Sounder

Sounder Analysis: NPR’s News Podcast Significantly Safer For Brands Than General News Podcasts

~ jen

A new analysis from Sounder reveals that NPR’s news shows are significantly safer for brands than the general population of podcasting within the news genre. The analysis underscores NPR’s high-quality content and its commitment to providing a safe space for brands seeking trustworthy sponsorship opportunities in the news.

An impressive 81% of NPR’s news content was classified as unrelated or low-risk for sensitive topics according to the GARM Brand Safety Floor + Suitability Framework, compared to the general population average of 54%. Furthermore, NPR demonstrates a clear commitment to avoiding graphic discussions, with 13% fewer discussions of medium-risk sensitive topics and a mere 2.3% of content categorized as graphic discussions of high-risk sensitive topics. As anticipated, NPR does not feature any content categorized as “floor”, which is deemed unsuitable for advertising.

“We are thrilled to work with Sounder on this analysis,” said Gina Garrubbo, President and CEO at National Public Media, NPR’s sponsorship subsidiary. “NPR’s award-winning journalism and storytelling are a reflection of its commitment to providing the public with fact-based, non-sensational reporting and content. NPR’s 50-year heritage and leadership in audio journalism, as well as the hallmark style and tone of reporting, offers the audience a balanced and comprehensive take on world events.

Kal Amin, Co-Founder and CEO of Sounder, also remarked, “This collaboration showcases the power of data analytics in evaluating content quality. NPR’s inventory stands out as a reliable and credible news source, offering safer and more suitable news inventory for brands. We’re pleased to work with NPR on this analysis to help clarify the misconception that news content is not a brand-safe category.”

Sounder And Broadway Podcast Network Forge Pioneering Collaboration To Elevate Theater Podcasting

~ jen

Sounder, the AI-powered audio intelligence platform, announced a new collaboration with Broadway Podcast Network (BPN), the premier digital storytelling destination for everyone, everywhere who loves theater and performing arts. This collaboration promises to transform the theater podcasting landscape, opening new horizons for content creators, advertisers, and theater enthusiasts alike.

BPN, renowned for its exceptional theater-rooted podcasts has been a driving force behind the expansion of performing arts-related audio content. Sounder, with its state-of-the-art technology and data-driven approach, has carved a niche that serves to heighten capabilities for precision targeting in podcast monetization. BPN and Sounder aim to bring a better experience for both the listeners & brands, which will drive more fruitful and deeper engagement across the board.

This partnership will yield a host of exciting benefits, including but not limited to:

Monetization Empowerment: BPN will benefit from Sounder’s robust monetization tools by providing greater insight into content packaging options while preserving the integrity of the listener experience.

Advanced Analytics and Targeting: Advertisers will benefit from sophisticated analytics and precise targeting capabilities, ensuring their campaigns reach the most relevant theater-living audiences.

“Broadway Podcast Network is thrilled to join forces with Sounder, a technology pioneer in the podcasting industry,” said Dori Berinstein, Co-Founder and CEO of BPN. “Our mission is to connect theater enthusiasts with the content they love, and this partnership allows us to do so on an unprecedented scale.”

Sounder’s Vice President of Sales and Client Success, Brittany Hall, added “We are excited to work with Broadway Podcast Network, the supreme listening destination for theater podcasting. Together, we will materially expand opportunities for advertisers and theater aficionados alike.”

The partnership between BPN and Sounder signifies a momentous leap forward for theater podcasting, promising an abundance of new opportunities for content creators, advertisers, and the dedicated theater-loving audience.

Blue Wire And Sounder Announce Strategic Partnership

~ jen

Premier sports podcast network Blue Wire and Sounder, the AI-powered audio intelligence platform, announced they have partnered to provide Blue Wire’s advertisers with access to Sounder’s brand safety, suitability, and precision ad targeting tools across its entire catalog.

Sounder’s cutting-edge technology will enhance brand safety and ensure suitability and precision in ad targeting, creating a win-win scenario for both content creators and advertisers. With this partnership, Blue Wire is poised to strengthen its position as the go-to destination for top-tier sports content while delivering a more personalized and engaging podcast experience for its listeners. This strategic alliance underscores Blue Wire’s commitment to innovation and excellence in the sports podcasting arena.

“We are excited to partner with Sounder to provide our network with access to the best precision targeting and podcast analytics tools available,” said Blue Wire CEO and Founder Kevin Jones. “Sounder’s insights will boost tailored monetization opportunities across Blue Wire’s network to align with relevant and suitable inventory in the ultimate win-win for our content creators and advertisers.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Blue Wire,” said Sounder’s Vice President of Sales and Client Success, Brittany Hall. “Blue Wire’s podcast advertising operations will scale with our AI-powered targeting tools, driving trust at scale for advertisers.”

The partnership between Blue Wire and Sounder is a podcasting game-changer, creating new opportunities for advertisers to reach relevant content. Podcast fans can look forward to a new era of richer, more diverse listening experiences.

 

AdLarge, Flightpath, and Sounder Announce State-Of-The-Art Integration for Seamless Campaign Execution

~ jen

AdLarge, Flightpath, and Sounder are thrilled to announce a first-to-market, groundbreaking integration that is set to revolutionize the podcast advertising industry. Leveraging the strengths of each platform, this collaboration brings together cutting-edge technology, brand safety, contextual targeting, and customized campaign execution to elevate podcast advertising campaigns to a new level.

Sounder, known for accurately, classifying publisher’s content for brand safety, suitability, and contextual relevance, has further expanded its capabilities by integrating with Flightpath. This integration enables AdLarge to tap into Flightpath’s Sales Availability Dashboard for campaign forecasting and planning, unlocking a new level of innovation and effectiveness for ad placement for all clients.

Key Integrations Include:

Precision and Trust at Scale: Target contextual and/or brand-suitable inventory across AdLarge’s full catalog that enables advertisers to target their message across relevant and suitable content bringing immeasurable value and security to the ad buying experience for the marketplace.

Seamless Campaign Execution: The integration simplifies the advertising process, making it more efficient and user-friendly. Publishers can now forecast advertising tags and navigate the complexities of advertising campaign execution with confidence and ease.

Enhanced Transparency and Accountability: AdLarge, long known for its commitment to transparency and accountability, and the first to partner with Flightpath, continues to deliver on its promise to advertisers.

“We are committed to providing the most effective and brand-suitable advertising to our clients,” said Ilwira Marciszek, SVP of Revenue Operations and Digital Sales for AdLarge. “Our partnership with Flightpath and Sounder is yet another way we are bringing to market tools that create innovative and unmatched solutions, transparency and continue to build trust within the entire process of podcast ad sales.”

“AdLarge is a proven leader in the industry. By bringing together two complementary partners like Sounder and Flightpath, we can work together to create significant value for the agencies and brands that Ad:arge serves,” remarked Flightpath CEO and Founder, Sean Howard.

Sounder and Betches Media Partner To Bring Precision And Scale to Premium Podcast Advertising Inventory

~ jen

Sounder, the AI-powered, end-to-end intelligence platform, today announced a new partnership with Betches Media, the most influential and powerful humor brand for women in the market. The partnership will enable contextual and brand suitability targeting across Betches Media’s top-tier lineup of podcast programming, thereby opening up precise targeting at scale for advertisers.

Sounder’s Audio Insights platform uses proprietary AI and ML models to analyze the content of podcasts, providing publishers with show- and episode-level brand safety and suitability scores, as well as contextual topics. These insights are then used to package Betches Media’s inventory to create targeted and effective advertising campaigns.

“We’re incredibly pleased to partner with Sounder, a podcast industry leader and best-in-class innovator,” said David Spiegel, Chief Revenue Officer, Betches Media. “Sounder’s AI technology is a powerful tool that will help us amplify our audio content and create more engaging experiences for our listeners.”

“Betches Media is a premium podcast publisher and a leading voice for authentic and engaging female-driven narratives; we are thrilled to partner with them to help unlock even more value for their advertising partners,” said Brittany Hall, Vice President of Sales and Client Success, Sounder. “This partnership brings unprecedented precision and scale for their advertising partners and opens up additional monetizable inventory.”

The Sounder and Betches Media partnership is the latest example of the growing demand for AI-powered solutions in the podcast industry. As the podcast market continues to grow, publishers are looking for ways to better understand their content and create more effective advertising campaigns. Sounder’s Audio Insights platform is a valuable tool for publishers who want to meet the needs of their advertisers and their listeners.

Sounder Named To Will Reed’s Top 100 Class Of 2023

~ jen

Sounder announced it has been chosen for Will Reed’s Top 100, an award spotlight early-stage companies that are shaping the future of workplace culture. 

“We’ve worked with hundreds of early-stage B2B tech companies who are on a mission to transform the way we live and work,” said Paige Robinson, Founder & CEO of Will Reed. “We believe the most successful companies are those like Sounder, who are committed to building human-first cultures that offer purpose, belonging and growth.”

“We are deeply honored to be recognized as one of Will Reed’s Top 100 companies shaping the future of workplace culture. At Sounder, we transform audio content into data insights and automated solutions that help the audio ecosystem as a whole. We are shaped by a founder mentality, in that we all mutually own and share our success as a team. This award reaffirms our commitment to building a human-first culture that not only benefits our team but also revolutionizes the way audio content is discovered, monetized, and optimized. We are grateful for this acknowledgement and excited to continue our journey towards redefining the possibilities of audio intelligence.”

Visit www.willreedtop100.com to learn more about Sounder’s commitment to purpose, belonging, and growth.

About Sounder

Sounder is the end-to-end data-driven intelligence platform that is shaping the future of the entire audio ecosystem. Our proprietary technology brings together publishers, brands and agencies, ad tech marketplaces, and data partners to revolutionize how audio content is discovered, monetized, and optimized. We’re proud to deliver unparalleled value to our partners and customers and maximize their audio advertising potential through AI-driven insights and solutions. Unlock the true value of audio content at https://www.sounder.ai/

About Will Reed

Will Reed is the only go-to-market (GTM) executive search firm built exclusively for early-stage founders. The firm equips Seed, Series A and Series B founders to build exceptional GTM leadership teams through search, enablement, community and heart. With an operator-centric approach, the team is led by GTM operators who are supported by a curated team of tenured search professionals. The firm has worked with incredible founders backed by a16z, Bessemer, Craft Insight Partners, Redpoint, Sequoia, etc. More information can be found at www.willreed.com and www.linkedin.com/company/willreed

Sounder Partners With Flightpath To Solve Forecasting Pain Points For Podcast Publishers

~ jen

Sounder, the leader in AI-powered brand safety and contextual intelligence for audio, and Flightpath, the leading provider of podcast ad inventory management solutions, announced a partnership that will drastically improve impression availability forecasting for podcast publishers using Sounder’s contextual targeting and brand suitability solutions.

The partnership will give publishers access to Flightpath’s Trusted Nine Month View of Available Inventory, which provides a real-time view of podcast ad inventory across all supported podcasting platforms. This will allow publishers to see and maximize the available reach on Sounder-targeted inventory in a manner of seconds, helping them find relevant and highly sellable inventory for their buyers.

“Sounder and Flightpath are both committed to building world-class technology to help podcast publishers grow their businesses,” said Kal Amin, CEO and co-founder of Sounder. “By combining Sounder’s groundbreaking audio intelligence with Flightpath’s innovative forecasting tools, we provide publishers a more comprehensive solution to help them scale and reach their full potential.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Sounder,” said Sean Howard, CEO of Flightpath. “Sounder’s contextual targeting gives real-time packaging and brand safety options upon which we can now layer in reach and availability, giving publishers the tools to find, package, and sell significant opportunities to their buyers.”

The partnership between Sounder and Flightpath is a significant step forward in the evolution of podcast advertising. By providing publishers with the best available contextual targeting solution paired with the fastest and most accurate forecasting tools, publishers and advertisers will have safer, relevant and more effective campaign targeting tools without sacrificing reach or ease-of-use.

About Sounder

Sounder is the end-to-end data-driven intelligence platform that is shaping the future of the entire audio ecosystem. Our proprietary technology brings together publishers, brands and agencies, ad tech marketplaces, and data partners to revolutionize how audio content is discovered, monetized, and optimized. We’re proud to deliver unparalleled value to our partners and customers and maximize their audio advertising potential through AI-driven insights and solutions.

About Flightpath

Flightpath is the yield prediction and ad optimization platform for the creator-based economy; where podcasting is one of the fastest growing and most under-served of advertising channels. Our yield platform provides fast and trusted sales availability, campaign and order performance monitoring and prediction, and the tools to scale your podcast ad businesses across multiple DAI and sales automation platforms.

 

Sounder And Urban One Release Research On AI/ML Driven Brand Safety For Podcasting

~ jen

Sounder, a leading AI-powered brand safety solution in podcasting, and Urban One, the largest diversified Black-owned media organization in the United States, released the findings of a groundbreaking research project on AI/ML-driven brand safety and suitability for podcasting.

The research, which was conducted in partnership with Radio One & Reach Media, Urban One’s audio divisions, as well as the new Urban One Podcast Network, found that AI/ML-driven tools can accurately classify diverse content, leading to greater inclusivity, representation, and advertising opportunities for underrepresented voices.

“This research is a significant step forward in ensuring equal monetization opportunities for diverse creators in podcasting,” said Kal-Amin, co-founder and CEO of Sounder. “By addressing concerns about AI/ML-driven brand safety and suitability models, Sounder’s AI-based technology supports authentic and inclusive content representation.”

In contrast, Sounder’s AI-based technology is able to understand the context of a podcast episode and accurately assess its suitability for advertising. This means that Black content creators who share their unique stories and perspectives can be confident that their content has the ability to be appropriately classified and monetized.

Additional findings include:

  • When applying a standard keyword blocklist solution to Urban One’s podcast content, an overwhelming 92% of all episodes are removed from available inventory.
  • When applying a semantically and contextually focused AI/ML-based model to classify brand safety and suitability, only 10% of episodes are potentially unavailable for monetization.
  • Transcription quality is important for accurately classifying content. If Black English (AAVE) is transcribed correctly, this can lead to misclassifications and further marginalization of Black creators.

“At Urban One, we are passionate about having real, authentic dialogue with our audience around topics that matter to them, while also creating equitable conversations with brands and agencies, ensuring that they can invest confidently in brand safe, relevant environments,” said Josh Rahmani, CRO, Urban One, Audio Division. “This research is a step in the right direction to help advertisers see the bias that exists in legacy brand safety solutions which disproportionately impact Black-owned and Black-targeted media.”

The research findings have implications for the entire podcasting industry. As podcasting continues to grow in popularity, it is essential that the industry finds ways to ensure that all voices are represented. By using AI/ML-driven tools that are designed without bias, the podcasting industry can create a more inclusive and equitable space for all creators.

Sounder and PodRoll Announce Strategic Partnership

~ jen

Sounder, an audio intelligence platform that builds powerful data solutions to unlock podcast monetization, brand safety, contextual targeting, and discoverability for audio content, and PodRoll, the innovative start-up company aimed at revolutionizing podcast recommendations and discovery, are thrilled to announce their strategic partnership. This collaboration drives more nuanced, relevant, and personalized content recommendations, transforming the podcast listening experience.

PodRoll, founded by podcast industry veterans who previously co-founded Megaphone, has chosen Sounder as its premier partner to power its recommendation engine. With PodRoll’s unique strategy of increasing podcast consumption through post-episode recommendations, this partnership solidifies both companies’ commitment to enhancing user engagement and providing meaningful content to podcast listeners.

“Sounder’s AI-driven solutions, coupled with their exceptional brand safety and suitability solutions and contextual intelligence, perfectly align with PodRoll’s vision of introducing a first-of-its-kind platform,” said Jason Cox, co-founder of PodRoll.

Sounder’s technology enables PodRoll to deliver highly personalized podcast recommendations based on each listener’s preferences and behaviors. By leveraging Sounder’s cutting-edge AI tools, PodRoll can analyze and classify podcast content at scale. This powers PodRoll’s recommendation engine and helps them direct listeners to their next favorite episode.

The power of this partnership lies in the intersection of Sounder’s industry-leading AI and PodRoll’s innovative approach. The extensive industry knowledge and expertise of PodRoll’s founders, combined with Sounder’s advanced AI capabilities, ensure that the partnership is set to provide a breakthrough service for the podcast industry. 

“PodRoll’s mission to increase podcast consumption aligns seamlessly with our own goals of elevating to be their chosen partner, leveraging our AI technology to provide deep, meaningful content insights that drive the discovery and recommendation engine at the heart of PodRoll’s platform.”

This partnership provides podcast publishers with unprecedented ability to buy, sell, and monetize podcast recommendations, offering a game-changing opportunity to grow their podcasts(s) at scale. Listeners benefit from this collaboration through improved content discovery, personalization, and better contextualization of podcasts.

Sounder and PodRoll’s collaborative tools have already delivered a measurable uptick in listener engagement, with early data showing a 30% increase in podcast consumption.

“This partnership with Sounder enables us to enhance our platform’s ability to deliver relevant, engaging podcast content to our users,” said Matt Turck, co-founder of PodRoll. “We’re excited to bring a new level of sophistication to the podcast discovery and recommendation process.”

About Sounder

Sounder is an industry-leading AI company specializing in podcast content classification. Its advanced technology enables precise content discovery and recommendations, providing brand safety and suitability solutions, and contextual intelligence to podcast creators and consumers.

About PodRoll

PodRoll is a new podcasting startup founded by industry veterans who previously co-founded Megaphone. The company is focused on improving podcast discovery and recommendations, driving increased consumption and providing publishers with an innovative platform to monetize their content.

iHeartMedia Launches Podcast Brand Safety Tool Powered By Sounder

~ jen

iHeartMedia, the largest audio media company in the U.S. and the top podcast publisher globally according to Podtrac, today launched new brand safety technology for podcast advertising powered by Sounder, an audio intelligence platform that builds foundational podcasting technology. iHeartMedia is the first to go live with Sounder’s AI and Machine Learning (ML) technology, giving 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 deem if a podcast episode is brand safe before an ad runs, enabling advertisers to plan and execute campaigns with confidence.

“Audio had been without a truly operative brand safety tool that gave advertisers the ability to run without risk at a national scale. The process was labor intensive, fragmented, and often failed to deliver the level of protection brands truly needed,” said iHeartMedia Chief Data Officer Brian Kaminsky. “This new tool changes the future and opens up endless possibilities. Brands are now able to opt out of content they deem unsafe and inappropriate. Our possibilities. Brands are now able to opt out of content they deem unsafe and inappropriate. Our partnership with Sounder has set a benchmark for transparency in transparency in audio advertising that has been long overdue.”

“At a time when brand-trust is eroding overall, marketers are excited about the power of the podcast advertising to deliver authenticity, impact, and rebuild trust,” said iHeartMedia Chief Marketing Officer Gayle Troberman. “With iHeartMedia’s new brand safety capabilities, marketers can leverage the full power of human connection and contextual relevance that podcasts provide, without the fear and risk of unsafe inventory.”

“Coming out of CES, marketer demand for podcast marketing is at an all-time high,” Troberman continued. “But they’re not willing to accept unnecessary risk to do so. This tool solves this challenge by providing objective, third-party brand safety verification and unlocking access to more content that moves the needle for marketers.”

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. Integrated directly into iHeartMedia’s podcast hosting platform Omni and ad-serving platform Triton, the technology interprets context and assesses risk for brands in seconds across the iHeartPodcast Network’s large and growing audience, from the biggest and most divers shows in the network, to brand safety verification at an episodic level for podcast advertisers, effectively unlocking thousands of hours of new, premium audio content for brands.

“Sounder’s brand safety and sustainability solutions are here to ushers 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.”

The iHeartPodcast Network is home to more than 750 iHeartPodcasts which span every category from business, sports, spirituality, and technology to entertainment, family, comedy, and true crime including leading podcasts such as The Ron Burgundy Podcast, Paper Ghosts, Fake Doctors, Real Friends, Atlanta Monster, You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton, The Laverne Cox Show, Las Culturistas, and Noble Blood, as well as over a hundred shows from iHeartMedia’s on-air talent – like the popular Bobbycast from its nationally-syndicated host Bobby Bones and The Breakfast Club radio show podcast. With this roster of hits, iHeartMedia has more top 10 shows on Podtrac than the next three podcast networks combined and twice as many podcasts with 1 million monthly downloads than the next largest podcast publisher.