Brand Safety & Crisis Monitoring: Catching Mentions Before They Spread

A podcast host makes an offhand negative comment about your brand. Within days, clips circulate on social media. By the time it reaches your desk, thousands have heard it — and the narrative is set.

For brand managers, the window between a podcast mention and potential crisis is narrow. Podscan gives you real-time visibility to catch mentions in minutes, not weeks.

The Brand Manager's Visibility Problem

Podcasts present unique monitoring challenges:

• No advance notice: Hosts don't tag you when they discuss your brand
• Audio is unsearchable: Traditional monitoring tools can't crawl audio
• Long-form context: A 60-minute episode might contain 30 seconds about you
• Influential audiences: Podcast listeners are engaged and trusting of hosts
• Clip virality: Negative moments get extracted and shared on social

By the time a podcast mention surfaces organically, the damage may already be done.

Setting Up Brand Protection Monitoring

Core Brand Alerts

At minimum, create alerts for:

• Your brand name (including common misspellings)
• Your main products/services
• Your CEO and key executives
• Your ticker symbol (for public companies)
• Common brand nicknames or abbreviations

Use the Smart Alert Wizard on your Dashboard to generate this automatically with AI-suggested variations.

Context-Aware Filtering

If your brand name is common, add a Context-Aware Question:

"Is this episode discussing [Brand Name] the [industry] company?"

This eliminates false positives while ensuring relevant mentions surface.

Sentiment Prioritization

Podscan analyzes sentiment for each mention:

• Positive: Opportunity for engagement
• Neutral: Monitor for trends
• Negative: Potential crisis — requires immediate review

Configure notifications to prioritize negative sentiment mentions.

GARM Brand Safety Scores

Every podcast and episode in Podscan includes GARM Brand Safety assessments:

Use brand safety for:

• Evaluating podcasts before sponsorship
• Assessing context when your brand is mentioned
• Building safe media lists for advertising

Access brand safety:

• Podcast pages show aggregate safety distribution
• Episode pages show per-episode ratings
• Mention tiles include safety indicators

Crisis Response Workflow

When a negative mention surfaces:

1. Assess Immediately (First 5 Minutes)

• Click View full mention to read the transcript
• Check audience size — prioritize high-reach podcasts
• Review sentiment analysis and context
• Jump to the exact timestamp to hear the tone

2. Determine Severity

• Minor criticism: Document and monitor
• Factual error: Prepare correction outreach
• Serious allegation: Escalate to communications/legal
• Viral potential: Begin rapid response

3. Document Everything

• Add the mention to a crisis-tracking List
• Export transcript and details
• Note audience reach and podcast influence
• Capture the episode URL and timestamp

4. Respond Appropriately

Use Podscan's contact information to reach the host:

• Host email address
• Social media profiles
• Website contact

For factual errors, a polite correction request often works. For serious issues, coordinate with your communications team.

5. Monitor Follow-Up

• Set an alert for the podcast name + your brand
• Track if the correction is issued
• Monitor for the mention spreading to other podcasts

Proactive Brand Monitoring

Beyond crisis response, regular monitoring reveals:

Competitive Context

When competitors are mentioned alongside your brand:

• How are you being compared?
• Are competitors' claims accurate?
• What positioning narrative is forming?

Industry Perception

Track your brand in industry conversations:

• Are you associated with the right topics?
• Do experts speak positively about you?
• Are there misconceptions to address?

Opportunity Identification

Positive mentions are opportunities:

• Thank hosts who speak well of you
• Explore sponsorship with aligned podcasts
• Identify potential brand ambassadors

Reporting and Analytics

Executive Dashboards

Export monthly reports showing:

• Total mention volume and trend
• Sentiment breakdown (positive/negative/neutral)
• Audience reach across all mentions
• Share of voice vs. competitors

Risk Tracking

Maintain a List for "Brand Concerns" containing:

• All negative mentions
• High-risk podcast appearances
• Issues requiring follow-up

Review weekly with your communications team.

Integration with Existing Workflows

Webhook Notifications

Send alerts directly to:

• Slack channels (via Zapier)
• Microsoft Teams
• Your existing monitoring dashboard
• CRM or ticketing systems

Email Escalation

Configure different notification levels:

• Immediate email: Negative mentions, high-reach podcasts
• Daily digest: All mentions summary
• Weekly summary: Trend overview for leadership

Getting Started

Today:

1. Run the Smart Alert Wizard for your brand
2. Create a "Brand Monitoring" List
3. Configure email notifications

This week:

1. Review initial mentions to calibrate sensitivity
2. Adjust restrictions to reduce noise
3. Set up Slack integration for team visibility

Ongoing:

1. Check Dashboard daily for new mentions
2. Review negative mentions immediately
3. Export monthly reports for stakeholders

In podcasts, your brand is discussed by people who don't know you're listening. Podscan changes that — giving you real-time awareness of every mention, every day.

Updated on: 18/12/2025