The podcast industry’s best-kept secret? The ad reads that sound effortless take a ton of work behind the scenes. After running nearly a billion host-read impressions through RedCircle’s platform, we kept facing one particular challenge: airchecks.
Reviewing every ad read for accuracy, tone, freshness, and compliance meant someone had to listen to the ad, compare it to the script or talking points, and flag issues manually. Sometimes after the ad had already aired. Even if the episode was already transcribed, this took way too much time.
We knew we were not the only ones struggling with this issue. So we decided to fix it.
Meet Mic Check
Mic Check is our new, automated ad reviewer. A built-in safety net that listens before the world does.
The second a creator uploads a host-read ad to our platform, Mic Check runs a full review comparing the read to the script or the talking points, flagging any discrepancies, and offering instant, actionable feedback alongside a score indicating how strong the ad read was.
It’s designed around three simple questions:
- Compliance: Does the ad follow the script or talking points? Was the promo code or vanity URL read correctly?
- Engagement: Does it sound good? Is the tone engaging and on-brand?
- Uniqueness: Is it a new read or a recycled one from before?
If something’s off, it instantly offers constructive, human-sounding suggestions like:
“Consider adding a personal touch, that’s something the advertiser emphasized.” or “This section sounds a little flat; add more energy here.”
Within seconds, creators can make adjustments and re-upload the ad read. Because it happens instantly, creators can re-record before the ad ever goes live. No waiting, no makegoods, no back-and-forth.
Why It Matters for Brands
Mic Check makes podcast advertising faster, safer, and more reliable without losing the creativity that makes host-reads so effective.
For advertisers, Mic Check means peace of mind.
- Quality control, built in. You can finally be sure the ad that airs is following the talking points you approved and the tone you agreed on.
- Time saved. No lag between production and performance. No waiting for QA or feedback loops that delay campaigns.
- Fewer surprises. Less feedback, fewer corrections, smoother campaigns, no need for makegoods. When errors are caught early, everyone saves time and credibility.
In short: you get the results of a perfect read, the first time around.
We’re Not Replacing Creators, We’re Scaling Their Authenticity
Some companies are using AI to crank out content, such as thousands of synthetic podcasts. We’re doing the opposite.
At RedCircle, we believe the future of podcast advertising lies in real voices backed by real data. Mic Check uses AI to scale authenticity, not replace it.
And we didn’t guess our way here. Mic Check is built on the largest dataset of host-read ads in the industry – nearly one billion host-read impressions – giving it a one-of-a-kind understanding of what “great” sounds like across categories, tones, and audiences.
That scale lets us help creators sound their best and brands feel confident that every ad hits the mark.
As our co-founder and CEO Mike Kadin puts it:
How to use Mic Check?
Mic Check is built directly into RAP, the RedCircle Advertising Platform. If you’re running ad campaigns through RAP, Mic Check has already started analyzing your campaign ad reads and you will be notified via email when one runs for your campaign. You don’t have to do anything – it’s all automated and at no additional cost!
If you aren’t using RedCircle’s Advertising Platform to run your podcast campaigns – well, you should! Drop us a note if you’re interested in trying out Mic Check.
Inspired to learn more? Watch our CEO Mike Kadin explain how Mic Check is changing the game and what you can expect from us next!
Excited to try out podcast advertising with us? Get your free campaign plan to get started.