Spotify shows mash-up of subcultures in SEA cities to celebrate Gen Z

Spotify is capturing the spirit and unique listening stories of Gen Z youth culture in Jakarta, Bangkok and Manila with three videos showcasing a mash-up of the different subcultures of youth found in each city. They include people, places, activities, fashion, and music, and the films are part of its global Only You campaign which was launched earlier this month. 

Done in collaboration with Six Toes Singapore, Sweetshop, The Quiet Lab and Two AM Music Global, the films were shot as though it was a music video, with the cast breaking the fourth wall by delivering lines directly to the camera. The vibrant and powerful imagery also aim to push cinematic realism from a perspective that is "always moving" to achieve a guerrilla shooting style. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Sweetshop for additional information.

Sweetshop's director Damon Escott said he found the concept interesting and exciting. "A chance to delve into the culture surrounding music in each city. Then creative freedom to make each scene feel unique and quirky at times," he added. The Only You global campaign is completed with an in-app experience and personalised playlists that aim to celebrate the different ways consumers listen to music on Spotify and the types of genres they like. The in-app experience includes the audio birth chart, dream dinner party and artist pairs, as well as song year, time of day and genres/topics.

Alongside Only You, it also pushed out a new personalised feature named Blend, which is currently in Beta. Spotify said Blend is a new way for two friends to merge their musical tastes into one curated playlist made just for them.

Separately on the ad sponsorship front, Spotify made its On Repeat playlist available to brands across 30 markets worldwide, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, and Taiwan. This allows advertisers to own the moment end-to-end as they share their messages with Spotify Free users via display, audio and video ads. Following its Discover Weekly playlist in 2019, On Repeat is the second personalised playlist available for sponsorship on Spotify. The On Repeat feature has reached 12 billion streams globally since its debut in 2019, Spotify said, and is filled with the tracks each user has streamed the most over the past 30 days.

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