The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Sam Bevan, Global Director, Mid-Market, SMB & Global Expansion at Spotify, the most popular global audio streaming service with 365m users, including 165m subscribers across 178 markets.

Follow Sam on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelbevan/

Follow Spotify Ads online at: https://ads.spotify.com/

You’ve built SMB and mid-market advertising businesses at Google, Facebook, and Snap before landing at Spotify. What drew you to audio as the next frontier — and why now?
Your current remit spans emerging and scaled business, mid-market, SMB, customer success, and market expansion globally. That’s a massive scope. How do you think about prioritization when everything is simultaneously “on”?
CPG brands have historically been heavy TV and display spenders. What’s the honest conversation you have with a CMO who still sees audio as a “nice to have” rather than a core channel?
Spotify has stated that audio ads on the platform are two times more effective than display ads for both purchase intent and information intent. How does that data land with CPG performance marketers who are laser-focused on ROAS and attribution?
Retail media has exploded as a category because of purchase-signal data. Spotify sits outside the transactional data loop — how do you make the case that listening behavior is a proxy for buying behavior?
We talk a lot on this show about the “commerce moment” — the point where brand intent converts to purchase. How is Spotify thinking about bridging the gap between audio impression and point of sale?
You joined Spotify from Snapchat, where you led SMB sales, having also held SMB-focused roles at Facebook and Google. What’s the universal truth about selling advertising to scaled and emerging businesses — regardless of platform?
You described 2025 as a “breakout year” for Spotify’s emerging and scaled business, driven by rapid adoption of Ads Manager and Ad Exchange. For CPG brands that haven’t yet leaned in — what are they leaving on the table?
Agentic AI and programmatic buying are reshaping how media gets planned and purchased. What does Spotify’s ad exchange strategy look like in a world where AI agents may soon be making the media buys?
We’re here at Cannes Lions, the festival of creativity. Spotify sits at the intersection of culture, creativity, and commerce. How do you think about Spotify’s role in helping CPG brands show up more culturally — not just commercially?
What’s one thing CPG brand teams consistently get wrong when they approach audio creative — and how should they fix it?
Final question: if you could wave a wand and change one thing about how the advertising industry thinks about audio and Spotify specifically, what would it be?

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Spotify's Sam Bevan - Performance Marketing Through Cultural Connections

The CPG Guys

Spotify's Sam Bevan - Performance Marketing Through Cultural Connections