Last Updated on August 14, 2025 by Daniel Einhorn
Imagine a listener streaming their favorite podcast when your ad plays immediately after a segment filled with offensive or misleading content. In that instant, your brand risks losing the trust it took years to build.
Recent research shows that 75% of respondents believe brand safety has become more critical in the past six months. This reinforces the idea that negative associations with published content can erode consumer trust.
For audio advertisers, brand safety means implementing strategies in streaming audio and podcasts to protect brands from toxic environments. These measures help ensure ads reach the right audience at the right time, while giving advertisers greater control, optimizing investments, and strengthening trust with their audiences.
Brand Safety Tactics for Advertisers
Block Malicious Threats
Blocklisting capabilities easily thwart fraudulent domains, malicious IPs, and user agents on audio and second-screen retargeting. By incorporating a variety of security partners, brands can block less desirable domains to counter the latest fraudulent threats.
Secure Audio Ads
When setting up new campaigns, brands can enable specific parameters to fend off harmful or unsuitable content. For example, building a tailored audio segment for each campaign and targeting away from particular genres, types of publishers, language, or inventory.
Fine-Tune the Advertising Journey
Brands can activate brand suitability protections that offer greater precision to determine what content is safe and contextually relevant. For instance, hate speech segments can be tweaked based on risk tolerance. High-risk averts actual acts of hate speech, while low-risk avoids educational content on the matter.
Build a Safety Map
To help get more scale and make it easier to find brand-safe, appropriate content, brands can utilize AI Transcription Technology to transcribe and categorize podcast episodes. This tool verifies all podcast content with Comscore to extract the contextual essence of each podcast – down to episode level – providing a unique pattern profile that is more accurate than simply identifying the overall topic of the episode.
Access Brand-Safe Premium Inventory
Brands can access technology that employs an inventory qualification process to select from a large pool of premium streaming and podcast publishers. For example, AdsWizz’s supply experts qualify each publisher and perform advanced automated checks and technical verification on privacy and addressability. Certification facilitates monitoring of publishers and AudioMatic DSP (AdWizz’s digital audio demand-side platform) campaign health.
Securing Lasting Trust Through Audio Brand Safety
Creating a holistic approach to audio brand safety, supported by the right technology solutions, is essential for ensuring advertising messages appear in the right places, remain contextually relevant, and meet the highest standards of excellence. By taking these measures, brands can protect consumer trust, align ads with content that reflects positive sentiment, and achieve safe harbor without compromising reach or frequency goals.
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