Why obscure playlist names are popping up on billboards

FastCompany: A playlist is like a time capsule. It can capture a moment and feeling better than almost anything else. Spotify is uniquely aware of that power, which is why it’s dedicating dozens of billboards to the beauty of the playlist. In a new campaign called “Playlist List,” the streaming giant worked with Uncommon Creative Studio to create a series of billboards that showcase the unique place the playlist has in culture. Up in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York City, the billboards feature the names of delightfully obscure user-generated public playlists that tap into local culture.

(See a billboard that reads “I refuse to take accountability so I blame it on the 405” that went up in L.A.) [Photo: Uncommon Creative Studio] Uncommon’s first playlist campaign for Spotify came in June when the New York Knicks won the NBA championship . The agency took a public playlist called “Waiting for this since ’99” (the year the Knicks last won the championship) and turned it into a billboard. It was one of several they had preapproved depending on the outcome of Game 4.

To build on the playlist concept, the Uncommon Creative team looked at the calendar to find events like Father’s Day or a social feeling that spoke to one of the specific cities the campaign is running in, like tourist season in New York. There’s a billboard featuring a playlist called “welcome to the big city” in New York, which got neighborhood-specific playlists, too, like one for interns having their first job experiences in Midtown. The billboards all include the text “Public Playlist” and the creators’ Spotify usernames; the agency worked with Spotify Customer Service to get approval from users.

[Photo: Uncommon Creative Studio] Successful playlists have become an important part of Spotify’s user experience, and updates to how playlists can be created and shared have become a differentiator to draw in listeners. Last year Spotify introduced Prompted Playlists, which allows users to build customized playlists with prompts they can fine-tune themselves, and earlier this month it launched Playlist Notes, a feature that lets playlist creators add personal notes to individual tracks .

Uncommon Creative Studio, which has worked previously for brands like SiriusXM and Quaker Oats , says it noticed an uptick in saves for the featured playlists, but that wasn’t a core objective. (The campaign doesn’t include any QR codes or direct calls to action as a deliberate creative choice.) Instead, the billboards aim to celebrate the act of making and listening to a playlist on Spotify.

The campaign is significant for the brand industry as it showcases an innovative approach to user engagement and cultural relevance, making it highly relevant for brand strategy professionals.