Adform and Spotify Expand Partnership to Revolutionize Digital Audio Buying in 2025
The digital audio advertising industry is entering a new era—and two of Europe’s most influential technology leaders are shaping it. Adform and Spotify have expanded their strategic partnership, unveiling a deeper integration designed to streamline audio buying and empower brands to activate campaigns with greater speed, efficiency, and omnichannel intelligence.
With digital audio projected to surpass $43 billion globally this year, the partnership arrives at a pivotal moment for marketers seeking scalable, data-driven access to listeners. The new integration allows advertisers to plan, manage, and execute Spotify ad campaigns directly inside Adform’s enterprise-grade platform, Adform FLOW, unlocking a frictionless buying experience across audio, video, and display formats.
This collaboration is not simply a feature upgrade—it represents a major shift in how brands engage with audiences in a world where on-the-go listening has become part of everyday life.
A Landmark Integration for the Digital Audio Economy
For years, Adform and Spotify have worked together to provide transparent and measurable digital advertising solutions across Europe and beyond. Their partnership has always been rooted in a shared commitment:
Adform brings deep regional expertise, market-leading DSP capabilities, and powerful workflow automation.
Spotify contributes unmatched global reach, rich listener insights, and a multiformat media environment spanning music, podcasts, and emerging content experiences.
Now, the companies are advancing to the next stage of this partnership with a direct, fully unified integration that promises efficiency, speed, and deeper control for advertisers.
Why This Integration Matters: The New Rules of Digital Audio Buying
Digital audio has outgrown its reputation as a “supporting channel” and evolved into a core pillar of brand-building strategies. Today’s audio market is driven by:
Personalised listening habits
Audience fragmentation across devices
Growth of streaming-first consumption
Explosion of podcasting and creator-driven audio formats
Marketers now require platforms that can handle omnichannel complexity without compromising speed or precision. That’s where this partnership delivers unparalleled value.
Key Benefits Introduced by the Updated Integration
Direct access to Spotify Ad Exchange through Adform FLOW
Lower activation costs due to more efficient workflows
Accelerated campaign turnaround from planning to live deployment
Unified buying of Spotify’s audio, video, and display formats
End-to-end management within Adform’s streamlined interface
By consolidating the planning and buying process, the integration removes barriers that previously slowed campaign activation—reducing fragmented workflows, manual setup steps, and reliance on external systems.
Digital Audio’s $43 Billion Opportunity – And Why Brands Are Racing Toward It
In 2025, digital audio isn’t merely a format; it’s a cultural shift. According to industry analysts, the digital audio marketplace is projected to reach:
$43 billion in global ad spend
65% streaming-first consumption among Gen Z
25% annual growth in podcast advertising
70% of all audio listening happening on mobile devices
Spotify remains the world’s leading audio streaming platform, with millions of daily listeners across more than 180 markets. As brands chase contextual, intimate, and screen-free environments, Spotify’s inventory has become one of the most influential components of modern advertising strategies.
Adform’s ability to supercharge this environment with programmatic intelligence and omnichannel analytics positions the partnership at the forefront of audio innovation.
Industry Reaction: Leaders from Spotify and Adform Weigh In
Brian Berner, Spotify’s Global Co-Head of Advertising, emphasised the platform’s long-term vision:
“We’re focused on making it easier for advertisers to buy, create and measure success on Spotify. That’s just what our expanded partnership makes possible. Together, we’re giving advertisers more flexibility and control to connect with the millions of Spotify fans who tune in every day.”
Berner’s comments highlight Spotify’s push to simplify campaign activation for agencies and brands—especially at a time when marketers expect more automation, more transparency, and less fragmentation across platforms.
Vicky Foster, VP of Global Commercial Partnerships at Adform, underscored the accelerating importance of digital audio:
“Digital audio is rapidly reshaping how brands connect with people, and Adform and Spotify are leading that transformation. The channel is growing at lightning pace as advertisers embrace its unique ability to reach listeners on the move and in everyday moments of attention.”
She continued:
“By combining Spotify’s high-quality digital audio and multiformat environments with Adform’s transparent and powerful DSP, we’re empowering advertisers to reach listeners with greater precision, creativity and measurable omnichannel results.”
The Strategic Value of Audio in Omnichannel Campaigns
Audio is no longer a stand-alone medium. It is now a central pillar of cross-channel storytelling.
Modern marketers are increasingly leveraging audio alongside display, online video, and CTV to build multi-touchpoint advertising experiences. This integrated approach is critical because:
Audio thrives in screenless environments, like commuting, exercising, or cooking.
Spotify users exhibit high engagement, often listening for extended periods without switching apps.
Audio ads feel more intimate, forming emotional connections through voice and tone.
Data-enabled targeting allows brands to reach users by mood, genre, activity, or time of day.
The combination of Adform’s advanced DSP and Spotify’s audio ecosystem enables advertisers to plan and execute campaigns with meticulous precision—aligning messages to listener behavior in real time.
How the Integration Works Inside Adform FLOW
Adform FLOW is known for its clean, intuitive design, sophisticated automation, and end-to-end marketing orchestration. Now, advertisers can use the platform to:
1. Discover Spotify Inventory
Browse Spotify’s full range of ad products, including:
Sponsored audio
Video takeover formats
Display cards
Podcast ad placements
Music-based contextual targeting
2. Build Campaigns Using Adform’s Campaign Planner
Campaign Planner gives advertisers the ability to:
Forecast reach and frequency
Model budget distribution
Optimise omnichannel sequencing
Compare audio formats with other media
3. Activate Instantly
Because of the direct integration with Spotify Ad Exchange, campaigns can go live faster and with lower operational overhead.
4. Measure & Optimise
Advertisers receive:
Real-time reporting
Cross-channel attribution
Unified analytics across all media types
This creates a single source of truth for all campaign insights.
Why This Matters for Agencies and Global Brands
The expanded partnership appeals directly to the needs of enterprise advertisers who must navigate:
Multiple markets
Diverse platforms
Fragmented signals
Rising media costs
Complex creative requirements
Agencies benefit from:
Centralized workflows
Faster approvals
Lower team workload
Greater transparency for clients
Global brands gain:
Unified storytelling
Higher efficiency
Stronger control over frequency and user experience
Richer audience intelligence
Digital Audio’s Growth Drivers in 2025
The rise of digital audio is propelled by several key forces:
1. The Explosion of Podcasts
Podcasts now play a central role in lifestyle content consumption—covering entertainment, news, sports, education, and niche interest categories.
2. Smart Speaker Adoption
Homes with smart speakers increased globally, expanding the audio footprint.
3. Connected Cars
With digital dashboards becoming standard, streaming audio usage during commutes has skyrocketed.
4. Creator Economy Expansion
Creators are producing more audio-first content, increasing listener choice.
5. Cookie Independence
Audio thrives in a privacy-first world, offering contextual, non-cookie reliant targeting options.
What This Partnership Signals for the Future of Programmatic Audio
The Adform-Spotify collaboration sets the tone for what digital audio buying will look like in the next decade:
Simplified access to inventory
More automation and AI-powered optimisation
Stronger omnichannel identity
Real-time bidding on high-quality audio placements
Scalable creative solutions across audio, video, and display
This partnership serves as a blueprint for how major tech platforms can unite to deliver smarter, more ethical, and more impactful advertising.
Conclusion: A New Era for Audio Advertising Has Arrived
The expanded integration between Adform and Spotify represents more than a technical upgrade—it is a transformative shift in how brands plan, buy, and optimise digital audio advertising in 2025.
As audio continues to outperform traditional channels in engagement, emotional resonance, and user attention, platforms like Adform FLOW become crucial for marketers determined to build cohesive, immersive, and omnichannel experiences.
With direct Spotify activation now available inside Adform’s ecosystem, advertisers gain the speed, transparency, and strategic control needed to succeed in the fastest-growing segment of digital media.
