Innovative technology studio, Hydric Media from Brisbane, Australia has partnered with Gatorade, Spotify and VML Chicago to bring fitness junkies performance-enhancing playlists backed by science.
The result of the collaboration is ‘Gatorade Amplify’, a web application developed by Hydric Media in Australia, that combines Spotify’s playlist recommendations engine with never-before-seen ‘crossfade’ technology for interval training playlists.
It also includes Hydric Media’s proprietary branded campaign playlist management platform, ‘Lineup’.
The Amplify app allows users to generate their own personalised high-intensity and interval workout playlists accurate to the second, that automatically refresh with new music every week.
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The application is the centrepiece of a national-scale digital branding campaign in the US featuring Spotify ad media, managed by Omnicom, with special music supervision by Steve Aoki and his Dim Mak label.
“It was essential for the application to tap into and harness extensive information and data,” said Tim Ganss, the commercial head for Spotify’s ‘Echo Nest’ music science department.
“And beyond that, also understand what acoustic attributes drive users to want to train to music.”
Hydric Media were charged by Spotify with responsibility for the technology concepts, user experience design and development of the app.
“A core focus for Hydric Media has always been music recommendation and discovery. Hydric Media has been working with the Echo Nest and Spotify for a few years now,” added Hydric Media co-founder and chief technology officer, Eoin McCarthy.
“This is a special moment where that relationship has generated a truly innovative experience that serves as an excellent example of what brands can do with music and technology.”
Underpinning some of the most technically complex parts of the app is a customised version of ‘Lineup’, Hydric Media’s proprietary Spotify playlist management platform.
“Lineup allows brands to queue up tracks for their Spotify playlists days or months in advance using a straightforward browser interface. It is to playlists and music what Buffer is to social media,” said McCarthy.
“It can even refresh your playlists with new tracks as often as as a brand needs without someone having to choose them. The result is evergreen playlists powered by Spotify’s recommendations engine based on their original tracks.”
