Research Guides: Advertising: Overview

Megan's Recommendations for Getting Started

WARC This link opens in a new window
This is a great place to start your research. Info on advertising and marketing trends. Includes a case study library.
Mintel Reports This link opens in a new window
Market research reports for select categories, best for national trends. This also has helpful demographic profiles.

Restricted to only current SMU students, faculty & staff.
View the Market Research tutorial for more insights.
Statista This link opens in a new window
Statistics and studies gathered by market researchers, trade organizations, scientific publications, and government sources.

View the Finding Data tutorial for more insights.
Simmons Insights This link opens in a new window
Consumer demographics, psychographics, brand affiliations, and media consumption trends with the ability to target specific market segments down to the regional level.

View the Simmons Insights Training Research Guide for more insights. Simultaneous users permitted: 5
AdAge DataCenter This link opens in a new window
An essential advertising industry magazine. Includes the Datacenter with advertiser and agency profiles and ad industry data.

This database works best off-campus with VPN. To access Datacenter, you must click on it in the top ribbon.

Adweek
An essential industry magazine. Browse by clicking on the dates on the right side or click "search this publication" in the upper left side to search by keyword.
All advertising databases

Advertisements
Find contemporary or historical advertising
Consumers
Understanding consumers with market research, demographics, psychographics, media, and consumer behavior research.
General Company Research
Find background information, annual reports, analyst reports, financial statements, and information for private and non-profit companies.
Industries & Markets
Find industry and consumer reports, industry analysis, and industry associations.