How Spotify’s Greasy Tunes cafe served a hungry Gen Z audience

The Brief

Spotify is on a mission to be the brand and platform of choice for youth culture. To achieve this, in 2022, Spotify aimed to create more persistent and prominent activations throughout the year. This change in direction led Spotify to creator-to-creator-driven marketing efforts.

Gen Z listeners want even more access to their favorite artists, podcasters and creators. And they want to express their passion for music in exciting and new ways, rather than via passive listening and lean-back experiences.

How could we create a lean-in, active experience with a generation that wants to express themselves and be part of the conversation more than ever?

Hear what the winners had to say about their award-winning work above.

The idea

A TikTok-worthy take on a traditional greasy spoon caff with a twist. It transformed Protein Studios, a blank canvas venue, into Spotify Greasy Tunes. The experience gave fans the chance to engage IRL with their favorite creators, from music’s rising stars and established big hitters, to the nation’s beloved podcasters and songwriters, all whilst tucking into their all-day breakfast.

Music was baked into the heart of the experience. Guests received their very own, unique Greasy Tunes playlist based on their choice of food for breakfast. Once seated at their table in the caff, guests scanned a QR code and were guided through a digital menu allowing them to choose their breakfast. The menu had something for everyone, from the ‘All in One’, which was a full English breakfast, to the ‘Spicy One’ which was Cheesy Chorizo baked beans on toast.

Each menu item was linked to a music playlist and drink choices were linked to relevant podcasts, which ensured that the whole experience linked back to discovery and personalization.

To the surprise of some lucky guests, musicians and artists waited tables, taking orders and meals to the tables to create an even more intimate and immersive experience.

When guests received the receipt for their meal, it featured an invitation to events programmed throughout the week, encouraging them to come back again and again.

During the day, whilst guests enjoyed their food, they could experience panel talks, interviews, performances, challenges, gossip sessions, Q&A’s and more.

In the evenings, Greasy Tunes became a one-of-a-kind gig venue for rising stars of UK music. The caff transformed into a live gig space to host some of the hottest UK talents. Hundreds of fans watched their favorite artist within the walls of the cafe whilst enjoying ‘greasy’ canapes and exclusive cafe cocktails.

The caff was designed with social media in mind. The walls exhibited art from the best up-and-coming Gen Z illustrators. Drawing from music and London culture, the art added to the eccentricity of the caff environment.

This created endless photo moments for customers and talent alike blurring the lines between the live brand experience and online conversation, driving social amplification beyond the event.

The results

Five podcast meet and greets, six live performances and seven Gen Z artists.

92% of all conversations online about Greasy Tunes drove positive sentiment. The cafe helped generate a 115% increase in positive mentions, peaking with over 1,200 mentions for ArrDee’s headline finale slot. Overall reach of the @SpotifyUK handle peaked at 56.7m for the live week of Greasy Tunes - dominating social conversation.

Across 14 events, 2,730 tickets were claimed with a further 1,440 individuals on waitlists to experience the cafe firsthand

Successfully shifted perception, so much so that the event will be rolled out across multiple cities in the UK.

This campaign was a winner at The Drum Awards for Experience in 2022. The Drum Awards for Marketing are currently open for entry. Find out how you can enter now.