Personalized Data Summaries Build Brand Loyalty and Community, Faculty Experts Say

A person with dark hair and glasses listens to headphones while studying in front of a window. Image by Ed Brennen
South Campus is reflected in a window as a student listens to music while studying at O'Leary Library.

11/19/2024
By Ed Brennen

Any day now, Spotify Wrapped, the streaming music service’s popular year-end summary of users’ personal listening habits, will appear on Sophia Cavalcante’s phone. When it does, the senior music business major fully expects that Drake will retain his crown as her favorite artist, and “Die With a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars will be her most-played song of 2024.

“That song has been on replay since it came out,” says Cavalcante, who, like millions of other Spotify users, plans to share the neatly packaged summary of her data on social media.

“I love Spotify Wrapped,” says the native of Everett, Massachusetts, who shares her results on Snapchat. “It’s fun to see what my friends like and learn about new music from each other.”

Since Spotify Wrapped launched in 2016, more and more companies have jumped on the year-end data synopsis trend. Apple Music and YouTube Music both provide similar recaps, and Audible shows listeners which audiobooks and podcasts topped their charts. For gamers, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo and Steam all serve up summaries, while Duolingo celebrates its users’ language-learning progress. Even Dunkin’ and Chick-fil-A remind loyalty members what their favorite orders of the year were.

Michael Obal, an associate professor of marketing, entrepreneurship and innovation in the Manning School of Business, says the recaps are an effective way for companies to build brand loyalty by leveraging the vast data sets they collect from customers.

A young woman with glasses holds a microphone and sings. Image by Ed Brennen
Senior music business major Sophia Cavalcante, seen here performing with the UML Blues Ensemble at Warp & Weft earlier this semester, expects Drake to be her top artist on her 2024 Spotify Wrapped.
“One of the truisms of marketing is that it’s a lot cheaper to keep your current customers than to go out and get new ones,” says Obal, who teaches Marketing Analytics and New Product and Service Management. “A lot of these programs are designed to keep their current customers happy and engaged.”

The fact that customers then feel compelled to share their data summaries on social media, which amounts to free advertising for companies, is a bonus, Obal says.

“People will voluntarily give up a lot of information,” he says. “Sharing the music they like or the stories they’ve read, those can be markers of identity. And we’re definitely living in a world where identity is a big driver for why people use social media.”

A man with a beard and wearing a blazer speaks in front of a projection screen. Image by Ed Brennen
Michael Obal, an associate professor of marketing, entrepreneurship and innovation, says companies build brand loyalty with year-end data recaps.
While some people may not like companies using their personal data to feed hungry algorithms, Obal says most are willing to make the tradeoff for “the illusion” of a more personalized experience.

“The reality of being a consumer today is that you know your personal information is out there and it can be abused. But we’re all in the same boat, and for most people, it’s not really a concern,” he says. “I don’t think it’s a goal for most businesses to track people for nefarious reasons; they just want to make money.”

Junior mechanical engineering major Vlad Tikhovskiy finds it “weird” that companies have access to so much of his data, but he’s OK with Spotify using his listening history to recommend new artists or to provide a year-end summary.

A young man with a goatee poses for a photo in front of a UMass Lowell sign. Image by Ed Brennen
Junior mechanical engineering major Vlad Tikhovskiy, who works at the University Crossing information desk, listens to Russian rapper Max Korzh on Spotify.
“It’s interesting to see how many hours I actually spend listening to music,” says Tikhovskiy, who estimates he’s on Spotify three hours a day while working out at the Campus Recreation Center. 

When he gets his 2024 Spotify Wrapped, Tikhovskiy expects his top artist to be Max Korzh, a Russian rapper whom he liked while growing up in Ukraine — before the Russian invasion.

“I still listen to his old songs; he’s still good,” says Tikhovskiy, who likes sharing his Wrapped with friends — then needling each other over their musical tastes. “We’ll say, ‘Oh my God, how can you listen to that guy so much?’”

Regina Milan, an associate teaching professor of art and design who teaches Social Media Management, likens Spotify Wrapped to the mixtapes that people used to share or the concert tickets that they saved in scrapbooks.

“It's creating a digital memory,” says Milan, who notes that a person’s playlist can reveal a lot about their lives.

A woman in a black and white top poses for a photo with her right hand touching a poster. Image by Ed Brennen
Associate Teaching Professor Regina Milan, who teaches Social Media Management, says people feel a sense of community when they share things like Spotify Wrapped.
“Music is about emotion and telling a story, and I think that all of us, through our music, tell a different story,” she says. “If you’re having a great year, maybe you’re listening to some amazing anthems. If you’re going through a breakup, maybe you’re listening to some dark music.”

Just as the popularity of Facebook Memories has faded, Milan suspects that the trend of sharing Spotify Wrapped will eventually become passé.

“But I do think it’s one of the better things I see on social media,” she says. “Social media tends to drive us more apart than together, but sharing the music that you like is one place where people feel like they’re part of a community. And we’re desperate for that.”

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