Are digital campaigns the best way to market to millennials? It sure seems like many marketers think so. If you haven’t noticed it across industry headlines, there’s been an uptick in brands committing major resources to getting in front of Generation Y digitally.

Take Coca Cola. The company just released its first-ever digital-only campaign to teens called the “The AHH Effect.” Mobile platforms are the medium of choice for the campaign with most of the content primed for quick hits, including mini-games, videos and multimedia content. There are 17 digital experiences, starting at ahh.com. Adding an “h” to the URL allows visitors to access a new experience. Going forward, Coke plans to use paid and owned media on Facebook and Twitter to encourage teens to create their own experiences for the brand. Coke will select and include 25 users experiences in the campaign.

Retailer Nordstrom is launching a campaign promoting the concept of “Youphoria,” according to the New York Times. Tactics include videos featuring young adults involved in various outdoor activities like chopping wood. Naturally, these millennials are dressed to impress in Nordstrom gear.  It’s meant to show that everyone can find an affordable style at Nordstrom that fits their character. The videos are available on YouTube and promoted via Twitter, Facebook and the Nordstrom website.

Other companies, like Budweiser, are opting to reach millennials through a product change supported digitally. The company’s newly designed bow-tie beer-can will be released this spring, hoping to take advantage of the hip fashion trend of wearing bow-ties, according to MediaBistro. The can will be marketed directly to younger beer drinkers with a multimedia campaign that spans digital, print, and TV promotions.

As these brands jump on the millennial bandwagon, they'd also be advised to study some of the brands that this generation already loves. According to iMedia Connection, these include Coachella, Nike and Pretzel Crisps.

Are you using a digital campaign to reach your target millennials?

The new multimedia planning platform at next.srds.com was designed to make finding, considering and understanding your media options faster and easier. So, how much of its capabilities are you using? 

Here are 8 quick tips that will help you get the most from the new system.

1. Search across all media or any combination of media you license with the open search
2. Use open search to search for a specific media property by name...just remember to click "Title Only" from the dropdown menu (Did you know that Title Only search also works with broadcast station call letters?)
3. Search over 23,000 websites that accept adveritsing in the Digital Media database
4. Check out all of the advertising opportunities under the Marketing/Advertising Opportunities tab on a Digital Media listing
5. The Action Icons in a media brand's listing link to Video Media Kits, Tablet App Media Kits, Regular Media Kits, Audit statements, social media presence and more
6. The Brand Portfolio tab in a detailed listing shows you the entire landscape of media options related to a specific media brand
7. The display of listings that "SRDS Users Also Viewed" are a great way to discover new media options
8. The Grid View lets you look at single media-type results in a quick view format?

I'd love to show you these and many more tips for using SRDS online. If you or your team would like to set-up a WebEx review of our platform, email me or call 800.851.7737.

On June 29, we are sunsetting the "old" SRDS.com and transitioning all of our users to the new multimedia planning platform at next.srds.com. Many of you have already been using the new site (some for many months!), but there are also plenty of folks who will have questions. In this post, I am going to cover some "new SRDS basics" to hopefully avoid any confusion, and, as always, if you have questions feel free to call or email me.

Here are tips to get you started:

Blue links offer more information.

For example:

• The  names of media properties appear in blue and link you to the media brand's full listing
• Help or additional information appear under blue links (for example: “Search Tips”)
• Audit statements are in blue, and clicking on them will load the audit statement (Remember: ABC requires membership to access statements via SRDS; BPA and CCAB do not. However, the first time you click a BPA or CCAB link it will take you to the home page of the BPA website where you will need to register once.

Action Icons in search results or detailed listings give quick access to more media planning data

Video media kits

Tablet application and media kit

Instant editions

Publisher and 3^rd party research

Audience data

Featured Marketing Opportunities

Social Media presence

Audit data

Compete data

Best way to search across media?

Open Search. Enter words or phrases where it says "Enter Keyword," and click Go.

Best way to search across media and markets?

Local Search by DMA. Select your DMA(s), then filter by media types.

And more!

• The advertising you see in SRDS will often give you quite a bit more information about a media brand
• Title search still exists: just enter the name of the media property where it says “Enter Keyword” then click Options. Select "Title Only" and, if you are so inclined, the database the listing is in
• Listings look different, but all of the data is there. Just look for the appropriate tab and scroll through the data under each tab
• Searching by media type is still an option. Just select the database under the Search tab and start to filter your results.

Would you like me to give you a WebEx training on the ins and outs of the new SRDS? Check my training schedule here or get in touch.

You’ve seen the new design of the SRDS multimedia platform.  Integrated databases, flexible searching, helpful results chock full of covers, logos and topline rates and consideration data. Hooray, outstanding, fantastic, you say, along with…

• “What are the unique visitor numbers for this site?”
• “What is the close date for the May issue for this pub?”
• “Who can I call at this hour for a deadline extension for the (ahem) May issue? "

We know you probably have at least twenty more such questions in your head and about as many hours or less to turn around a client presentation or plan. That’s why it’s important you know exactly where to access critical planning and buying information.

There’s a tab for that.

Click on a title in your search results and you’ll see an entire page devoted to that media property, with an organized view of all the different information segments that comprise an SRDS listing, nice and tidy, in a tabbed format. The tab name and information will vary by media type, but generally speaking you’ll find tabs covering:

General Information
Read a description of the media property including the provider’s own positioning statement where available. Come here for quick access to their website and media kit. There’s also a link to the print or digital counterpart listing in SRDS.

Contact Info
Here is where you’ll find all the names, numbers and addresses you need to make connections and move things along. Come here for a list of branch offices and reps.

Properties Managed/Owned 
See a list of titles that comprise a group or network as well as properties that are owned, operated or affiliated.

Circulation/Audience Data/Markets Served
Tap into critical evaluation numbers, with many that include links to industry measurement companies and audit bureaus such as ABC, BPA, CVC and Compete. Must. Have Info.

Rates and Advertising Ops
It’s the “R” in SRDS. View this tab to access important rate information as well as policies and overall media/advertising opportunities.

Insertion/Purchasing Info
What’s the best food day? What’s their standard page dimension?  Come here to access issue and closing dates, general specifications, traffic specs, requirements and more.

Brand Portfolio
What’s the story behind this brand? This tab (highlighted in green) contains sponsored content provided by the media property. Come here to get the complete low-down, with links to tons of information including video media kits, tablet edition information, research, instant editions, audience/distribution profile data, featured marketing opportunities and more, all in one place.

Not the tabbed type?

Want to see (or print) all of this information on one happy page? Click the “print” button to see the entire listing on one screen.

We want to know

What piece of SRDS data do you rely upon most? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @srds!

If you've been a frequent user of our broadcast databases over the years, you may be accustomed to referencing the SQAD average cost-per-point (CPP) information in both the Radio and TV/Cable sources. I've heard from some users that they thought this data "went away" in our new multimedia planning platform.

It didn't! It's still available online.

• For Radio, select the database from the Search tab, then look for the link to SQAD Spot Radio CPP Estimates in the middle of the main screen. Click that link, find your market and off you go!
• For TV/Cable, select the database as above, then look for the DMA Maps and Profiles link in the middle of the main screen , find your market and select Profile.

If you're looking for SQAD data, just make sure you don't go via the "DMA Profiles and Maps" link on the toolbar. SQAD data is only available to Radio and TV/Cable subscribers.