Pandora Brings Branded Radio Stations In-Store

Pandora has partnered with Peet’s Coffee & Tea to deliver branded content stations in a brick-and-mortar environment nationwide for the first time.

“In looking at the store experience holistically, we wanted to create an atmosphere that reinforced our commitment to craftsmanship in everything we do,” says Debbie Kristofferson, vice president of marketing at Peet’s Coffee & Tea. “The combination of songs personally selected by Peet’s with Pandora’s musicological expertise provides a fresh, constantly evolving music experience.”

Neither Peet’s nor Pandora has disclosed the financial details of the deal. Through this new partnership, Peet’s will have its own personalized Pandora stations and play customized tracks in all of its stores across the U.S. On Pandora’s part, the company has created custom content stations for brands before, but this is the first time the music service has been able to showcase branded radio stations in a brick-and-mortar environment.

“Music offers a meaningful opportunity to engage with consumers. It can be an integral part of a brand’s identity. And it’s the kind of expression that crosses platforms and venues,” says Melissa Waters, vice president of brand marketing at Pandora. “There shouldn’t be a wall between physical and digital brand expressions.”

Peet’s will own four branded Pandora radio stations – Eclectic Classical, Jazz Giants, Origins, and Melodic Indie. All tracks are curated by Peet’s music aficionado Patrick Main. The branded stations will be set up at Peet’s stores within the next month.

Pandora tells ClickZ that there’s display advertising being served on the Pandora desktop and mobile application, but there won’t be any audio ads to interrupt the listening experience in-store. In addition, the agreement doesn’t support promotion for CDs or music downloads.

“The ability to bring personalized radio into so many different environments is something we are really excited about,” Waters says. “Our partnership with Peet’s is an example of we how we can use the technology to create meaningful experiences for brands.”