iHeartMedia, the largest audio media company in the United States, has announced the launch of new brand safety technology for podcast advertisers powered by Sounder. The company is the first to go live with Sounder’s AI and Machine Learning (ML) technology, offering brands episode-specific safety assurance, a level of precision previously unavailable in podcast inventory, at scale.
With the rapidly growing podcast advertising market expected to surpass $3 billion in 2023, there has never been a greater time to prioritize brand safety. Sounder is the first to help advertisers determine if a podcast episode is brand-safe before an ad runs, enabling advertisers to confidently plan and execute campaigns.
According to Brian Kaminsky, iHeartMedia’s Chief Data Officer, ensuring brand safety in podcast advertising has been labor-intensive and fragmented, failing to deliver the level of protection brands genuinely need. He added,
“We looked at every potential solution in the industry, and Sounder’s technology is far ahead when it comes to brand safety and suitability. This new tool changes the future and opens up endless possibilities. Brands can now opt out of content they deem unsafe and inappropriate. Our partnership with Sounder has set a new benchmark for transparency in audio advertising that has been long overdue.”
Gayle Troberman, iHeartMedia’s Chief Marketing Officer, said that marketers are excited about the power of podcast advertising to deliver authenticity, impact, and rebuild trust. With iHeartMedia’s new brand safety capabilities, marketers can leverage the full power of human connection and contextual relevance of podcasts without the fear and risk of unsafe inventory. She added that the new tool solves this challenge by providing objective, third-party brand safety verification and unlocking access to more content that moves the needle for marketers.
IHeartMedia is the first to offer third-party brand safety verification at an episodic level for podcast advertisers, effectively unlocking thousands of hours of new, premium audio content for brands. Working in conjunction with podcast hosting platform Omny Studio, which is part of Triton Digital’s audio technology suite, and powered by the Triton Advertising Platform (Tap), the technology interprets context and assesses risk for brands across the iHeartPodcast Network’s large and growing audience, from the biggest and most diverse shows in the network to the rapidly growing number of up-and-coming creators. With the tool powered by Sounder’s technology, iHeartMedia can perform brand suitability analysis, topic analysis, content summarization, and dynamic segmentation ahead of an ad flight.
“Sounder’s brand safety and suitability solutions are here to usher in the next stage of growth for podcasting and audio advertising. Our technology provides the transparency needed for confident decision-making and transacting across publishers, agencies, and ad tech partners,” said Sounder CEO and Co-Founder Kal Amin. “As a key partner and strategic investor in Sounder, iHeartMedia has recognized the need for new brand safety tools and standards across audio.”
