Why the Next Song Matters? the executive showcased how Pandora launched a series of advertisements through its mobile and desktop platforms, which exhibited the heart of the brand as well as common experiences consumers share with music. The brand saw an uptick in use in consumers who were exposed a series of ads on its own platform that showcased how moments within listening to music tied to Pandora. 

?The first campaign we ever created focused on the way that our personalization made people feel and why these moments they were having on Pandora could be tied back to us,? said Simon Fleming-Wood, chief marketing officer at Pandora. ?We did not have a lot of money for the campaign so ?we took our own medicine? and played only on Pandora.?

Unlocking Pandora?s box
The key to mobile advertising and a positive consumer-brand relationship often lies in humanizing the brand as whole. Pandora is able to standout from other music streaming services and continues to be a leader in the industry by showing its heart to consumers and forging that special bond. 

This is especially vital when it comes to mobile, as the experience is highly intimate and mobile video is on the rise. Creating video ads that consumers want to watch and engage with, but also show the compassion of the brand is crucial. 
A still of Pandora's the Next Song Matters campaign

Pandora has rolled out a series of mobile ads, which showcases how their employees care about music and the company is not just a series of computers and an algorithm. For instance, they are currently running a series of ads on Monday, named Musicology Monday in which the brand shares content from real employees and how they work on creating the right music for their listeners. 

Success in humanization 

A current campaign is running that shows common moments in listening behavior in which consumers anticipate the next song. For instance, one ad showcases teenagers listening while riding in a car, when the footage slows down during the switching of songs and speeds up again once the next song plays displaying their excitement. 

"What we felt we needed to do from a marketing standpoint was to create a larger marketing commitment and also really own our position as a brand," Mr. Fleming-Wood said. "As we went through the research what was fascinating was that people really sparked to the people behind Pandora and the story behind Pandora."

Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer