“OMG, Doja Cat was my most streamed!”
Spotify Wrapped Case Study
With Wrapped, Spotify has crafted one of the most genius Aha Experiences ever. The result is an exciting and personalized user experience, and a reminder to subscribers why Spotify is their favorite listening platform.
Opportunity:
Spotify vs. Apple, Google, and Amazon. How did David beat Goliath this time? Spotify knew it was more agile and closer to its customers than the competition, so they doubled down to create a superior experience and outmaneuver the behemoths.
Aha Experience:
“Welcome to the end of a decade. Ready for your 2022 Wrapped?” Spotify asks.
Tap the screen, and Spotify leads you through an incredibly personalized synthesis of your listening behaviors throughout the year.
Several elements that make Wrapped absolutely genius:
Makes the user feel great about themselves!
Wrapped delivers hyper personalized insights in a way that makes you feel special.
“When it comes to your music, borders disappear. You’ve listened to music from 39 countries.” I’m stoked when I read this! I always hoped I was a cultured person, and now Spotify has confirmed this feeling.
Make it personal!
Spotify positions itself as my companion, not just a robot or a company.
“We’ve spent some serious quality time together” it says. The copy is funny and personal, and it frames Spotify as a partner rather than something making money off of me (maybe Instagram should take some notes here!).
Make it fun!
It’s not just a spreadsheet or a list. It’s a clickable story with fun colors, casual text, hand drawn graphs, and unique insights. It’s a nostalgic and funny story about how I experienced music this past year.
Make it easy to share.
The experience incentivizes me to share, and the design makes sharing frictionless. Psychologically, I want to share something as a favor to myself! Spotify plays this game perfectly, feeding me intel that I want everyone to see.
In terms of design, sharing my story to my social media feed just takes 2 taps.
Outcome
Spotify nailed their personalized listening report card, thrilling every Spotify listener around the globe. The result - insanely delighted customers and a viral social media campaign. And the best part is, this is an AhaX that we (and Spotify) can look forward to. Every. Single. Year.
Garrett’s Takeaways:
Superior User Experience can be a legitimate competitive advantage.
Cater to your customers’ incentives, not your own incentives. Freakonomics makes this case better than anyone else (see here).
Useful AhaX prompts:
Does your experience make your customers feel great about themselves?
Is your experience personal?
Is your experience genuinely fun?
Is your experience extremely easy to share with friends? (See mastermind Seth Godin’s advice.)