SoundCloud UnMute: A Student Campaign

SOUND SUN CONSULTING - COMMUNICATION PLAN

UNMUTE: SOUNDCLOUD COMMUNICATION PLAN

by Sound Sun Consulting Anastasi Sharp, Inayat Kaur, Julia Zhang, Kendall Hamilton, and Kritika Mahanti

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

3

2. BACKGROUND

3

2.1 Company Overview

3

2.2 Brand Promise

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2.3 Revenue Model

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2.4 Campaign Goal

6

2.5 Investment

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3. SITUATION ANALYSIS

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3.1 Industry Trends

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3.2 Competitive Analysis

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3.3 Brand Analysis

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3.4 Audience

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3.5 Insights

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4. RECOMMENDATIONS

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4.1 Target Audience

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4.2 Objectives

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4.3 Key Messages

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4.4 Tactics

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5. TIMELINE

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6. CONCLUSION

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7. APPENDIX

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7.1 Budget

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7.2 SWOT Analysis

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7.3 Competitive Analysis

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7.4 Supporting Materials for Tactics

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8. REFERENCE

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SoundCloud is an online audio distribution and music sharing platform that enables a connected community of creators, listeners, and curators to upload, promote, and share audio. As one of the pioneers in the music streaming industry, SoundCloud has fundamentally changed the way users consume music. Today, the company faces challenges from formidable competitors from every part of the streaming industry, ranging from mass-market subscription services to online radio and artist-focused offerings. This has made it increasingly difficult for SoundCloud to convert free users into SoundCloud Go+ subscribers, as many listeners fail to see the value in paying for SoundCloud’s services. To turn this around, SoundCloud has introduced a student subscription plan and enlisted Sound Sun Consulting to develop a strategic communication campaign that will increase student subscriptions by 20%. With a total budget of $100,000, the campaign will start in March 2021 and continue until the end of October.

Primary (focus group, quantitative surveys, in-depth interviews) and secondary research (desk research) generated valuable insights regarding SoundCloud’s positioning and target audience’s habits, preferences, and associations with the brand. The recommendations formulated by these insights support SoundCloud’s positioning as a social sharing platform and will increase engagement by leveraging networks of student musicians, universities, and social media influencers.

2. BACKGROUND 2.1 Company Overview SoundCloud is an online audio distribution and music sharing platform based in Berlin that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, the platform has grown into one of the most extensive global music streaming services reaching over 175 million monthly users worldwide (Craft, 2020). The private company is valued at $700 million, with total funding of $542.8 million across six funding rounds (Craft, 2020).

Available for desktop and mobile devices, the platform hosts 200 million tracks from 25 million creators and has launched in 190 countries (Dhillon, 2020).

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2.2 Brand Promise SoundCloud is a "social sharing platform" (Client Call, 2020) that aims to create human-centered listening experiences. By integrating the most relevant social media platforms to enable sharing (e.g. Instagram and Facebook), SoundCloud's platform allows users to connect across various channels. Social sharing on the platform supports SoundCloud’s broader mission to build a "connected community of creators, listeners, and curators on the pulse of what's new, now and next in culture" (SoundCloud, 2020).

For creators, SoundCloud creates value by offering a seamless experience to record, upload, and share content on the SoundCloud platform and beyond. Comprehensive analytics tools give creators valuable insights about their fanbase and make it easy to evaluate performances. The platform also allows creators to engage directly with fans and promote their work via social media channels (SoundCloud, 2020).

For listeners, SoundCloud promises to help them “find new music to love.” Listeners can follow creators and SoundCloud will automatically add new tracks and releases to their music streams.

By saving favourite tracks and playlists, listeners can expand their music library while using SoundCloud's "Related Tracks" recommendations to discover new music (SoundCloud, 2020).

2.3 Revenue Model SoundCloud offers both free and paid memberships for artists and listeners on the platform. Its revenue streams consist of creator subscriptions, listener subscriptions, and advertising revenue.

In 2019, SoundCloud reported $165.7 million in revenue, up 37% from the previous fiscal year.

SoundCloud’s largest segment, “Listener Business,” generated 67% ($111.7 million) of revenues, while its “Creator Business” accounted for 33% of revenues ($54.0 million) (Ingham, 2020).

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SoundCloud revenues by segments (Ingham, 2020) The following is a breakdown of SoundCloud’s revenue streams: Creator Subscriptions (SoundCloud, 2020): The basic version is free and allows artists to upload up to three hours of music. The paid subscription offers two tiers: ○ “Pro Unlimited” costs $12/month and allows artists unlimited uploads, monetization options for plays, and advanced listener insights. ○ “Repost” costs $2.50/month and allows artists to distribute tracks to all major music services, use premium services to monetize music, and split payments with collaborators.

Listener Subscriptions (SoundCloud, 2020): The basic version allows listeners to stream music for free. However, it has its limitations, as listeners cannot save unlimited tracks for offline and ad-free listening. The paid subscription consists of two tiers: 5

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○ “SoundCloud Go” costs $4.99/month and allows users to save unlimited tracks for offline listening and stream without ad interruptions. However, it does not offer access to SoundCloud’s full catalogue and its highest audio quality. ○ “SoundCloud Go+” costs $9.99/month and gives users the advantages of SoundCloud Go as well as access to SoundCloud's full catalogue and higher quality audio.

■ SoundCloud offers a student subscription version which gives eligible college, and university students access to SoundCloud Go+ for half the price ($4.99/month).

Advertising Revenues: SoundCloud generates additional revenue from charging third party fees to advertise their offerings on the company’s platform. Ad options include audio, display, and native ads on the platform as well as sponsorship opportunities.

2.4 Campaign Goal The campaign aims to increase student subscription plans by 20%. It will kick off in March 2021 and run until the end of October.

2.5 Investment For this campaign, SoundCloud has a total budget of $100,000. Its brand and marketing teams will implement the campaign and leverage existing media channels such as SoundCloud’s social media platforms, blog and newsletter to help achieve the campaign goal. An increase of 20% in student subscriptions will result in an additional one million paying subscribers with a lifetime value higher than $4.99. Achieving this goal will thus have a positive return on investment and build loyalty amongst the SoundCloud community, which will result in a meaningful impact on the company’s bottom line.

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3. SITUATION ANALYSIS 3.1 Industry Trends The streaming industry is currently valued at over $11 million and continues to grow rapidly every year (Global Online Music Streaming, 2020). In 2019, revenues from streaming services increased by 20% to $8.8 billion, accounting for 79.5% of all recorded music revenues (Perez, 2020). Subscription services accounted for the most significant portion of revenue growth in 2019, with total revenues up 25% year-over-year reaching $6.8 billion.

Competition in the audio streaming industry is fierce, but differentiation between competitors is weak since most players offer similar services. (Global Online Music Streaming, 2020). In September 2019, the most popular music streaming service in the United States was Apple Music with 44.5 million monthly users. Spotify closely followed, with 44.2 million monthly users. SoundCloud ranks seventh in the industry with 15.3 million monthly users (Watson, 2020).

Most popular music streaming services in the U.S. in September 2019, by monthly users (Watson, 2020) 7

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3.2 Competitive Analysis SoundCloud faces intense competition from all parts of the streaming industry. The two main categories in which streaming companies compete are the creator business, which caters to artists who want to create and share music, and the listener business, which focuses on music consumers (The Four Types of Subscription Model, 2019). The other key distinction is between mass market competitors, which focus on mainstream music that is distributed through major music companies, and niche competitors, which focus on lesser-known artists and genres (The Four Types of Subscription Model, 2019).

The following table lists companies that compete with SoundCloud in the music streaming industry. A detailed competitor analysis can also be found in the appendix (7.3).

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Spotify

Apple Music

Pandora

YouTube Music

Amazon Music

SoundCloud

Library

50 million tracks

60 million tracks

40 million tracks

Hundreds of billions of tracks

50 million tracks

200 million

Monthly Active Users

270 million

60 million

70 million

20 million

55 million

175 million

Geographical Presence

79 countries

167 countries

USA

95 countries

30 countries

190 countries

Yearly Revenue (2019)

$7.59 billion

$12.5 billion

$1.72 billion

$15 billion

$14.6 billion

$200 million

Free Version

Ad-supported

N/A

Ad-supported

Ad-supported

No

Ad-supported

Premium ($9.99/month), Family (14.99 / month)

Premium ($9.99/month), Family ($14.99/month)

Pandora Plus ($4.99/month, Pandora Premium ($9.99/month

YouTube Music Premium ($9.99/month) Family ($14.99/month)

Prime Music included with Amazon Prime

SoundCloud Go ($4.99/month), SoundCloud Go+ ($9.99/month)

$4.99/ month

$4.99/month

$4.99/month

$6.99/month

$6.49/month (Prime Student)

$4.99/month

Known for personalized machine-driven recommendations.

Known for broad catalog and humandriven recommendations.

Known for being a user-friendly multi-platform music app.

Known for being an enhanced and more personalized version of YouTube.

Known for being bundled with signature Amazon offerings like Prime.

Known for bridging the listener-creator connection.

Subscriptions

Student Subscription

Brand Positioning

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3.3 Brand Analysis Results from primary and secondary research revealed three opportunities to encourage engagement and create brand loyalty for SoundCloud.

SoundCloud positions itself as a brand that offers niche & independent content created by upcoming artists. Around 56% of survey participants prefer niche music over mainstream music (Quantitative Survey, 2020). Focus group participants felt that SoundCloud exposes them to independent content that is not available on mainstream streaming services. “SoundCloud is the pioneer of independent artists” (Focus Group Participant, 2020). In fact, one of the focus group participants reported that she enjoys listening to SoundCloud because she can find just about anything that she wants to listen to (i.e., music from anime shows).

A second opportunity identified through primary research is that SoundCloud values itself as a community-building and social sharing platform. According to users, “explorative” and “accessible” are the two words that best describe SoundCloud (Quantitative Survey, 2020). Indepth interviews with current users revealed that they share their music recommendations with friends on social media, by word-of-mouth, and see music as a way to build community. “I listen to a lot of content created by my friends on SoundCloud”, says a focus group participant.

SoundCloud allows users to share tracks directly on their Instagram stories, allowing for a seamless music promotion experience. A current user appreciates how easy it is to share music on SoundCloud using links (In-depth Interviews, 2020). When thinking of their ideal music streaming platform, user-friendliness and affordability are the top two criteria for SoundCloud users (Quantitative Survey, 2020). However, users tend to avoid listening to SoundCloud on-the-go due to the lack of ad-free streaming (Focus Group, 2020).

In addition, social media analyses revealed that Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are the brand's most successful and promising social media platforms to boost its presence with its target audience.

Currently, SoundCloud has 813k followers and 1,916 posts on Instagram, with #ATW (Artists to Watch) being the most popular hashtag used (Instagram, 2020). Their Facebook handle has a total of 6.4 million likes and 6.6 million followers, with an average of 50 likes and 15 comments per post (Facebook, 2020). Findings from the quantitative survey support the identified potential of 10

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increasing engagement rates, since a majority of survey participants are active on social media several times a day, with Instagram (55%), TikTok (45%), and Facebook (20%) ranking as some of the highest in daily usage. Moreover, 48% of SoundCloud survey participants engage with their favourite artists and creators by following them on social media, resharing their content, and liking/commenting on their posts (Quantitative Survey, 2020).

3.4 Audience SoundCloud fosters a vibrant and connected community of creators, listeners, and curators.

Research showed significant demographic and behavioral similarities across SoundCloud users in the United States.

Demographic With 60% of users in the U.S. between the ages of 18 and 29, SoundCloud’s user base is predominantly male and includes two generations of digital natives: Millennials (ages 24-29) and Generation Z (ages 18-23). This hyperconnected audience is split between low and high-income households, with 37% belonging to low-income households and 36% belonging to high-income households. 52% of SoundCloud users live in urban areas, which is more than the average digital music consumer (Loose, Spearman, Gewiese, 2020).

Behavior Under normal circumstances, this audience is always on the go, so they seek convenience and accessibility (Quantitative Survey, 2020). They are comfortable with variety, which is why even though 86% of users typically listen to music on their smartphones, they still desire easy access to music on all of their devices (Loose, Spearman, Gewiese, 2020). SoundCloud users are eager to support their favorite musicians on social media, but only 35% of users like to support their favorite musicians financially. This audience prefers to listen to music for free but will use streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music for convenient access to their abundant music libraries (Quantitative Survey & Focus Group, 2020).

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Attitude SoundCloud users appreciate nostalgia, but they value innovation and seek products that embody their desire to stay up to date with culture (Statista Global Consumer Survey, 2020). While focus group participants positively expressed their nostalgic attitude towards SoundCloud because of its vibrant history of catering to music lovers and artists alike, it is important to note the target audience's tendency to disregard SoundCloud creators, particularly on social media. Extensive desk research and in-depth interviews showed that there is a segment of users who believe that being a creator on SoundCloud should be either brief or temporary if one is talented. For those who are not successful, being a SoundCloud creator is regarded as embarrassing and often associated with low-quality production (Focus Group, 2020). This research shows a clear disconnection between the average user's appreciation for accessibility and their definition of success in the music industry.

(Twitter, 2020) 3.5 Insights The following insights on the audience’s disposition towards SoundCloud emerged from primary and secondary research.

1. SoundCloud is valued as an open and connective platform that strengthens the music community. ○ “I like the social aspect of SoundCloud. I feel more connected to the artists than on other platforms like Spotify” (In-depth interview, 2020) ○ 87% users agree that they would like to personally know the artists they listen to (Quantitative Survey, 2020) 12

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○ “I subscribed to SoundCloud because users are able to make their own versions of a song. SoundCloud is great for remixes especially for being in college at a party. I am also able to listen to songs that aren't on Spotify, made by my favorite artists” (Quantitative Survey, 2020) 2. SoundCloud listeners value music discovery and recommendations. ○ “Accessible” and “explorative” are the top two words that SoundCloud listeners used to describe the platform (Quantitative survey, 2020) ○ 76% of users value being the first ones to discover genres, artists and tracks (Quantitative Survey, 2020) ○ 92% of SoundCloud users are constantly looking to expand their interest in fashion and music (Quantitative Survey, 2020) ○ “SoundCloud is the pioneer of independent artists [...] and I can find just about anything that I want to listen to” (Focus Group Participant, 2020) ○ A music executive commented that she “like[s] using links to share SoundCloud music” (In-depth interview, 2020) 3. Most students are budget conscious and awareness for SoundCloud’s student discount is low. ○ 78% of SoundCloud users agree that price is an important factor when it comes to subscriptions (Quantitative Survey, 2020) ○ 83% of SoundCloud users agree that they love listening to music but would not want to pay a high price for it (Quantitative Survey, 2020) ○ One focus group participant noted: “What would make me pay for [SoundCloud] is just the student discount” (Focus Group, 2020) 4. RECOMMENDATIONS 4.1 Target Audience This communication plan will target young listeners ages 18-24 who attend accredited colleges and universities in the United States to increase student subscriptions. These listeners are 13

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younger than the average user of competing streaming services and over-indexed amongst African American, Asian American, and Latinx audiences (Client Brief, 2020). Amongst this demographic, we identified two key publics, the Hypebeasts and the Eager Newbies, to best target our audiences based on our quantitative and qualitative research as well as campaign goal.

The following personas are a direct representation of the unique individuals identified in each key public: The Hypebeasts: Students with a passion for listening and discovery

The Hypebeast “Moodboard” Travis is a 20-year-old sophomore from Detroit, MI, with a strong preference for niche hip-hop and rap. Like most of his peers, Travis is attending virtual classes at the University of Michigan.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in Travis spending more time alone, which is why his audio consumption has increased greatly this year. Merriam Webster defines Hypebeasts as those who are in a “general pursuit of a fashionable lifestyle,” which accurately describes Travis and his friends (Merriam Webster, 2020). Travis works to expand his taste in music, fashion, and art because he values being in the know about pop-culture. He is the first to know about every sneaker drop and new album release. His favourite drops this year include JACKBOYS by Jackboys and 14

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Travis Scott and the Air Jordan 5 x Off-White "Sail." Travis uses SoundCloud for free but is a Spotify subscriber because he feels it is the most affordable and user-friendly service for his extensive music library. However, if Travis knew more about SoundCloud Go+, he would consider subscribing since he views Spotify as too mainstream. Travis values convenience, so he puts effort into discovering new music for his playlists, which he curates to match different vibes and experiences like driving in a car late at night or working out in the gym.

The Eager Newbies: Underclassmen seeking authentic social connections in virtual settings.

The Eager Newbie “Moodboard�

Natalia is an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Southern California where she has yet to choose her major. While she prefers to listen to music alone or while on the go, she is very disappointed that her first year of college lacks concerts and other musical experiences like parties with friends. Open to virtual experiences, Natalia has spent the last semester seeking new ways to make meaningful connections with her peers while attending class from home. She has tried everything from Bumble BFF to Facebook groups but is still having difficulty finding her crowd.

Highly active on social media, she closely follows her favourite artists like Harry Styles on Instagram and loves sharing links to their music with friends. Natalia feels like she knows her 15

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favourite artists and influencers personally, so she often speculates about their personal lives in group messages with her friends. She listens to all kinds of music and utilizes social streaming services like YouTube and Tik Tok for discovery and simultaneous social connection. Natalia is on a tight budget and currently only pays for Spotify because of its student discount bundle and seamless discovery experience.

4.2 Objectives Starting in 2021, the following communication objectives will be implemented throughout a timeframe of 10 months to reach the campaign goal of increasing student subscription by 20%.

1. Convert free users to paying subscribers by highlighting SoundCloud’s value proposition as a community-driven, social sharing platform amongst college students.

Focus groups and IDIs showed a lack of awareness for SoundCloud’s unique selling point (USP).

Users are price conscious and unconvinced that a SoundCloud subscription is worth paying for.

As one SoundCloud user said: “Because most of the songs are free, I don’t wanna have to pay for that and increase my bills” (In-depth interview, 2020).

Through targeted messaging, this campaign will establish SoundCloud as the go-to platform for social sharing and make its community the heart of the platform's offering, where the premium (paid) subscription gives listeners increased access to favourite artists and like-minded people. The campaign tactics support this objective by addressing the current challenges of social distancing and encouraging other forms of social connections.

2. Promote SoundCloud’s student subscription offering by leveraging digital marketing channels.

Currently, awareness of SoundCloud’s student offering is low (Focus Group, 2020). Since the target audience is budget sensitive, promoting the discount and creating a landing page specifically designed to convert students into paying subscribers by highlighting the advantages of SoundCloud Go+ will support this campaign’s overarching goal. With a $100K budget, running 16

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ad campaigns on digital marketing channels is a cost-effective tactic to acquire subscribers. Since Google is the market leader in this field, digital ads on this platform have the potential of generating high ROIs through specific targeting and tracking.

3. Position SoundCloud services as an innovative, accessible, and explorative destination for music lovers.

The focus group and quantitative survey indicate that users were most likely to associate SoundCloud with the words “accessible” and “explorative.” This campaign will use tailored messaging to leverage these sentiments and enhance SoundCloud's brand value. This will effectively “sell” SoundCloud’s offering to students, who are budget conscious but at the same time seek to be a part of cultural trends. Since the pandemic is restricting students in their ability to partake in their usual social activities (e.g. go to movies or concerts), this campaign aims to convince students to divert some of the money that would usually go into these activities towards quality experiences that SoundCloud offers which are socially distant and safe but also revolve around community.

4.3 Key Messages Primary Message: SoundCloud — For Listeners Who Think They’ve Heard it All Secondary Messages: ● SoundCloud is the world's largest social audio platform, driven by a community of explorative music lovers who are on the quest for the next big thing ● Get to know your favorite artists and meet other listeners on SoundCloud Primary Message: Take SoundCloud Everywhere You Go+ Secondary Messages: ● SoundCloud allows students to connect with peers through music - no matter where they are ● SoundCloud is the lifestyle platform for those who seek new and creative experiences

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Primary Message: Tuition Is High. Your Music Subscription Doesn’t Have to Be Secondary Messages: ● SoundCloud Go+ costs as much as a “Venti” coffee but lasts longer ● At only $4.99 a month, SoundCloud Go+ is an affordable service for students on a budget 4.4 Tactics Tactic 1: Develop a University Partnership Program Tasked with facilitating inclusive student development and programming during a global pandemic, student life offices across the country have spent the past year searching for new and innovative ways to foster community in virtual settings (In-depth interview, 2020). ● The University Partnership Program will capitalize on the increase of music consumption in order to incentivize students to subscribe to SoundCloud Go+ by integrating exclusive SoundCloud content into pre-existing student life office communication. Through this collaboration, student life offices will: ● Link exclusive SoundCloud Go+ playlists and messaging about SoundCloud’s student subscription plan into widely used social applications like Corq, which allows students to discover events and groups around campus. ○ Corq is a trusted service for many academic institutions and has been used for over 130K events across more than 250 colleges and universities (Corq, Campus Labs, 2020). ● Develop playlists with exclusive SoundCloud Go+ content to be shared in university newsletters and during virtual campus events. (See Appendix 7.4) ○ Research shows that SoundCloud listeners seek playlists that match their moods and settings, so university life offices will utilize the SoundCloud Go+ catalog to curate and customize playlists that match the vibe of each specific message they are sending.

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■ E.g. if the university is sending out an email about an upcoming work life balance workshop, a calm and uplifting playlist can be curated and included accordingly (Focus Group, 2020).

SoundCloud will first do a pilot launch of this program, granting SoundCloud Go+ access to university life offices at the following institutions that were all chosen based off of their student body size, demographic, culture, and geographic location (U.S. News, 2020): ○ Columbia University: Private university in New York, NY with 32K students ○ University of Michigan: Public university in Ann Arbor, MI with 44K students ○ University of Southern California: Private university in Los Angeles, CA with 44K students ○ University of Texas at Austin: Public university in Austin, TX with 50K students Media Channels: ● Corq ● University newsletters ● University events communication ● University communication portals ● University social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) Measurement: ● Email and university communication reach and engagement ● Social media impressions and engagement ● Student subscriptions per school ● Streams per playlist Tactic 2: Create Quizzes That Match Audiences to Fun Music Profiles and Corresponding Virtual Experiences Tactic two will use quizzes and playlists to strengthen the listener-creator connection on the SoundCloud platform.

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● The target audience values the convenience of playlists made to match their different moods and vibes (Focus Group, 2020). SoundCloud will generate a “vibe check” quiz that features popular tracks and artists across the platform to assign students to “listener profiles” based on their music preferences and consumption habits. The quiz will match participants to a playlist developed for each listener profile using exclusive SoundCloud Go+ content. Example of profile results include: ○ The Study Mode Listener: Students who listen to music to stay motivated while studying. These listeners seek motivation but want to avoid distraction, so they prefer electronic music with minimal lyrics. ○ The Shower Belter: The student who likes to sing in the shower after a long day of classes. These listeners have a soft spot for 90s power ballads and never pass up an invitation to sing karaoke. ○ The Dorm Room Head Banger: Listeners whose parents are worried about their ears. Bold and audacious, these listeners prefer genres like rap and hard rock that get them excited to take on the world or a long day at school.

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●

Listener profiles will do more than offer students convenience. They will also serve as a pathway to the community offered within the SoundCloud platform. The prospect of gaining access to a community of individuals at campuses across the country who share similar interests and preferences will serve as a powerful incentive for students to subscribe to SoundCloud. ○ According to research, the target audience is “radically inclusive. They don’t distinguish between friends they meet online and friends in the physical world.” ○ 66% of the target audience believe that communities are created through common interests, such as music taste (McKinsey, 2018).

● As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to restrict most universities from hosting students on campus, the vibe check quiz will provide students with the social connections they are lacking while taking classes remotely by utilizing the social aspect of the SoundCloud platform (e.g. user profiles and engagement under tracks). ●

In coordination with Tactic 1—the University Partnership Program will be utilized as a source of promotion quizzes.

Media Channels: ● SoundCloud social media ● University communication channels e.g. newsletter, social media Measurement: ● Participants in quizzes ● Streams per playlist ● Subscribers Tactic 3: Leverage Audience Targeting of Google Ads ● The fifth tactic aims to promote SoundCloud Go+'s student offering and make it more salient to the campaign's target audience. ○ The focus group showed that none of the participants was aware of SoundCloud's student offering. It unveiled that there is a strong need for improvement when it 21

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comes to communicating SoundCloud's subscription offerings. (Focus Group, 2020) ○ SoundCloud's website design does not automatically direct users' attention to the paid plans. Instead, users need to browse the website before landing on the page, which presents the different subscription options. The student plan is even less visible on the website. ● Since a complete redesign of SoundCloud’s website is expensive, complex, and time consuming, the best practice would be to test a landing page that clearly states the benefits of SoundCloud’s paid subscription plan first and track whether or not students will convert when visiting the site. ● Creating paid ads is therefore a cost effective, quick and easily implementable way to acquire customers. ● Since Google is the market leader in search ads and has extensive targeting options, its platform will be the focus of this campaign. ● By leveraging the sophisticated algorithm of Google, SoundCloud can efficiently target its primary and secondary audience, track conversions, and optimize its ads spend.

Sample Google ads as Desktop and Mobile versions ● Based on the keywords listed in the appendix (7.4) and using Google Forecast, this ad campaign would run from March 1, 2021 to July 31, 2021, generating 19,000 clicks and 170,000 impressions. ● With total costs of approximately $5,500 over the entire time period and an expected click through rate of 10.9%, the campaign has an average cost per click of $0.30.

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● Assuming SoundCloud has a similar “freemium” conversion rate (converting free users to paid users) as its competitor Spotify - 27% (Brandall, 2020) - this campaign will convert 5,130 users (19,000 x 27%) into paying subscribers. ● The subscriber acquisition cost is, therefore, approximately $1, which leaves a good margin for SoundCloud as student plans are offered at $4.99/month.

Media Channels: ● Google AdWords ● Google Analytics Measurement: ● Impressions ● Click Through Rate ● Clicks ● Conversions Tactic 4: Discovery Through Influencer Marketing ● Tactic 4 will utilize influencer marketing to reach SoundCloud’s target audience where they already are, on social media. ○ SoundCloud users are highly active on social media (see section 3.3), so multichannel, targeted influencer campaigns that align with relevant social media trends on Instagram (the most popular platform amongst SoundCloud users) and TikTok will be utilized to increase knowledge of SoundCloud Go+ and student subscription pricing (Quantitative Survey, 2020). ○ 71% of quantitative survey respondents reported that visuals make a difference when it comes to their music choices, so influencers will share SoundCloud Go+ promotions via videos on their specified platforms alongside the native SoundCloud related content they are already posting frequently (Quantitative Survey, 2020).

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○ Promotion from this tactic will simultaneously uplift existing SoundCloud creators while garnering the attention of students across the country. ● Influencers for this tactic will include but are not limited to: ○ Paris Lawrence: SoundCloud creator with 5k followers, 21.2k Instagram followers and 533.1k TikTok followers. For this communication plan, Paris will create throwback playlists featuring mashups of songs from a particular year which will be available exclusively on SoundCloud Go+ and promoted on TikTok. (Sample Post) ○ Ari Elkins: SoundCloud creator with 11.9K followers, 16.8K Instagram followers, and 515.1K TikTok followers. For this communication plan, Ari will develop one of his “SoundCloud remixes you should play on aux” using exclusive SoundCloud Go+ content on Tik Tok. (Sample Post) ○ Ian Asher: SoundCloud creator with 84K followers, 39.8K Instagram followers, and 1.9M TikTok followers. Asher’s TikTok posts consistently go viral and often receive over 1M views. For this communication plan, Ian will mix two songs that are exclusive on SoundCloud Go+ to be posted on Instagram. (Sample Post) Media Channels: ● TikTok ● Instagram Measurement: ● Impressions ● Click Through Rate ● Clicks ● Conversions

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5. TIMELINE

03/2021

04/2021

05/2021

06/2021 07/2021

08/2021

09/2021

10/2021

Tactic 1: University partnership program Virtual concerts matching campus artists Quizzes are Quizzes are and quiz running running participants

Tactic 2: Personality Quizzes Tactic 3: Google Ads Campaign Tactic 4: Influencer Marketing

Ian Asher Ari Elkins P. Lawrence

6. CONCLUSION The goal of this campaign is to increase student subscription by 20% through targeted messaging and tactics that were developed based on research that was conducted over the course of three months (September - December 2020). In-depth interviews, a focus group, and a quantitative study revealed that the biggest challenge SoundCloud faces is convincing a price sensitive target audience to pay for a service that most already enjoy for free. Whilst operating in a challenging market environment that involves strong competitors and an ongoing pandemic, SoundCloud can leverage its positioning as a community-driven, accessible, and social platform to win over students who are a) especially passionate about music listening and discovery (the “Hypebeasts”) and/or b) missing out on the “true” college experience due to social distancing and are actively seeking authentic social connections (the “Eager Newbie”). By partnering with universities’ student life offices and organizing virtual events, this campaign aims to establish the SoundCloud Go+ experience as an integral part of students’ social lives. By leveraging paid ads and influencer marketing, this campaign will increase SoundCloud’s exposure and make its value proposition salient to a larger audience.

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7. APPENDIX 7.1 Budget Total max. Budget: $100,000 Tactic

Expense

1. University Partnership Program a. Event planning b. Quizzes c. IT infrastructure d. Miscellaneous

$20,000 ($5,000/university)

2. Listener Quiz Development

$10,000

3. Google Ads

$5,500

4. Influencer Marketing

$50,000

TOTAL

$85,500

Budget Split:

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7.2 SWOT Analysis STRENGTH

WEAKNESS

SoundCloud excels in niche & independent content, especially for rap, hip-hop and underground music lovers.

While SoundCloud offers both free as well as paid services, much of SoundCloud's content is offered for free, and a message that goes out to users is that they need not pay if much of SoundCloud brands itself as a social media the exclusive content is free. platform for music lovers in the streaming industry, dedicated to audio-only. This is SoundCloud has too many advertisements where music lovers get to interact, share and running, which makes it repulsive for users to create playlists with like-minded individuals. stream the desired content.

SoundCloud has the most extensive library of Competitors like Amazon Music are focussed licensed as well as user-generated content in on listeners while SoundCloud is focussed on the audio streaming industry to date. content creators. AM provides its listeners with complementary services like tech gadgets.

OPPORTUNITY

THREAT

SoundCloud has a nostalgic appeal towards its users because of its breakthrough history of catering to music lovers and artists alike.

SoundCloud is the original launchpad and incubator for upcoming, independent artists.

SoundCloud provides its artists with exclusive tools for music production and release.

Spotify is one of SoundCloud’s major competitors. Since price is an important determinant amongst student users, most users opt to subscribe to Spotify due to its affordable pricing strategy while they need to break their pockets to pay for SoundCloud.

52% of users living in urban areas are always on the go, which is why they highly value convenience and accessibility when it comes to digital content.

SoundCloud users are highly active on major social media platforms. SoundCloud users are more likely to share songs on social media (e.g. Instagram stories, TikTok trends, Facebook), and following their favourite artists and bands on these platforms.

Due to the Covid19 pandemic, audio streaming usage has rapidly increased. This is the perfect time to promote services to students who have been indoors for most of the time.

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7.3 Competitive Analysis Key Information

Spotify

Apple Music

Pandora

• • • • • • • • •

• • • •

•

YouTube Music

• • •

How it Works

50 million tracks 270 million monthly active users Active in 79 countries $7.59 billion in yearly revenue (SoundCloud Competitors, 2020) (Global Online Music Streaming, 2020).

60 million tracks 60 million monthly active users Active in 167 countries $48.3 billion in yearly revenue (Global Online Music Streaming, 2020) (Yamshon, 2020).

• •

40 million songs 70 million monthly active users Only available in the USA $527 million in revenue (SoundCloud Competitors, 2020) (Global Online Music Streaming, 2020) A subsidiary of SiriusXM

• •

Billions of videos/songs / audio 20 million subscribers Present in more than 100 countries (Global Online Music Streaming, 2020).

• •

• • • •

•

The Brand

Free version Spotify Premium ($9.99/month) gives you offline, ad-free and cross-platform listening, highest quality sound.

(Willings, 2020)(Chaffey, 2015) (Spotify).

• •

No free version $9.99 per month or $14.99 per month for a family subscription; Students pay $4.99 per month Algorithm includes recommendations from real people Integration with Apple Watch and Siri; includes Beats 1 Radio and curated playlists Free, ad-supported version Pandora Plus: unlimited skips and some offline listening $4.99/month Pandora Premium: Same features as Plus, with unlimited offline listening and ability to create and store playlists for $9.99/month; Can create playlists / collections of content (Laffey, 2020) (Titlow, 2016).

Free, ad-supported version YouTube Music Premium: $9.99/month (individual), 14.99/month (family); YouTube Music is the same as YouTube Premium but features apply only to music tracks; ad free and offline listening; background play; device integration. Free month trial; Student discount: $6.99 per month (Hindy, 2020) (YouTube).

•

•

• •

• • •

• • •

Industry leader reputation Known for machine-driven recommendations Campaigns focus on self-expression, mood, and industry trends (Gosling, 2019) (Homepage, n.d.)

Known for library and recommendations overall Seen as an extension of Apple’s brand: minimal, simple, universal, customerfriendly Broader audience than most other competitors (Wilson, 2020) (Apple Music review, 2020) Positioned as a multi-platform music app that runs on phones and tablets and a variety of hardware Advertising emphasizes artists and playlists Branded as an extension of SiriusXM (Titlow, 2016).

Advertised extensively on YouTube Benefits from the equity of YouTube and Google brands Brand emphasis on artists/playlists (YouTube).

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Amazon Music

• • •

50 million songs 55 million subscribers Amazon generated $14.16 billion from subscription services in 2018 including its other web services (Global Online Music Streaming, 2020).

• •

• •

Tidal

• • • •

60 million tracks 3 million subscribers Operates in 55 countries (SoundCloud Competitors, 2020) $147.6 million in 2018

• •

• • •

No free option Prime Music is included with the price of Amazon Prime Memberships; gives you access to 2 million songs; Prime Music Unlimited is $7.99 a month for existing Prime members, also available for non-prime members.

Both give you access to ad-free and offline listening Prime Student available for an extra $0.99 per month; includes curated playlists and listening options, ex integration with Alexa (Rosmarin, 2019) (Global Online Music Streaming, 2020).

All memberships have a 30-day trial Tidal Premium: $9.99/month (for individuals) subscriptions available for families, students, military, first responders; high audio quality Access to exclusive music, videos, events, and curated editorial Social features: easy to share music and video; Moods and activities playlists Tidal pays the highest ratio of royalties vs. revenues to music creators in the streaming industry (Rivington, 2020)

• • •

• • • •

Synonymous with Amazon Promoted with Amazon Prime memberships Brand focus on artists and exclusive content in promotions (Rosmarin, 2019).

Curated content is part of subscriptions Best-in-industry audio quality is part of promotions Positioning as artists platform, because artists are paid better Founder Jay Z is an important part of the brand (Rivington, 2020)

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7.4 Supporting Materials for Tactics

Tactic 1: University Partnership Program, Mockup

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Estimated Estimated Keyword

Clicks

Estimated

Estimated Estimated

Account

Impressions Cost

CTR1

Average CPC2 Currency

streaming service 3.64

94.14

3.14

3.9%

0.86

USD

music platform

13.18

207.56

3.87

6.4%

0.29

USD

services

28.96

701.4

19.18

4.1%

0.66

USD

music unlimited

334.05

2589.16

243.80

12.9%

0.73

USD

prime music

11066.77

73760.99

4876.96

15%

0.44

USD

7021.52

165.90

5%

0.47

USD

best music

music streaming

soundcloud music 353.73 soundcloud premier

3.74

27.59

2.54

13.6%

0.68

USD

stream spotify

0.23

123.27

0.12

0.2%

0.51

USD

Tactic 3: Suggested Keyword list for Google Ads

1 2

Click-Through-Rate Cost per Click

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8. REFERENCE Primary Sources Sound Sun Consulting. Client Call. Erika Amundson. September 23, 2020.

Sound Sun Consulting. Focus Group. n=6. Students attending U.S. colleges. October 1, 2020.

Sound Sun Consulting. In-depth Interviews. New York, October 7, 2020.

Sound Sun Consulting. Quantitative Online Survey. n=200. Students attending U.S. colleges.

October 2020.

SoundCloud. Client Brief. August, 2020.

Secondary Sources Apple Music review. (2020, October 06). Retrieved November 29, 2020 from Sound Guys: https://www.soundguys.com/apple-music-review25558/#:~:text=Apple%20Music%20isn't%20perfect,helping%20you%20discover%20ne w%20music.

Chaffey, D. (2015, March 30). Spotify Case Study . Retrieved November 29, 2020 from Smart Insights: https://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/online-businessrevenue-models/spotify-case-study/ Corq - Powered by Campus Labs. (2020). Retrieved November 29, 2020 from https://corq.app/ Craft. (n.d.). SoundCloud. Retrieved November 29, 2020 from https://craft.co/soundcloud Dhillon, S. (October 30, 2020). SoundCloud Revenue And Usage Statistics. Retrieved November 29, 2020 from https://www.businessofapps.com/data/soundcloud-statistics/ Francis, T., & Hoefel, F. (2020, July 07). 'True Gen': Generation Z and its implications for companies. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packagedgoods/our-insights/true-gen-generation-z-and-its-implications-for-companies Global Online Music Streaming. (2020). London: MarketLine.

Gosling, E. (2019, May 13). Inside the World of a Spotify Brand Designer. Retrieved November 29, 2020from AIGA.org: https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/inside-the-world-of-a-spotifybrand-designer/ Hindy, J. (2020, May 12). YouTube Music vs YouTube Premium vs YouTube Music Premium explained. Retrieved November 29, 2020 from Android Authority: https://www.androidauthority.com/youtube-music-vs-youtube-premium-vs-youtubemusic-premium-1020214/ 32

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Homepage. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2020 from Spotify: https://www.spotify.com/us/ Ingham, T. (November 23, 2020). SOUNDCLOUD’S REVENUES JUMPED 37% TO $166M IN 2019 – AND IT’S JUST POSTED ITS FIRST EVER PROFITABLE QUARTER. Retrieved November 29, 2020 from https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/soundcloud-revenues-soared-by-37-in-2019and-its-just-posted-its-first-profitablequarter/#:~:text=The%20news%20comes%20as%20fresh,YoY%20revenue%20increase %20of%2019%25.

Laffey, K. (2020, February 12). What is the difference between Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium?: Here's what Pandora's paid service tiers offer. Retrieved November 29, 2020 from Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-the-difference-betweenpandora-plus-and-pandorapremium#:~:text=With%20Pandora%20Plus%2C%20users%20can,all%20for%20%249.

99%20a%20month.

Loose, N., Spearman, J., & Gewiese, J. (2020, April). Digital music: SoundCloud brand report in the United States 2020[PDF]. Statista.

Perez, S. (February, 26, 2020). Streaming Services Accounted Nearly 80% of all Music revenue in 2019. Retrieved November 29, 2020 from TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/26/streaming-services-accounted-for-nearly-80-of-allmusic-revenue-in-2019/ Rivington, J. (2020, June 22). Tidal review . Retrieved November 29, 2020 from TechRadar: https://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/hi-fi-and-audio/music/tidal1270607/review#:~:text=How%20Tidal%20works,as%20well%20as%20offline%20liste ning.

Rosmarin, R. (2019, June 26). Here are the main differences between Amazon's two music streaming services, Prime Music and Amazon Music Unlimited . Retrieved November 29, 2020 from Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/prime-music-vsamazon-musicunlimited#:~:text=Amazon%20offers%20two%20streaming%20options,aren't%20Prime %20members).

SoundCloud (n.d.). More music, no limits. Retrieved November 29, 2020 from https://checkout.soundcloud.com/go?ref=t1033 SoundCloud Competitors. (2020, Nov 11). Retrieved from Craft.co: https://craft.co/soundcloud/competitors SoundCloud. (n.d.). Facebook. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.facebook.com/SoundCloud SoundCloud. (n.d.). Instagram. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.instagram.com/soundcloud/

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SoundCloud. (n.d.). What is SoundCloud?. Retrieved November 29, 2020 from https://help.soundcloud.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003570488-What-is-SoundCloud#:~:text=SoundCloud%20is%20the%20world's%20largest,build%20and%20grow%20the ir%20careers.

Spotify. (n.d.). What subscriptions do you offer? Retrieved from Spotify Support: https://support.spotify.com/gr/article/subscription-levels/ The Best Colleges in America, Ranked. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges The Four Types of Music Subscription Model . (January 18, 2019). Retrieved November 29, 2020 from Music Business Worldwide:https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/thefour-types-of-music-subscription-models-in-2019/ Titlow, J. P. (2016, December 10). Pandora Rebrands For The First Time In 11 Years. Retrieved November 29, 2020 from Fast Company: https://www.fastcompany.com/3064564/pandora-overhauls-its-branding-to-look-theway-music-sounds Watson, A. (May 27, 2020). Share of music streaming subscribers worldwide in 2019, by company. Retrieved November 29, 2020 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/653926/music-streaming-service-subscriber-share/ Watson, A. (November 13, 2020). Most popular music streaming services in the U.S. 2018-2019, by audience. Retrieved November 29, 2020 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/798125/most-popular-us-music-streaming-servicesranked-by-audience/ What Does 'Hypebeast' Mean? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordsat-play/what-does-hypebeast-mean Willings, A. (2020, September 7). What is Spotify and how does it work?. Retrieved November 29, 2020 from Pocket Int.: https://www.pocket-lint.com/apps/news/spotify/139236-whatis-spotify-and-how-does-it-work Wilson, J. L. (2020, October 22). Apple Music Review. Retrieved November 29, 2020 from P.C. Mag: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/apple-music Yamshon, L. (2020, July 29). Apple Music FAQ: The ins and outs of Apple's streaming music service. Retrieved November 29, 2020 from MacWorld: https://www.macworld.com/article/2934744/apple-music-faq-the-ins-and-outs-of-applesnew-streaming-musicservice.html#:~:text=Apple%20Music%20is%20all%20about,that%20are%20owned%20 by%20Apple.

YouTube. (n.d.). YouTube Music. Retrieved November 29, 2020 from YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/musicpremium 34