Audio plays a different role in people’s lives than most media.
Listeners bring streaming music, podcasts, news, and talk shows into their routines. A drive across town. A morning run. A few quiet minutes before bed. Beyond just entertaining, audio accompanies people. And it works: a 2025 Sounds Profitable study found that podcast advertising drives an 86% ad-recall rate among the most active listeners—the highest recall of any ad-supported medium.
When a brand shows up in that environment, there are opportunities to connect in ways that feel personal. But that only works if the ad fits within the context of the content.
Brand safety ensures an ad doesn’t end up next to content that feels harmful or inappropriate. That’s essential, but it’s only step one. In audio, the real impact comes from placing a message in environments that make sense for the brand while avoiding content that doesn’t. Brand safety ensures ads don’t appear next to content that is hateful, violent, misleading, or deeply problematic (think: hate speech, explicit adult material, violent incidents, or drug abuse).
In audio, this matters more than people realize. Listeners choose audio intentionally. They subscribe to shows, follow and trust podcast hosts, and build habits. If an ad lands next to content that feels careless or harmful, the trust they have in both the show and the brand can erode quickly. Brand safety is the foundation for building trust. It keeps campaigns away from content that is clearly unacceptable.
But it doesn’t solve for nuance.
Did You Know?In podcasting, especially, contextual analysis has become far more sophisticated. Using episode-level categorization—powered by AI, machine learning, and content classification partners—brands can filter out content they consider unsafe before a campaign ever runs. |
When the Message Meets the Moment
Once the obvious risks are handled, the real strategic work begins.
Across audio environments, not every context is created equal. Listeners move between lighthearted entertainment, personal stories, cultural commentary, and emotionally heavy moments, often within the same medium. This is especially true in spoken-word audio like podcasts, where conversations can shift tone and depth in a single episode.
This is where suitability starts to matter.
Podcast content often touches on themes that are not unsafe but vary in sensitivity. A casual mention of wine is different from a story about addiction, just as fictional crime is different from real-world tragedy. A brand may be fine appearing in entertainment-style crime shows while avoiding episodes about actual incidents.
Brand suitability helps brands decide how close they want to get to sensitive topics. It isn’t about avoiding them altogether, just steering clear of moments that feel too intense or out of sync with the brand. For example, a beverage brand may be comfortable appearing in lifestyle content that includes casual wine recommendations, but prefers not to show up next to conversations about alcohol-related harm. Suitability is ultimately about risk tolerance. It helps advertisers protect their message without compromising reach and adapt to the natural complexity of spoken-word content.
Why Listeners Respond
Listeners might not articulate why an ad feels wrong next to certain content, but they notice when something is off. Audio is intimate. People let it into their routines, their moods, and often their personal headspace. When the content takes an unexpected turn into something heavy, sensitive, or emotionally charged, the wrong ad can feel jarring.
Brand safety prevents the most obvious mismatches. Suitability helps avoid the subtler ones. When both are handled well, the experience feels natural—even respectful—and that’s what keeps listeners engaged instead of pulled out of the moment.
Simple Ways to Stay Aligned
Brand safety and suitability work best when treated as continuing practice, not a one-time setting.
- Set clear boundaries: Decide which topics your brand should never appear next to, and which ones require nuance rather than blanket avoidance.
- Understand the gray areas: Some themes are perfectly acceptable in a light, conversational context but not during moments of real-world severity.
- Collaborate with publishers and partners: Spoken-word content evolves quickly; those closest to the content often see nuance before the metadata does.
- Revisit your preferences: Campaigns, seasons, and cultural moments change. Brand suitability should flex with them.
Ready to Place Your Ads Where They Belong?
Programmatic audio is growing fast. But scale only works when brands trust where their ads play and see how those environments support their message.
If you want your brand to show up in the right audio moments, with the right listeners, in a way that feels natural rather than intrusive, we should talk.
Just say when.
by Bianca Stanescu, Senior Director, Product Marketing
