What Are the Types of Transcription Targeting? A Guide

Millions of people listen to podcasts every month (158M listeners, to be precise). And each show is as diverse as the listener. But, with the almost endless choices out there, finding the right podcast content and audience for your brand can feel overwhelming. 

However, there’s a silver lining. You can already find shows by category or network, but there’s also a way to ensure the context and relevance of each individual episode. With transcription targeting, you can focus on key topics that align with consumer interests, avoid sensitive content, and increase your placement accuracy. With over two in three podcast listeners saying they prefer ads that are relevant to what they’re listening to, context is king.

Dive into how transcription targeting works and the various types. 

What Is Transcription Targeting and How Does It Work?

As a type of contextual targeting, transcription targeting enables brands to place ads within the context of a specific podcast episode. It’s the difference between advertising on any show or category versus only targeting shows that fit your screening criteria—from topic, to behavior, to brand safety. 

Advertisers no longer have to spend hours sampling potential shows for ad placement themselves. Thanks to voice-to-text technology, it’s now possible to target shows based on episode-level content data. For instance, if you’re a fitness clothing brand, you might use transcription targeting to advertise on podcast episodes covering workout hacks or healthy recipes. We have the power to create transcripts and index thousands of episodes to find the best fit for brands. And the benefits don’t stop there. Podcast transcripts also serve as an opportunity to find trends in listener behavior and other podcast communities that may otherwise be overlooked. Additionally, advertisers can align with content that creates an even larger reach—without being limited to specific shows.

What Are the Types of Transcription Targeting?

With a 95%-accurate voice-to-text transcription rate, we’ve proven our ability to reach listeners in the right mindset. Here are the various types of transcription targeting you can leverage. 

Brand Suitability Transcription Targeting

For the advertisers that want to avoid sensitive topics, from violence to profanity, brand suitability transcription targeting ensures your brand only appears next to safe and suitable content—however that’s defined by your brand. 

Powered by AI, this technology goes beyond standard keyword classification to understand the overall sentiment and context of a podcast episode and ensures that brands receive the control and scale they need. Here’s how it works: The transcription engine assesses the context of an episode and possible synonyms to gut check the use and meaning of a word. For instance, “whales” and “wales” sound similar as do “violins” and “violence.” Luckily, you won’t have to make the distinction yourself. Next, with this data, the technology properly categorizes the episode it belongs in. 

Contextual Transcription Targeting

Contextual transcription targeting offers precision targeting at the episode level, allowing brands to target topics that are most relevant to your audience. For instance, instead of a dessert brand advertising on any food-related show, they might choose to target episodes that are specifically talking about sweet treats and baking. 

With this transcription targeting type, millions of episodes have been translated and mapped to IAB content taxonomy segments. 

Driving Incremental Reach via Contextual Transcription Targeting

To see transcription targeting in action, check out this success story. When a pharmaceutical advertiser aimed to drive cost efficiency and incremental reach, we partnered with them by leveraging a mix of podcast placements across the SiriusXM Podcast Network. 

Using contextual transcription targeting to reach women between the ages of 21 and 59—across topics at the episode-level like family and parenting, health and fitness, and more—the campaign drove awareness with informative, relevant brand messaging. 

The campaign did more than it set out to accomplish—reaching 1.3M unique podcast listeners, achieving a 52% incremental reach, and delivering a $3.17 cost per in target reach (CPITR).  

Get Started with SiriusXM Media

Transcription targeting offers unparalleled precision for podcast advertisers, allowing brands to place messages within relevant content while maintaining brand safety. With us by your side, we help you reach the right audiences with contextually relevant messaging.

Ready to leverage the power of transcription targeting for your next podcast advertising campaign? Let's talk. 

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