It's a Wrap

November 29, 2023


In its ninth year, Spotify Wrapped is the biggest it’s ever been. With 574 million listeners, Spotify has realized its place in the cultural zeitgeist and uses Wrapped to play up to our expectations and more.


In 2023, Spotify dedicated Wrapped to two primary factors: authenticity and personalization. As spoken by Marie Roenn, Global Group Creative Director at Spotify, “Everywhere we show up we’re going to double down on what is real. Wrapped is a moment of truth, it reflects the year you had, backed by data”. The issue of realness is much more than music, as we continue the uphill battle against ‘fake news’ and try to grasp the unprecedented arrival of AI tech. The fight for truth and embracing what is real is no better exemplified than by online dictionary, Merriam-Webster, declaring ‘authentic’ its word of the year.


Leading up to Wrapped 2023, Spotify had taken a page out of Taylor Swift's playbook and teased both the launch and her reveal as top global artist using Easter eggs. Hints had been sprinkled throughout the pre-launch of Wrapped such as cats, red lipstick, and all things TS on social media and with billboards across the  to preview her reveal as the top-streamed artist of the year, and to build hype for the day-of.


As for personalization, Spotify has built out an in-app Wrapped feed on mobile and desktop for users to fully absorb everything Spotify has to offer. Eager for our personal slice of the Spotify pie, the desktop landing page for Wrapped crashed almost as soon as it was released. 


In addition to what we are familiar with such as top tracks, top artists, new genres, and time listened to, Spotify has introduced a swell of ways to connect with the community and your favorite artists within the app itself. Sound Town is a new Wrapped feature that matches users to a city based on similar listening habits and tastes. Another new feature is Me in 2023 which assigns users a listening character specific to them from how you used Spotify. The most personal feature is Artist Messages, where you can view short clips of some of your favorite artists thanking you personally for being a fan. 


Of course, what’s the fun in keeping this all to ourselves. Spotify has not only made these features shareable, but they encouraged it with every feature a part of Wrapped being able to be shared across the most popular social media channels. In an interview with Variety in 2021, Spotify vice president and global executive creative director Alex Bodman said: “I’m sure we’d all love to sit down and say it was a marketing stroke of genius, but when it was first built it was a loyalty play. I don’t think we had any idea that people would want to share it so much.”


While YouTube and Apple Music offer nearly identical recaps of listening habits based on how you use their respective apps, there’s something about Spotify Wrapped that continues to pull on the emotions of its users and make it the music recap of the year.


For updates on the latest trends in digital marketing and how companies continue to keep it real in the new world of AI; be sure to follow SparkShoppe on social media and keep up with our blog!

The Meta AI Evolution: Bots, Engagement, and the Future of Social Interaction

April 10, 2025
Remember the early days of the Internet? Digital bots were the unruly disruptors, the digital equivalent of that persistent telemarketer. They clogged feeds with spam, automated shady schemes, and spread misinformation like a digital wildfire. But fast forward to today, and those once-rogue bots have pulled off a serious glow-up, transforming into surprisingly valuable tools for sparking engagement, fueling creativity, and even offering a semblance of companionship. Leading this evolution is Meta, who is boldly rewriting the rules of how AI-driven bots function and, perhaps more significantly, how they are perceived. Now, AI is vying for our attention through comment suggestions, personalized virtual assistants, and a standalone app. Meta is planting its AI roots deeper than we could have possibly imagined just a few short years ago. So, how did we get here, and more importantly, what does it all mean for our digital lives?

The New Playbook: How NIL Deals Are Reshaping Sports Marketing

April 4, 2025
The NCAA Tournament isn’t just about buzzer-beaters and Cinderella stories—it’s a massive stage for brands. With the rise of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals, marketing is shifting from traditional ads to direct athlete partnerships. Here’s how NIL is changing the game for brands and players alike.

Meta's New Scratch & Sniff Ads: A Game-Changer in Digital Marketing

March 31, 2025
Meta has just launched its latest feature—Scratch & Sniff Ads! Imagine scrolling through your feed and encountering an ad that doesn't just capture your attention visually, but engages your sense of smell.
Glass of Water

Saratoga Spring Water Goes Viral

March 27, 2025
Saratoga Spring Water Goes Viral Thanks to an Influencer’s Unlikely Morning Routine

Shaking Up the Market: The Rise of Spirit-Based RTDs

By Sierra Levine • March 25, 2025
While traditional malt-based seltzers once dominated this space, the recent surge in spirit-based RTDs has introduced a new wave of innovation and excitement for consumers. These cocktails-in-a-can are changing the way people enjoy their favorite drinks.

Content Saturation: Cutting Through the Noise

March 20, 2025
Do you ever feel like your content is a whisper in an endless buzz of content? No matter how many blogs, videos, or social media posts you create, it’s just not reaching your audience. Welcome to content saturation, the digital version of rush-hour traffic - where everyone is trying to get somewhere, but most of us are just stuck in the jam.
More Posts
Share by: