Brand Suitability is Now Measurable for Podcast Advertisers

With 120M listeners tuning in each month, podcasts aren’t just a nice-to-have on media plans. So why doesn’t ad spend always reflect the power of this medium’s audience? 

Two words: brand safety. Advertisers want more control of where their ads play and assurance that the content surrounding their messages is suitable for their brand.

Measurable Brand Suitability 

We’ve been making industry-leading advancements in the podcast advertising space for years, especially when it comes to ad quality measurement. Looking at brand safety in particular, we’ve adopted industry standard categorizations for brand suitability that can capitalize on our contextual transcription targeting capabilities, allowing brands to control the context in which their ads play. The goal is to increase trust in podcast advertising. Now, advertisers can both trust and verify.

In collaboration with Barometer and ArtsAI, we’re offering advertisers a way to measure the brand suitability of their campaigns. This is a first-to-market verification solution powered by reputable, innovative third parties for ultimate transparency and trustworthiness. Brands can continue to choose their suitability level and contextual targeting parameters, and now, they can run ArtsAI pixels on the campaign. Barometer will then measure the suitability and safety of that targeting, giving brands a true measure of success. For the first time, reporting is available mid-campaign so advertisers can optimize in-flight in real time. And we’re seeing strong performance in beta testing.

This solution is currently in beta and will be available to all advertisers starting in January 2024.

Committed to Modernizing the Podcast Space

That’s just the latest development from the SiriusXM Podcast Network. When we took the stage at the IAB Upfronts in May, we brought star power along to both showcase the impact of the content and amplify our innovation in the medium. In recent years, we’ve pushed what podcast advertising can and should be further, and we will continue to do so.

Here are a few examples.

Contextual Transcription Targeting

Episode-level targeting based on niche topics. Contextual transcription targeting allows advertisers to reach consumers when they’re listening to podcast episodes that are relevant to the brand or align to audience interests. 

Predictive Audiences Targeting

Cookie-free targeting for podcasts. We expanded our Comscore relationship to bring its targeting tool to podcasts. Predictive Audience Targeting allows brands to reach 300+ audiences based on habits, behaviors, life stage, and more—all without relying on traditional identifiers. 

Brand Suitability Levels

An easy-to-understand approach to selecting the right podcast content. We break brand suitability down into three relatable levels. Level one is educational, informative content that is family-friendly. Level two is entertainment or breaking news content that is appropriate for almost everyone. And level three includes content that may not be appropriate for some listeners.

Genre-Level Podcast Listener Personas

Get to know the who’s who of podcast fans to find the right genres for your brand. This year, our podcast trends report focuses on the listener. The Who's Who of Podcast Listening is a deep dive on five of the biggest podcast genres, providing three distinct personas for each (including the kinds of products these listeners are interested in).

Stay Tuned…

Because we have more innovations mapped for this year and beyond. Whether you’re new to podcast advertising (psst: we have a workbook for that) or a brand who’s just looking to do it better, the SiriusXM Podcast Network is here with the content, technology, and know-how you need. Let’s talk.