Industry Guide: Advertising

Associations:
*Associations that don’t provide easy access to content have been excluded (many require industry employment and membership). You can view a larger list of Associations and vendors by visiting the library research guides linked down below.

• Interactive Advertising Bureau – their Knowledge Center provides access to free reports by topic (e.g. AI in Marketing Report), and to research from IAB partners (e.g. The Second Annual Podcast Revenue Study by IAB and PwC).
• Radio Advertising Bureau – The site provides high-level industry facts along with reports on radio ad effectiveness. The Radio Facts page allows you to view customized audience stats (e.g. Radio listening by format and age group).
• Magazine.org – publishes a yearly Factbook that provides ROI stats on magazine advertising along with and other topical reports.

Global reports:

• PWC’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: Five-year projection of consumer and advertiser spending data across 14 segments and 53 territories
  Cost: varies from $600 for a report segment to $13K for a corporate license
• Zenith’s Advertising Expenditure Forecasts are updated quarterly and cover 82 markets with data split by medium.
  Cost: varies between $500 to $2K

Trade press & newsletters:

• WARC – free daily newsletter (*highly recommend*)
• eMarketer – free daily newsletter provides data/insight into digital marketing and media trends.
• SmartBrief – provides quick email subscriptions to industry newsletters from the ANA, PR Council, CTAM, etc.
• AdAge – industry news available in print and/or online with a subscription.
• AdWeek – industry news available in print and/or online with a subscription (registration provides free access to 5 articles each month).
• Journal of Advertising Research – covers various research topics relating to consumers and advertising methods. Articles are available for individual purchase ($20).

Research vendors:

• WARC – (*One of my all-time favorite resources*) WARC is a subscription resource that provides access to advertising effectiveness case studies, industry trend reports, best practice guides, adspend forecasts, company profiles, academic journal access, and industry event reports.
  Cost: Varies depending on company size, but you definitely get a lot of value for the money. Best guess, subscription starts at $7K and varies depending on company size/revenue.
• AdAge Datacenter – subscription provides access to a list of U.S. and Global marketers and their spending, agency reports and family trees, annual Fact Packs, and industry employment stats.
  Cost: Individual subscription starts at approx $600.
• eMarketer – subscription provides articles, reports, and infographics on topics including ad spending, marketing, retail & eCommerce, social media, and mobile usage.
  Cost: subscription access varies depending on company size, and basic level access is available with registration.
• Kantar Media – this vendor has a variety of subscription tools and databases for detailed advertising expenditure estimates (down to the product and media platform level), audience measurement, and media planning tools.
  Cost: You may also be able to purchase custom data cuts without a subscription (the last estimate I received started at $1,500 and increased based on data cut cell size). Subscriptions are likely upwards from $10K depending on company size.
  Note: *In my experience, Kantar has excellent service, is more affordable and is easier to work with than Nielsen. Also, be sure to ask about technical requirements when discussing subscription products from vendors like Kantar and Nielsen, which aren’t always cloud-based
• Nielsen – global powerhouse when it comes to consumer, retail, and advertising-related data and research.
  Cost: Super expensive
  Note: *Be sure to ask about technical requirements when selecting a subscription resource.
• Schonfeld & Associates – compiles and publishes data for advertising ratios (ad-to-sales, ad-to-gross margin ratios) & budgets, as well as growth trends.
  Cost: Starts at $400
• Borrell Associates – specializes in local advertising and SMBs. Free charts are available weekly, and you can receive these via email.
  Cost: Subscription products likely start at $8K

Creative/Ads databases:

• AdForum – Creative library with more than 200,000 campaigns searchable by brand, agency, keyword, etc. Access is free.
• Global Ad Source – subscription tools that allow you to track real-time competitor advertising across media platforms.
• The Advertising Archives – View over 50,000 advertisements from the U.S. and Britain with free registration.
• Prelinger Archives – thousands of films including old advertisements and home videos.

Other helpful guides and tools:

• Penn Libraries Guides: Advertising and Marketing Industries
• USC Libraries Research Guides: Advertising
• AMA’s Marketing Services Directory – provides a lengthy list of global research/service providers by category (B2B Market Research, Media Planning, Demographic Analytics, Mobile Marketing, Customer Experience, Quant & Qual Research, etc.)

These are my favorites, what are yours?!?!
Please comment with your favorite advertising related resources along with any information you can provide on methodology, tips & tricks and/or cost. Thank you!