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Safe and Sound, from Sounds Profitable

Safe and Sound, from Sounds Profitable

The first-ever study of brand safety and suitability from the listeners’ perspective

By Tom Webster

December 7, 2022

Sponsored by

Brands and Agencies are often concerned with brand safety and suitability across the advertising channels they use. The current brand exodus from Twitter is just one example of how public opinion – and risk tolerance – can shift overnight. Many of the decisions brands make about safety and suitability are based around assumptions derived from general consumer behavior, but do those assumptions apply to podcasting?

Sounds Profitable presents the first-ever study of brand safety and suitability from the listeners’ perspective, Safe and Sound.

Safe and Sound surveyed a representative sample of 1093 podcast listeners to find out what they consider “offensive,” what they are tolerant of, and how they view the brands that support podcast content when it pushes their boundaries. Among the topics covered in this comprehensive survey are the following:

  • What is the most controversial subject matter for podcast listeners?
  • How do consumers respond to political content, and how tolerant are they of “the other side?”
  • Do listeners feel differently about comedy, or true crime, than they do news content?
  • How do podcast consumers perceive the brands that advertise on questionable content, and does that impact their behavior?
  • How do age and gender factor into the tolerance of different forms of potentially risky content?

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The Ad Bargain

For 2024, Sounds Profitable will once again lead the industry in producing research studies designed to help grow the podcasting space and increase monetization opportunities. The year kicks off very aggressively with what will be sure to be a widely-cited study, The Ad Bargain. The Ad Bargain is a broad, cross-platform survey of American consumers and their attitudes toward various ad-supported media channels. The title references the “deal” consumers make when they watch or listen to ad-supported media: a few minutes of their attention to brands, in exchange for free access to content they love. Podcasting has historically been the best “bargain” for consumers AND brands, with attention, willingness to consider, purchase behavior, and positive perceptions for companies that sponsor podcasts leading amongst other ad-supported media. This study will reflect the current state of the perception of ads in podcasts compared to CTV, social media, and other platforms.

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