Rdio Provides Musical Reactions in BuzzFeed Campaign

BuzzFeed, provider of highly integrated and branded content for sponsors, launches a streaming music campaign.

BuzzFeed, provider of highly integrated and branded content for sponsors, kicked off a four-month campaign this week with Rdio, a streaming music service. Rdio has taken over BuzzFeed’s music vertical with a multi-story ad unit running on the right side of the front page of the music vertical, as well as alongside all stories in that vertical. The ad unit highlights custom content produced by BuzzFeed staff, such as “16 Songs about the Friend Zone.”

During the promotion, site visitors will be able to react to stories by choosing a music track from a rotating selection curated by BuzzFeed editors to relate to that story. BuzzFeed stories regularly include reaction buttons, letting users tag them with comments like “lol.” Hovering over a new Rdio button at the end of the comment tags brings up the selected playlist. Users can stream the songs from within the popup or search for songs they think relate to the content.

“People have been reacting and sharing content for five or six years on BuzzFeed,” noted Jon Steinberg, president and COO of BuzzFeed. “We suddenly rolled out music as a way to say how you feel.”

BuzzFeed worked directly with Rdio and its media agency, Horizon, to create the campaign. “Rdio approached us looking for innovative big ideas. The client knew how everything was shared using reaction buttons, and everyone immediately liked the idea,” said Steinberg.

Rdio provides APIs to its database and streaming music servers. The BuzzFeed reaction servers simply connect to the Rdio music servers to enable the musical reactions. Steinberg said the campaign, from concept to integration, took only a few weeks.

Steinberg said it was too early to share metrics from the campaign, but said it could provide a blueprint for providing video reactions if an appropriate client turned up. However, he added, “We’re a way off from smell-o-vision.”

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Whitepapers

US Mobile Streaming Behavior
Whitepaper | Mobile

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

5y

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

Streaming has become a staple of US media-viewing habits. Streaming video, however, still comes with a variety of pesky frustrations that viewers are ...

View resource
Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups
Whitepaper | Analyzing Customer Data

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups

5y

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics f...

Data is the lifeblood of so many companies today. You need more of it, all of which at higher quality, and all the meanwhile being compliant with data...

View resource
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people
Whitepaper | Digital Marketing

Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its peopl...

2y

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. It provides expert insight on how companies can ret...

View resource
Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy
Report | Digital Transformation

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy

1m

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Exp...

Customers decide fast, influenced by only 2.5 touchpoints – globally! Make sure your brand shines in those critical moments. Read More...

View resource