The New Audio Insights Overview Page: A Holistic View of Your Catalog

For the past year and a half, I've been a Product Manager at Sounder, developing technology that provides contextual and brand-suitability insights for podcast shows and episodes. Podcast publishers have used this data to demonstrate the depth and trustworthiness of their content to advertisers, thereby increasing the value of their podcast inventory.

Since Triton acquired Sounder in the spring, I've introduced Sounder to many of Triton's publishers. In these meetings, I found that publishers sometimes needed help figuring out where to use this fantastic new data. Being able to target content contextually granularly is so powerful, but where should a publisher start? That's why, before a publisher starts diving into specific shows and episodes, it's important to understand the content and suitability makeup of the entire catalog.   

For that reason, we created the new Audio Insights Overview page! The Overview page is a comprehensive dashboard that shows podcast publishers the top contextual categories, named entities, and brand suitability trends across their many shows and episodes.   

Let's dive into each feature and how it can help both new and existing Sounder customers:  

1. Trending Categories  

In the new overview page, publishers can see the IAB Categories that were most present in their catalog within the past 7, 30, 60, or 90 days. While publishers tend to have a good understanding of the genre composition of their catalog at a show level, these insights can reveal prevalent topics that might not be represented in podcast categories.   

For example, a sports publisher who has only been selling advertising on their shows to a specific type of brand might discover that a sizeable piece of their inventory discusses Food & Drink. This publisher could use this new data to approach an advertiser in the beverage category with a compelling package. For publishers with shows across various genres, getting insight into common topics can help shape an advertising strategy that benefits multiple shows rather than being limited to a single genre. 

2. Trending Named Entities  

The new overview page also shows the top named entities – people, places, organizations, or products – mentioned in their catalog within the last 90 days. This feature gives publishers insight into who or what's currently being discussed in their inventory and our culture.   

Named entity data will help attract brands that want to target these trending topics and provide added value to existing advertisers who may be interested in how many times they are organically mentioned within a publisher's content. Moreover, this data can spark ideas for partner inventory packages, such as creating episodes focusing on trending athletes.   

 3. Brand Suitability 

Finally, our overview page will continue to give publishers a comprehensive view of the suitability of their content as defined within the IAB’s and GARM’s brand suitability frameworks. Users can view a snapshot of the percentage of their content classified as “high” or “floor” and compare that data to previous periods, allowing them to identify potential risks proactively. Additionally, users can drill down into a single suitability category. Publishers can use this brand suitability overview to easily communicate their catalog’s suitability to advertisers, increasing confidence in their inventory. 

I hope you find this new dashboard as helpful as I do. As the podcast advertising industry matures, brands increasingly expect detailed insights and buying capabilities. The Overview page is one of Sounder’s many tools to help publishers thrive in this new world.   

Our mission is to simplify the use of reliable audio data for organizations, fostering confidence in their decision-making and actions. Contact Us to Learn More.