---
title: "Contextual Targeting"
slug: "contextual-targeting"
updated: 2025-03-21T15:04:02Z
published: 2025-03-21T15:04:02Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.tritondigital.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Contextual Targeting

> [!NOTE]
> Also see:
> 
> - [Contextual vs. Behavioral Targeting](/user/docs/contextual-vs-behavioral-targeting)
> - Wednesday Webinar recording: [Contextual Targeting for Podcasts](/user/docs/wednesday-webinars#general)
> - Webinar [Q&A transcript for Contextual Targeting](/user/docs/qa-contextual-targeting)

**Contextual Targeting** is an optional feature for **podcast publishers** in which you can create a set of context-relevant tags based on content analysis from the contextual tagging service. (Triton Digital Brand Suitability and contextual targeting is powered by [Sounder](/user/docs/sounder), a Triton Digital Company.) This analysis looks at the content at an episodic level to pull out metadata such as brand suitability, named entities, and transcript search terms. A flight targeting a context-relevant tag will only deliver to the matching podcast episodes.

For example, an advertiser wants to target podcast content related to sports but not combative sports such as boxing or mixed martial arts (MMA). You can create a tag, such as `[IAB]17 non-combat sport` that includes the sports genre but excludes any episodes that mention boxing or MMA. Your advertiser's flight can then target the `[IAB]17 non-combat sport` contextual tag and specify it to **match** that tag. As a result, the flight will only deliver on the podcast episodes associated with the non-combative sports tag.

#### In order to use Contextual Targeting you need:

- Integration with Sounder for audio brand suitability scoring and content insights.
- Contextual Targeting enabled in your TAP setup.

Once Contextual Targeting is enabled on your system and your tags have been created in Sounder, it's simply a matter of**targeting those Contextual Targeting tags** in your flights.

Flights that target **any** Contextual Targeting rule will *only deliver to podcast content that has been tagged.* In other words, a flight that includes any Contextual Targeting rule will never deliver to un-tagged podcasts.

## Tagging Your Content

Tagging is applied in Sounder's contextual tagging dashboard.

**When creating contextual tags:**

- Tag names can use any special characters. However, we recommend you use short, descriptive tags. We also recommend you create and use a **naming convention** in order to have consistency in your tags, which will help your traffickers locate and select the appropriate tags for any flight.
- It is useful to include specific **filter dimensions**when creating tags. For example, episode title or IAB category. (You can include multiple dimensions in a single tag.) As a naming convention suggestion, you can include the filter dimension in square brackets followed by a specific value, such as `[IAB]2-10 Electric Vehicle` for a tag that applies to the IAB category for electric vehicles, or `[Episode Title] Pizza` for a tag that applies to any episode with the word "Pizza" in the title. The filter dimensions you can include are:
  - Duration
  - Episode Title
  - Brand Suitability
  - IAB Category
  - Named Entity
  - Publish Date
  - Transcript search terms
- You cannot edit a tag once it has been created. You can, however, delete it and create a new one. For example if you are creating a tag called `gastronomy` and you mistyped it as `gastronomu`, simply delete the `gastronomu` tag and create a new one as `gastronomy`. However, if a tag you created has already been targeting by a flight, and then the tag is deleted, it can affect that flight's delivery.

## Targeting in the Flight

In your flight's **Content** targeting section, select **Contextual tag** (under "Other"). The list of tags you have created in Sounder's dashboard appears. Select the tags appropriate for this flight and add the rule. (You can use the filter tool to narrow the list of tags.)

![](https://cdn.document360.io/7124b381-0a94-401a-abbd-9df9c4ea5dff/Images/Documentation/Targeting-content-context.png)

## Forecasting

You can forecast impressions using the [Contextual Tag](/user/docs/forecasting-filters#contextual-tag) filter.

## Reporting

You can filter [TAP Explore](/user/docs/tap-reports-tap-explore) reports by Contextual Tag and Contextual Targeting.

## Contextual Targeting Usage Notes

- Contextual targeting is only available for the Podcast delivery method.
- Contextual targeting can be used in direct flights as well as programmatic deals.
- TAP Explore includes a Contextual tag dimension, and you can filter by contextual tags in forecasting. (The tag must exist for 28 days before reliable forecasting can be achieved.)
- Contextual tags applied by Sounder's tagging service apply to the entire back catalog of your podcast episodes and to any new ones that match the tag criteria.
- You can only target contextual tags that you have already defined in Sounder's Audio Insights product. (I.e., you cannot create contextual tags "on the fly" while targeting in TAP.)