Our data team strives to provide users with the most updated media planning data within SRDS.com. In April, the team made a total of 8,501 updates to the SRDS.com databases with the largest chunk of updates coming from the business publication database. Here's the full breakdown:

• 1,921 newspaper updates
• 54 out-of-home updates
• 409 TV & cable updates
• 717 radio updates
• 1,207 digital updates
• 3,343 business publications updates
• 850 consumer magazine updates

We know that current data matters, so log in and check out some of the changes!

Our team understands the value of current media planning data and they work hard to update listings every single day. In March, the team updated 8,045 SRDS.com listings bringing the 2013 total to 32,581 updates.

Here’s how last month breaks down:

• 2,757 business publications updates
• 2,080 newspaper updates
• 927 TV & cable updates
• 918 consumer magazine updates
• 887 digital updates
• 381 radio updates
• 95 out-of-home updates

We know that current data matters, so take a moment to log in and check out some of the changes!

February was a busy time for the Kantar Media SRDS data team. This time of year the team is really focused on 2013 rates for newspapers, consumer magazines and business publications.

With 16,850 updates to the SRDS databases, they more than doubled their January number. But look at all the updates for the other databases!

• 3,896 radio updates
• 3,551 digital updates
• 3,290  newspaper updates
• 2,910 business publications updates
• 1,909 consumer magazine updates
• 778 TV & cable updates
• 616 out-of-home updates

If you have any questions about the data you find in SRDS online, just let us know!

Each and every day, our data team makes hundreds of updates to the media planning data on SRDS.com. They’ve already started 2013 on a high note.

Our data team made 7,686  updates to our SRDS databases. Here's the breakdown:

• 1,750  newspaper updates
• 332 out-of-home updates
• 275 TV & cable updates
• 1,227 radio updates
• 1,263 digital updates
• 1,673 business publications updates
• 1,166 consumer magazine updates

We know that current data matters, so take a moment to log in and check out some of the changes!

Total advertising expenditures in the third quarter of 2012 surged by 7.1% reaching $34.5 billion, according to data released by Kantar Media. Political ads and the Summer Olympics led the market, with TV being the medium of choice.

Network TV expenditures increased 29.9% in the quarter. Other gains in the industry include radio (4.2%), free-standing inserts (17.3%) and outdoor advertising (4.9%). Click here for more details or check out this nifty infographic.

Big news for out-of-home advertisers, agencies and media companies from the Traffic Audit Bureau for Media Measurement Inc. (TAB).

Beginning in January 2013, TAB will no longer produce or support its members’ use of DECs.

DEC stands for Daily Effective Circulation and is the average number of persons, in cars or other vehicles, passing and potentially exposed to an advertising display for either 12 hours (un-illuminated - 6:00am to 6:00pm), 18 hours (illuminated - 6:00am to 12:00 midnight) or 24 hours.

For 75 years, out-of-home media buyers and sellers have used DEC as the main metric when trying to measure audience.

But that’s changing.

As a useful and more relevant alternative, TAB Out of Home ratings measure impressions: the number of people that actually look at an out-of-home ad. DECs only measures audience or number of people who pass by the advertising structure. Above all, TAB Out of Home ratings give the industry an audience measurement system that is equivalent to metrics used by other media, including unit-by-unit demographics.

According to talking points provided by TAB, TAB is eliminating use of DECs because they caused confusion in the marketplace and slowed the industry-wide adoption of TAB Out of Home Ratings.

Joe Philport, President & CEO of TAB, published a letter in the Outdoor Advertising Association of America’s newsletter which he states:

“We know that legacy DECs have never been widely ac­cepted by the advertising community. That is why it is so critical that the entire industry embrace the standard use of TAB OOH Ratings. We have already seen these ratings used by hundreds of media plan­ners throughout the country. The sooner our entire industry transitions to the con­sistent use of these ratings, the sooner more advertisers will truly value OOH as an audience-driven medium.”

TAB Out of Home Ratings are now available for the following Out of Home media formats: bulletins, posters, junior posters, bus shelters, walls, kiosks, urban panels and digital billboards.

Relevant specifications include:

• Audiences for billboards, posters, junior posters, transit shelters and phone kiosks
• Geographically sensitive reach & frequency
• Granular detail, reporting individual out of home units in over 200 DMAs
• Detailed demographic data comparable to other media
• True commercial ratings based on people who see the advertising

Here at SRDS, we’re curious about how our out-of-home planners and buyers feel about this change. What’s your take?

Last week, NextMedia Group announced the sale of NextMedia Outdoor, its outdoor advertising business, to Lamar Advertising Co. for $145 million.

Baton Rouge-based Lamar is the nation's largest outdoor advertising company, offering ads on bulletins, posters, digital billboards, buses, benches, transit shelters and highway logo signs.

The deal will allow NextMedia to focus solely on its radio operations, said NextMedia CEO Jim Donahoe. The company currently operates 33 stations across eight markets in the U.S. The sale also eliminated NextMedia’s debt.

SRDS covers changes like this in the Out-of-Home market continually. Our users rely on the SRDS database to find traditional outdoor options as well as targeted space like sampling, in-flight, in-store, in all 210 DMAs. The SRDS out-of-home database will reflect these changes after it uploads at the end of the week.

What’s the most interesting out-of-home placement you’ve bought?

When using SRDS, when should I use the database search and when should I use open? That’s a question I get all the time when I’m conducting training sessions, so I wanted to share my two cents in the hope that it’ll make your searching easier and more efficient.

Sometimes it’s a matter of preference and other times it’s a matter of task. Are you researching a category or market or are you grabbing a specific piece of information? Let me give you an example of two different users who asked similar questions about these search options.

In both instances, the user was having trouble finding what they wanted; in one case, a specific set of healthcare pubs and in another, consumer fashion magazines. In both situations, the user became frustrated using the Open Search.

If you think you know exactly what you want to find (say, a specific print media listing), then the results of a general open search can sometimes seem like overkill. This particular client phrased it more colorfully, but his confusion stemmed from the fact that he didn't narrow the open search by using the “Options” drop-down. By default, the Open Search is a keyword search that returns ALL the listings that contain your keyword, from within ALL media types that you subscribe to. If you leave “All Media” selected you will get just that.

When using Open Search, be sure to change the default to the specific media you are interested in and select “Title Only” if you are searching for a specific media listing. Be sure to enter the entire exact title when searching Title Only, not just the first word in the title.

Is there anything else that both users could have done to solve their problem? If you answered “go to the database and search by Classification,” you would be correct! In some cases, it might be easier to do a Class search to see all Healthcare titles or Fashion, Beauty and Grooming titles.

Then if they wanted to see if they were missing anything that wouldn't be in the class, they could have done an Open Search.

Open Search is ideal for getting a high-level perspective on a category or market, but if you want a narrower set of results, use the more specific search tools at your disposal and select a media type or title-only option first.

So, without further ado, here are the 3 must-have guidelines for searching in SRDS.com:

1. Looking for a specific listing? Do a title search.
2. Exploring new opportunities? Do a keyword search.
3. Investigating options in a specific category? Do a database class search. 

Gain an understanding of the marketing trends driving one of the highest spending sectors in the media landscape. Over the past dozen years, financial services companies have pursued new innovations and aggressive marketing campaigns to combat a recession and historical financial crisis. Confronted with increased competition, federal regulation, and turbulent market conditions, these marketers have adapted their strategies and messaging to echo the realities faced by millions of Americans today.

Topics covered will include:

• Ad spend breakdown by advertiser, category, and media (Syndicated, Network, Cable & Spot TV; Newspapers; Magazines: Radio: Outdoor) 
• Overview of financial services marketing by category, including insurance, consumer banking, credit card, and investment & retirement products
• Best practices for television advertising, digital marketing, and creative messaging

Presenters: 

• Richard Fielding - Chief Client Officer, Kantar Media North America
• Julie Liesse - Reporter, Advertising Age

Financial Services: Navigating Rough Seas

Thursday, October 25, 2012 • 12:00 - 1:00PM ET

Register today!

SRDS is a terrific tool for discovering new media options, but sometimes we know exactly what we're looking for. If you're looking for a specific media listing in SRDS, use the "Open Search by title" feature.

Enter the name of the media property, click the "Options" drop-down, select "Title Only," and click "Go."

For extra specificity, select a media type since some media properties have profiles across multiple media. For example, Glamour Magazine has a consumer magazine, website and direct marketing lists in SRDS.

In August, our awesome SRDS media data experts updated over 2,146 local, b-to-b and consumer media property listings in the SRDS media search engine.

We know how important it is for you to have current data for media comparison, advertising rates, and media contact information. If you have any questions about the data you find in SRDS online, just let us know!

A new (but familiar) Market Lookup feature is now available within SRDS. We've brought back (and enhanced) the ability to identify a market area based on a ZIP code, city, county or state.

If you plan local media, you know it can sometimes be difficult to know the area in which you're planning. With over 43,000 ZIP codes, 3,000 counties, 200 DMAs and 300 MSAs, how in the world (okay, country) do you keep up?

The Market Lookup tool is available to local media subscribers whenever they search locally in SRDS, and appears in any search that includes local results, including newspaper, radio, TV and cable, out-of-home and local digital media.

Using Market Lookup only takes three easy steps:

1. Click the "Find DMA" link at the top of the Markets area. In the Radio database, this link says “Find Market."
    
2. Enter search criteria to identify the market. Each of the searches below will return the DMA in which your data resides. For radio, the MSA and/or non-metro market will be identified.

• ZIP Code: Enter 5 digits
• City and State: Both are required
• County and State: Both are required
• State: a state search will identify all DMAs or MSAs and non-metro markets with coverage in that state.

3. Review your results. See what markets match your search criteria, plus see all the SRDS listings in these markets. Close or click off the search box to see these listings displayed on your main results page. When you do a keyword search, your market lookup will also display the listings in that market that match your keyword.

So go ahead, identify the newspaper market for Clayton, Georgia, find the MSA where ZIP Code 71417 resides, and view all the "Sports" listings in the state of Texas to your heart's desire!

So Ben & Jerry's takes its scoop trucks on the road most summers, giving away tastesof its newest flavors. This year B&J has added a twist.

First, they're promoting frozen Greek yogurt, which supposedly "eats like ice cream." And they're asking followers to tweet and tell them where to park the truck.

Parking in one spot and tweeting to get customers to come to you is so last year.

Here's the map to see where they're going:

My question for Ben & Jerry's is not about how the frozen Greek yogurt tastes (I already know!). But didn't they notice they missed 85% of the country? It's hot here in the middle of the country, too.

Maybe if we tweet enough, we'll get them to make a stop in Chicago, or your town.

On a related note, here's a link to a study from the Hartman Group titled: CLICKS & CRAVINGS: The Impact of Social Technology on Food Culture. It breaks out social media users interested in food into 3 types.

• "Spectators" chatter about food, looking for new recipes and deals.
• "Dreamers" curate food-related content on their social networks.
• "Doers" create their own food-related content because they're more engaged in the food and the social.

Of course each group is best targeted online in different ways. It's all about targeting, isn't it?

Are you willing to let your audience tell you what to do with your promotions? And are you ever frustrated by the assumption that only the coasts matter?

Total advertising expenditures in the first quarter of 2012 increased 2.6 percent from a year ago and finished the period at $32.9 billion, according to data released today by Kantar Media.

The gain represents a modest rebound compared to flat spending in the second half of 2011.

According to Jon Swallen, Chief Research Officer:

“After a sluggish start in January, the pace of measured ad spending quickly accelerated and grew at an average rate of more than four percent during February and March, the best performance in more than a year.”

Swallen also addressed early figures from second quarter, stating that they "indicate continued modest growth with improvement trickling down to media that have been lagging the overall advertising market.”

(via)

This past weekend we released a suite of enhancements to the way your Open Search results are organized and displayed.

Based directly on feedback from users like you, (thanks, and keep the input coming!), the new Open Search workflow streamlines the experience of searching across multiple media types, while still giving you the ability to apply powerful, media-specific filters to optimize your results.

Filter options are now available for all media types:

• Business Publications: classification, domestic or international titles, listings with classified information and audited titles.
• Consumer Magazines: classification and audited titles.
• Digital Media: classification, DMA, sites with website metrics and audience demographics.
• Direct Marketing: classification, domestic, international or Canadian lists and list type and selects, including e-mail list/e-mail selects, enhanced lists, high ticket mail order buyers and new listings.
• Newspapers: national and DMA markets, listings with classified information and newspaper type, including dailies, communities, alternatives and shoppers.
• Out-of-Home: national and DMA markets and media types.
• Radio: metro and non-metro markets, format and primary demographic.
• TV & Cable: media types, including TV stations, cable systems and TV/Cable networks, national and DMA markets and commercial TV stations, non-commercial TV stations and interconnects.

Use the Media Companies tab to identify networks, representatives, groups, owners, brokers and managers, organized by media type.

Search as easy as 1-2-3

The Open Search changes are easy to master and will kick your SRDS searching game up a notch:

1. Enter keywords, phrases, or titles
2. Search across all media types (by default) or make more advanced selections from the “Options” drop down menu. Search specific media types or click the “Title Only” box if you know exactly what you’re looking for.
3. View and/or narrow your results. Available media are categorized by media type on the left side of the screen (The numbers in parentheses show the number of matching results). Click a media type to display media-specific filters and narrow your results.
   
   Just click “Back to Original Results” to return to the cross-media big picture

For the super searcher

Did you know you can kick it up yet another notch? Check out our Search Tips to see how you can perform advanced searches such as searching for a phrase, excluding certain words from your search and using the AND and OR operators to find exactly what you’re looking for.

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.

I know some of you have local clients that you plan for. I have heard your frustrations: wanting to be able to see media options in your selected market; being able to see ALL media in a selected market; being able to look at multiple markets.

We hear you! Did you know that searching "Local Media by DMA" is available in next.srds.com?

Everyone has access to it from the Search tab. When I demo it, I use the example:

“You have a client who has been buying the same markets forever and a day, and they call you and ask for you to throw something together for a couple new markets they're exploring.”

I use this example because I know it happens. I also know that, in the old SRDS, it wasn’t as easy as “just throwing something together.” Now it is that easy. 

1. Select your market or markets (from all 210 DMAs).
2. When your results load, you have the landscape of media options available, in the markets you selected, for the media databases you license.
3. Now it’s as simple as filtering down to the media you plan for this client. 

We've put together a quick video to show you just how powerful this search can be.

Have you used the "Local Media by DMA" search? Tell us about your experience.

Don’t even think about rekeying that data. Now you can view multimedia options and take them with you, with SRDS’ new reports-building functionality. The new SRDS Reports feature lets you select titles, view them side-by-side, organize, sort, print and output key planning data.

Select

Whether you’re doing a quick title search or broader research, you can add titles to your consideration set from the detailed listing or right from the results page, saving precious time. An at-a-glance view of all your tagged titles is always available (think shopping cart). 

Sort

Once you’re tagged up, go to your Reports area to evaluate all the media selections you’ve made. Compare your titles in a Grid view—you won’t be disappointed!

Print

Just want a handy print out of your consideration set? No problem.

Download Contact Information

Download a Contact Report for any and all titles you’ve selected across the SRDS database. Just one keystroke generates a file you can sort, filter, append and customize to your liking in spreadsheet programs such as Excel.

Contact information includes (where available):

• Media title and type
• Owner name
• Classification or market area
• Address, phone, fax and email
• Media kit URL and corporate URL

Download Detailed Data

More data, you say? In addition to contact information, Detailed Reports provide you with, well, more details. Detailed Reports are available when viewing a single media type, allowing you to take a deep dive into the planning data for that specific media type.

Fields included in a Detailed Report depend on the media type selected:

• Print: rates, circulation, frequency, rate base and bleed information
• Broadcast: network affiliations and key personnel and traffic information
• Digital: Unique Visitors from Compete.com
• Direct Marketing: list universes and base rates

Reports Tip: Don't forget  the icing on the cake. You can always copy and paste media images and logos in your reports to provide extra insight and interest.

We'll show you how easy it all is in less than 5 minutes with this video, or you can download a sample Contact Report or Detailed Report.

Better yet, sign in to SRDS now and start tagging media for yourself!

So when did ice become the hottest media type? Were we disappointed by a warm winter? 

I loved the bright green Ice Ride bikes that appeared in the Twin Cities the week before Nice Ride bikes came out of winter storage. The ice melted all week, building anticipation for the first ride of spring. A concept, communicated, instantly. That's a success.

This morning all the news outlets are picking up the introduction of ice cubes shaped like Richard Brandson's head in 'upper class' drinks Virgin Atlantic airline. You have to see it to believe it.

Virgin Atlantic always has a weird ideas on how to build their quirky brand image, like its Upper Class Red lipstick and line of red shoes. And it's liberating to watch Branson live successfully as a non-traditional business exec. His book title Screw Business as Usual says it all.

Have you ever pitched a buy that included ice?

If you fly on Virgin Atlantic, will you go thirsty to keep your severed-head phobia safely tamped down? I will.

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!