Let's tweak Tom's steps a little:

Select range A1:G1.
From the menu select <Format<Conditional Formatting
Change drop down to "Formula Is"
Enter this formula =SEARCH("listen",$A1)0
Select the format you want
Select OK
--note my changes in line 1 and 4.

Next:
Select range A1:G1.
Copy
Select all the cells you want to change format when Column A contains
"listen" (so maybe A1:G300)
Paste Speccial, Formats
--note my changes in line 1 and 3.