The evolution of Anchor to Spotify for Podcasters
Navigating how to reach a point of convergence between the two brands amidst a recent acquisition, evolving product & marketing strategies, and hyper growth.
A three step evolution of the Anchor brand that scaled with the product as it grew within Spotify's ecosystem, ultimately merging with its existing podcast analytics tool: Spotify for Podcasters.
1. Revitalizing the original Anchor brand
(2019–2020)
Originally, Anchor's brand was UI-centric with a logo, color scheme, and basic graphic elements. The user interface prioritized innovation and ease of use. Its essence was about democratizing audio content creation.
Tasked with revitalizing the Anchor brand across multiple channels, I introduced imaginative, dream-like visuals that energized the brand to help market new podcasting features and editorial initiatives.
My strategy embraced the visualization of audio creation, utilizing illustrations, animations, photography, and artist collaborations to enrich the brand's identity in artist expression.
I developed Anchor’s first guidelines to help hone-in on our ever-expanding marketing initiatives, and how we would continue to build upon them as the brand and product scaled.
Working closely with product designers, I redesigned Anchor’s logged-out marketing pages, app store listing, and other product-related marketing assets.
2. Rebranding to Anchor by Spotify
(2021–2022)
The growth necessitated a brand revamp to reflect its departure from startup status. This phase solidified Anchor's position as the world's top podcast creation tool and significantly contributed to Spotify's growing podcast library.
We introduced innovative tools for creators, revolutionizing outdated podcast distribution methods. These advancements made way for novel podcasting features like Q&A and polls, enhancing the podcasting experience on Spotify.
By maintaining Anchor's status as a premier podcasting brand while capitalizing on the positive brand sentiment associated with Spotify, we aimed to establish a better relationship between the two brands.
The crucial shift involved altering Anchor's image from a platform for novices to one that appeals to professional creators—without completely overhauling the brand to avoid alienating its dedicated fan base.
With Red Antler's expertise, we transitioned to a more sophisticated branding strategy, prioritizing photography over illustrations and centering our narrative around the creators.
Anchor by Spotify Brand Guidelines
Anchor by Spotify Illustration Guidelines
3. Evolving to Spotify for Podcasters
(2023–Present)
In 2023, we decided to fully merge Anchor with Spotify for Podcasters, which previously served as an analytics extension for Anchor users. This posed the challenge of distinguishing S4P from Spotify's extensive list of sub-brands.
By retaining the original essence and dynamism of the Anchor brand, we successfully articulated its distinct purpose and value, positioning it as an integral part of Spotify's comprehensive toolkit for creators.
We reviewed the Anchor brand, alongside Spotify's portfolio and creator-centric brands like YouTube, Squarespace, and Patreon, to understand their community-building successes. I led brainstorming sessions and workshops, focusing on its visual style, communication methods, and overall essence.
Upon identifying a creative direction aligned with the S4P brand, we developed mood boards and assembled a comprehensive brand guidance deck. This deck outlined the brand's execution across various mediums, including our new logo, photography, illustration, video, editorial content, social media, and in-app elements.
We collaborated with an external agency, Vocabulary, to refine and expand our brand guidance deck into a detailed S4P brand guidelines and jointly produced a launch hero video, alongside other static and video paid media assets.
