Earth Month 2024

To celebrate Earth Month, Adwanted SRDS employees from the New York City office participated in a day of service at Morningside Park earlier this week. Hosted by the Partnerships for Parks , the event drew over 100 corporate volunteers from several NY based companies.

With “a unique public-private partnership between City Parks Foundation and NYC Parks,” Partnerships for Parks “supports and champions neighborhood volunteers by providing the tools needed to advocate and care for neighborhood parks and green spaces.”

Spanning 13 city blocks in upper Manhattan within both the Harlem and Morningside Heights neighborhoods, Morningside Park offers multiple attractions for visitors including playgrounds, walking paths, an abundance of trees and flowers, and even a cascading waterfall.

Getting Down and Dirty

Volunteers at Morningside Park were split into one of three groups; one to remove invasive weeds, one to install new plants, and one to paint the park’s perimeter fence. The Adwanted SRDS team was assigned to paint the fence, a task that the parks department completes every 2 to 4 years. We started by removing the rust and old chipping paint to ensure a smooth surface before using rollers and brushes to apply a fresh coat of black paint. As we put up wet paint signs, neighborhood residents walking by thanked us for helping to keep their local park in good condition. Some even inquired about how they could sign up to volunteer themselves.

According to Partnerships for Parks, the “team of 101 volunteers accomplished an incredible amount of work including painting 340 feet of park fencing, installing 90 new plants, and removing 76 bags of invasive plants, weeds, and litter. This tremendous effort will go a long way in maintaining Morningside Park as a thriving and welcoming green space for all visitors.” The tools we used have been donated to the park staff and will help them continue their work in the future. Additionally, SRDS has made a donation to the City Parks Foundation to help support their work beautifying NYC parks.

SRDS is excited to continue planning more volunteer events for its employees both in the NYC and Chicago areas in the coming months.

Learn more about getting involved with Partnerships for Parks.

Read about our 2023 Volunteer Day.

SRDS is here to help you navigate the cookieless future.

Get ready for the upcoming cookieless era of 2025 with our detailed guide designed specifically for media buyers. With Chrome planning to remove third-party cookies by 2024, media buyers are feeling the heat to rethink how they target and measure their advertising efforts. But amidst the uncertainty, there are plenty of opportunities waiting to be discovered. In this post, we’ll walk you through the key considerations and strategies to embrace as you navigate the cookieless landscape of 2025.

Going Beyond Traditional Cookies

While it may seem daunting to navigate the limitations posed by interoperable IDs like Unified ID 2.0, there’s hope in exploring alternative targeting methods that go beyond traditional cookie-based approaches.

Mastering Contextual Targeting:

• Dive into contextual targeting by collaborating with publishers who have a deep understanding of your target audience’s interests, ensuring that your ads align with relevant content.
• Explore platforms with advanced contextual targeting capabilities to expand your reach and improve the effectiveness of your campaigns.
• While not as precise as cookies, don’t underestimate the power of keyword targeting, which allows you to connect with users based on their search intent.

Leveraging Your First-Party Data:

• Invest in robust Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Data Management Platform (DMP) solutions to consolidate and analyze your customer data, gaining valuable insights into audience behavior.
• Use first-party data to create lookalike audiences, helping you identify users who share characteristics with your existing customer base.
• Segment your customers to tailor your ad messages for different audience segments, enhancing relevance and resonance.

Building Collaborative Partnerships:

• Forge partnerships with data providers and measurement companies that offer privacy-compliant audience segments, accessing valuable audience insights while maintaining user privacy.
• Explore clean room partnerships, which provide secure data environments for collaborative audience activation while respecting user privacy.
• Prioritize partnerships built on transparency and trust, fostering an environment grounded in ethical data practices and mutual respect.

Measuring Success: Embracing the Privacy Sandbox

• Engage proactively with your Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs), Ad Servers, and Measurement partners to understand their plans for integrating with Chrome’s measurement APIs.
• Request detailed information on how Privacy Sandbox measurement APIs will impact your current reporting capabilities and data granularity.
• Explore alternative measurement strategies like server-side tagging and contextual measurement to adapt to the evolving measurement landscape effectively.

While adaptation may come with its challenges, it also presents opportunities for innovation and stronger audience relationships. By focusing on building connections with your customers, exploring new creative formats, and remaining adaptable to change, media buyers can thrive in the cookieless future. Ready to embark on this transformative journey? Dive deeper into our comprehensive guide by accessing the full blog post here.

Learn more about Media Buying Solutions from SRDS. 

Empowering your clients goes beyond optimizing internal operations; it’s about forging stronger bonds and collaboration. With AdwOne, transparency is paramount. Our centralized repository eradicates information silos, ensuring clients have a comprehensive view of campaigns. Visual storytelling converts complex strategies into digestible visuals, while real-time collaboration streamlines feedback loops.

Efficiency is key. AdwOne simplifies approvals, eliminating cumbersome email chains. Customizable reporting empowers clients to track progress and make data-driven decisions alongside your team. Celebrate wins together with shared dashboards, fostering a unified approach to success.

Empowered clients lead to stronger partnerships. By providing transparency and tools for active participation, AdwOne ensures better outcomes. But it doesn’t stop there. AdwOne offers a strategic edge through standardized excellence and data-driven decision-making.

Standardized templates maintain quality across projects, while customizable rules allow for individualization. Real-time data tracking and custom reporting enable agile decision-making, keeping your agency ahead of the curve.

For further insights, read the full blog post here.

Let’s face it: for the most part, people don’t like being sold to.

We cringe at the interruption of our favorite TV show by a barrage of commercials, and we roll our eyes at the pop-up ads that interrupt our online browsing. There’s a sense of annoyance and intrusion when we feel like our attention is being hijacked for someone else’s profit. We’ve become adept at tuning out these messages, developing what some might call “ad blindness” as we navigate through our daily lives.

But…

…amidst this sea of disdain for advertising, there are moments when ads manage to break through our defenses and capture our attention in a positive way. Think about the Super Bowl commercials that spark conversation and become cultural touchstones. Or consider the clever marketing campaigns that elicit genuine laughter or tug at our heartstrings. These ads don’t just sell products; they entertain, inspire, and sometimes even move us emotionally.

The Difference

So, what sets these effective ads apart from the ones we love to hate?

Creativity

One key factor is creativity. When advertisers think outside the box and deliver messages in unexpected or compelling ways, they’re more likely to grab our attention and leave a lasting impression. Whether it’s through humor, storytelling, or striking visuals, creativity has the power to turn an ad from an irritating interruption into a welcome distraction.

Relevance

Another crucial element is relevance. In an age of information overload, consumers are increasingly selective about the content they consume. Ads that resonate with our interests, values, or current needs are more likely to capture our attention and prompt us to take action. Personalized ads that leverage data to deliver tailored messages can feel less like intrusive sales pitches and more like helpful recommendations from a trusted friend.

Authenticity

But perhaps the most important ingredient in successful advertising is authenticity. In a world where skepticism reigns supreme, consumers crave honesty and transparency from brands. Ads that feel genuine and authentic are more likely to resonate with audiences and build trust over time. Whether it’s by highlighting real customer stories, showcasing behind-the-scenes glimpses of the brand’s values and mission, or admitting to past mistakes and showing a commitment to improvement, authenticity can set a brand apart in a crowded marketplace.

Of course, even the most creative, relevant, and authentic ads won’t win over everyone. There will always be individuals who resent any attempt to sell them something, no matter how clever or well-intentioned. And there will always be instances of advertising that cross the line into manipulation or exploitation, leaving a sour taste in consumers’ mouths.

Advertising Potential

But for those advertisers willing to put in the effort to truly understand their audience and craft messages that resonate on a deeper level, the rewards can be significant. In a world where attention is a scarce commodity, ads that manage to break through the noise and capture hearts and minds have the power to drive brand loyalty, generate buzz, and even inspire change.

So, while it’s true that people generally don’t like being sold to, it’s also true that well-executed advertising has the potential to captivate, entertain, and even enrich our lives. As consumers, perhaps the key is to remain discerning and demand more from the brands vying for our attention. And as advertisers, the challenge lies in rising to meet those demands with creativity, relevance, and above all, authenticity. After all, when done right, advertising has the power to connect us, inspire us, and even bring a little joy into our lives.

Learn more about SRDS.

Adwanted USA, the SRDS Parent Company.

The Evolution for the Next 100 Years

In the coming decades, we can anticipate a continued convergence of digital and traditional media, fueled by innovations in artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and immersive experiences. Personalization will become increasingly sophisticated, allowing advertisers to tailor messages accurately, while data privacy and ethics will remain paramount concerns.

SRDS, with its rich heritage and forward-thinking approach, is uniquely positioned to navigate the complexities of the future media landscape. By embracing innovation, fostering collaboration, and staying true to its core values, SRDS will continue to be the trusted partner for agencies, brands, and publishers, driving success in an ever-changing world.

As SRDS embarks on its next century, the journey ahead is filled with promise and potential. With a steadfast commitment to excellence, a spirit of innovation, and a dedication to serving the needs of its clients, SRDS will continue to shape the future of media planning and buying for generations to come. Here’s to the next 100 years of innovation, collaboration, and success.

Learn more about SRDS. 

Adwanted USA, the SRDS Parent Company. 

Why SRDS?

We’ve been in the industry for over a century! We work with media planners big and small and help them make informed decisions every day.

Our certification gives students hands-on experience using real-life media planning scenarios and exposure to different media channels. This teaches how to reach target audiences using cross-channel marketing, as well as the importance of utilizing multiple research platforms to gain valuable market insights. Students will learn to assess and evaluate media properties to determine if they are the right fit for a brand, how to make purchasing decisions as a media planner, and how to navigate SRDS as a site.

This tool is a seamless addition to university lesson plans. Professors do not need to fret over extra work or planning; everything is designed with you and your students in mind!

Agencies: save precious time by adding these completed courses to your training process for new hires. Your current employees have the added benefit of learning about other media types.

Interested? Reach out to us at [email protected] or by phone at (800) 851-17737 for more information, or learn more here.

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