Tailor your ad environment with enhanced sensitive topic filters for podcast ads

Every brand or advertiser has unique needs when it comes to sharing their message—and being able to tailor the environment in which it's seen or heard couldn't be more important.

At Spotify, our mission is to raise the bar on brand safety by delivering increased transparency and easy-to-use controls to connect advertisers and creators to fans in a trusted environment. Our advertising policies help to prevent the monetization of any content that would not be appropriate for our advertisers and brands.

However, some brands may have sensitivities to certain topics discussed in podcasts. On occasion, some subjects or content may not align with our advertisers' unique brand values. From a branding perspective, it's critical to have a handle on how and where your ads are seen or heard. It's also vital that your brand is presented in a context that positively reinforces your message. This is exactly why Spotify is rolling out new sensitive topic filters in Ad Studio, an improvement to existing offerings to help ensure brand-appropriate contexts on podcast ads.

Enhanced controls for brand safety

We believe that brands should have the power to decide which sensitive topics, if any, they're comfortable advertising alongside.

Our new and improved sensitive topic filters take our existing filter offerings to the next level, reflecting GARM's Brand Safety Floor + Suitability Framework while enabling advertisers to exclude podcast content that doesn't align with their brand ethos.

These enhanced filters empower brands to filter out content they don't feel is suitable with more nuanced and granular controls—and a focus on reaching relevant listeners. This lets advertisers prioritize the scale and performance of their ads in the areas they do want to target, while minimizing exposure to areas they may find sensitive.

With our new feature, advertisers have four content filters to choose from:

• Standard: Includes placements within all content suitable for advertising. With this selection, advertisers have access to all of Ad Studio's podcast inventory, which may contain in-depth discussions of sensitive topics. This is a great choice for advertisers with a high risk tolerance.
  
• Partial: Includes placements within content that contains some discussion of sensitive topics. This option provides access to Ad Studio podcast inventory with high severity controls. It's a fitting choice for brands with a moderate risk tolerance.
  
• Limited: Includes placements within content that contains limited discussion of sensitive topics. This selection is best for advertisers with a low risk tolerance—brands opting for this filter have access to Ad Studio podcast inventory with high and medium severity controls.
  
• Restricted: Avoids placements within content that contains discussion of sensitive topics. While total exclusion of sensitive topics is not guaranteed, this option provides access to Ad Studio's podcast inventory with high, medium, and low severity controls. It's suitable for brands with little to no risk tolerance.

Or, advertisers can select the “Custom" setting to pick and choose which filter they'd like to use for each of the sensitive topic categories available to choose from.

The benefits of sensitive topic filters

Sensitive topic filters make it easier for brands to tailor the contexts in which their podcast ads are delivered. Advertisers will be able to balance their focus on reaching relevant audiences with their need to fine-tune ad environments that align with their brand values.