The 104-year-old media planning service Standard Rate and Data Service or SRDS has adapted with new technology through the years. After all, its database includes more than 8,000 radio stations. Now it is embracing the next audio medium by adding a podcast database to the tool used by media planners and buyers.
Heather Petaccio, CEO of Adwanted USA – which is the parent of SRDS – says the decision to add podcasts came at the request of the advertising community, including an advisory board that the company relies on with about a dozen of its top ad agency clients, and a survey of its users.
“What came out of that was podcasts are really important, especially getting the information all in one spot to create that efficiency so they can find it quickly and understand who to contact and which network that they're working with,” Petaccio says. She sees the addition of podcasts as rounding out what SRDS already offers. In addition to its gigantic database of AM/FM radio stations, it also has listings for digital radio providers. Critically, it could also be one more tool that makes it easier for advertisers to invest in podcasting.
“I would love to see it help grow podcast advertising,” Petaccio says. “What I tell you is that it will help the agencies make the decisions that they need to do to start using podcasts.”
Starting in May, SRDS began what will be a two-year rollout of the podcast database. It already includes information for 1,000 shows and 70 podcast networks which ad planners and buyers can use as they plan their campaigns. It includes a show’s contact information as well as links back to the actual podcast so they can see the information about the podcast that those networks support. The next phase will bring its total up to 7,500 to 10,000 podcasts and by the time the effort is completed next year, Petaccio expects between 50,000 and 100,000 podcasts will be listed in the SRDS database. “What we really want to do is drill down to the ones that are heavily listened to, to really support the advertising that the agencies are looking to get into,” she says.
For shows and networks that want to be listed in SRDS, or make sure their contact information is correct, Petaccio says they can email the company (next@srds.com). They have also reached out to media companies asking for all their latest updates. She says they allow podcasters to list what types of advertising they accept, for instance.
Looking ahead, Petaccio says SRDS is developing an AI product to help with spot allocation. It is expected to launch by the end of October.