Navigating Spotify Ad Formats in 2025: Tips and Tricks to Boost Engagement

Spotify continues to evolve as a platform for users to grow not just as a platform to listen to, but also to watch, scroll, and engage. In 2023, Spotify introduced vertical video in the Now Playing View, a major shift designed to compete with platforms like TikTok. Instead of just showing a static album cover, artists and brands can now display dynamic video content behind songs—creating a more immersive and scroll-stopping experience. This evolution not only increases engagement during music listening but also opens up new opportunities for advertisers to connect visually with audiences, even in a platform traditionally dominated by audio. According to their Q1 2025 earnings, engagement with video on Spotify is up 44% year-over-year—and a massive 81% for Gen Z. One other important thing to keep in mind: while Spotify Premium removes ads from music streaming, it does not eliminate ads from podcasts!



Jump to Ad Formats: Audio Ads, Canvas Companion Ads, Video Takeover Ads, Opt-In Video Ads, In-Feed Display Ads

Why Ad Format Selection Matters on Spotify

At FanIQ, we see Spotify as uniquely positioned in the advertising landscape. It’s one of the few platforms that offers audio, video, and display ad formats within a single ecosystem—each suited to different user behaviors and moments. This range of formats means advertisers must be intentional with their media mix. When building an ad set in Spotify, you're required to choose either audio or video as the core format, which makes selecting the right creative and placement strategy even more critical from the start.



Use audio ads to reach users during screenless moments—like commuting, cooking, or working out—when they're immersed in listening. Spotify’s algorithm can detect whether a user is actively looking at the app or listening with the screen off, which means audio ads are only served to listeners in passive, screenless contexts. On the flip side, video ads are only shown when the app is in view, ensuring that visual creative is delivered to users who are actively engaging with their screen. Meanwhile, display ads provide high-visibility touchpoints within the app interface, driving interaction and brand recall when users are navigating or discovering new content.



Choosing the right combination of these formats isn’t just tactical—it’s strategic. It’s how you ensure your message reaches the right person, in the right moment, in the right way.

Audience Targeting & Segmentation on Spotify

Like other major platforms—such as TikTok, Meta, and Snapchat—Spotify allows advertisers to build audiences based on core demographics like location, age, and gender, and also supports custom audience uploads for retargeting or CRM-based outreach. Advertisers can tap into a wide range of interests, spanning categories like Fitness, Gaming, and Family—similar to social platforms, but uniquely informed by Spotify’s audio consumption data.



What truly sets Spotify apart is its ability to target fans of specific artists, including many high-profile names not available on other platforms, as well as its placement-based targeting, which lets advertisers reach listeners based on what they’re actively consuming—whether it’s a specific music genre, a themed playlist like cooking or chill, or even a podcast—ensuring contextual relevance and deeper engagement.

Understanding Spotify Ad Campaign Objectives

When launching a campaign on Spotify Ads Manager, selecting the right objective is crucial to align with your marketing goals. Spotify offers a range of objectives tailored to different stages of the customer journey:

Each objective leverages Spotify's first-party data and machine learning to deliver your ads to the most relevant audience, ensuring efficient use of your advertising budget.

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What is Spotify's Cost per Thousand (CPM)?

FanIQ’s clients see an average CPM of $7.92 for audio ads and $8.07 for video ads on Spotify. These rates reflect campaigns optimized for both awareness and conversion objectives, and they consistently performed below industry benchmarks. With CPMs under $8, Spotify offers a more cost-effective alternative to platforms like TikTok ($8.64) and Snapchat ($9.75)—both of which saw even higher CPMs for FanIQ clients in early 2025. For brands looking to reach a highly engaged, intent-driven audience without overspending, Spotify continues to deliver outsized value.



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