DJ Khaled's Love of Pandora Inspires Trio of Ads in New National Brand Campaign

NEW YORK, Nov. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Pandora kicked off a new national brand campaign with the online debut of the first of three documentary-style ads featuring Grammy-winning artist/producer DJ Khaled boldly expressing his love for Pandora, its easy-to-use personalized music stations, and Pandora's discovery-driven "Modes" feature.

All three of the new Pandora ad spots starring Khaled (including two with Jamaican dancehall artist and collaborator Shenseea) will make their television premiere on BET during the 2021 Soul Train Music Awards on November 28 as part of a multichannel national media campaign across OTT, cable, broadcast, online, social, outdoor, and audio on Pandora and SiriusXM.

The genesis of the campaign, which was produced in collaboration with independent creative agency Translation, came from a video of DJ Khaled spontaneously hyping Pandora at a backyard party, where he revealed that the music playlists that partygoers had been loving were actually a selection of his favorite Pandora stations - including Evelyn "Champagne" King Radio, Nas Radio, and Drake Radio. "I usually have to program my own playlists," Khaled proclaims. "But Pandora does such a great job!"

The video made its way to Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer of SiriusXM, the parent company of Pandora, who was taken by Khaled's sincere and predictably outspoken endorsement.

"It was a completely heartfelt and spot-on expression of what makes Pandora so special - that feeling of having thousands and thousands of music stations at your fingertips that are programmed just for you," says Greenstein. "When DJ Khaled loves something, he loves it with every fiber of his being, and I knew that we had to try and capture his authentic passion for Pandora and share it with the world."

"This campaign allowed us to take one of the most recognizable voices in music and culture and find a real connection with an up-and-coming new artist to illustrate the way that Pandora plays the right songs for any moment," said Jason Campbell, Head of Creative at Translation. "With her connection to Khaled's dancehall past and her embodiment of what's next for female artists, Shenseea was a perfect partner for Khaled to help articulate why Pandora's personalized listening experience is so unique."

The first ad in the series, "Right Song," is a reproduction of the organic video that initially sparked the campaign. In it, DJ Khaled animatedly tells an off-camera friend that the music playlists that his guests love so much are actually his favorite Pandora stations. "When Pandora's playing, it sets moods," he says with trademark flair. "It sets energy. It inspires me to make music. It's incredible!"

In the campaign's second spot, "Modes for Every Moment," Khaled demonstrates Pandora's "Modes" station customization feature to Jamaican dancehall artist and collaborator Shenseea, showing how it can be used to create several different musical "vibes" within a single Pandora station. Pandora Modes let users fine-tune their listening experience by choosing from selectable "modes" on their favorite stations, giving them more control over the types of songs they hear.

In the third spot, "What's Next," DJ Khaled tells Shenseea how Pandora's "Deep Cuts" mode has introduced him to great new music by playing artists and songs that he might not ordinarily hear on his favorite stations and reveals (to her surprise) that he originally discovered her on Pandora!

"DJ Khaled embodies the passion that listeners have for Pandora - the way it makes it so simple to enjoy their favorite artists and songs, and discover new music to match the energy of what they're feeling in the moment," says Kimberly Wilson, SVP of Brand and Advertising for SiriusXM, the parent company of Pandora. "This campaign harnesses his longtime enthusiasm for Pandora in a truly authentic and infectious way."

Pandora's new campaign starring DJ Khaled also includes a special "The Pop-Up: DJ Khaled" mode on Pandora where he shares with listeners the songs and artists who have shaped his personal musical journey, along with other influences, inspirations, stories, and more. The Pop-Up: DJ Khaled mode is available on Pandora starting today on DJ Khaled Radio and Top Shelf Rap and R&B Radio.

The multichannel national campaign will run through the end of the year across OTT (Hulu, Roku, Peacock, Discovery+), TV sports (NBA, NFL, NCAA), cable (Soul Train Music Awards, The People's Choice Awards), online video (YouTube, Vevo), social (TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat), audio (Pandora, SiriusXM), and outdoor billboards in major markets.

About SiriusXM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is the leading audio entertainment company in North America, and the premier programmer and platform for subscription and digital advertising-supported audio products. SiriusXM's platforms collectively reach approximately 150 million listeners, the largest digital audio audience across paid and free tiers in North America, and deliver music, sports, talk, news, comedy, entertainment and podcasts. Pandora, a subsidiary of SiriusXM, is the largest ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S. SiriusXM's subsidiaries Stitcher, Simplecast and AdsWizz make it a leader in podcast hosting, production, distribution, analytics and monetization. The Company's advertising sales organization, which operates as SXM Media, leverages its scale, cross-platform sales organization and ad tech capabilities to deliver results for audio creators and advertisers. SiriusXM, through Sirius XM Canada Holdings, Inc., also offers satellite radio and audio entertainment in Canada. In addition to its audio entertainment businesses, SiriusXM offers connected vehicle services to automakers. For more about SiriusXM, please go to: www.siriusxm.com.

About Pandora
Pandora, a subsidiary of SiriusXM, is the largest ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S. Pandora provides consumers with a uniquely-personalized music listening experience via its proprietary AI-driven Music Genome Project® recommendation technology. Pandora is also the leading digital audio advertising platform in the U.S. Through its own Pandora service, its AdsWizz platform, and third party services such as SoundCloud, the Company connects brands to the largest ad-supported streaming audio marketplace in the country. Pandora is available through its mobile app, the web, and integrations with more than 2,000 connected products.

About Translation
Named Ad Age's 2021 Small Agency of the Year, Translation is an independent creative agency built to help ambitious brands harness the power of culture to solve their biggest challenges. For over 15 years, Translation has partnered with brands and creators to build and grow disruptive platforms that foster deeper community engagement. This experience has given us unparalleled insight into the dynamics of culture and affinities that link people together. Backed by Alphabet, Andreessen Horowitz, and 21st Century Fox, we are reimagining how brands and artists tell their stories, create value, and push culture forward.

Source: SiriusXM

Media Contacts:

Jason Roth
Pandora
[email protected]

Shanice Graves
Translation PR
[email protected]

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SOURCE Sirius XM Holdings Inc.