When it comes to media brands, these are disruptive times. Companies have to ask themselves difficult, far-ranging, even existential questions.
Are you a radio station?
Are you a media brand?
Are you a local brand?
Can you be all these things?
Or are you something else?
It’s not just the radio industry debating these issues. Technology and our social culture are undergoing immense change, compelling brands from fitness studios to restaurants to dental practices to grapple with issues they’ve never faced before.
How would you use an app to propel your business?
How can a website complement your brand strengths, generate leads, and build your customer base?
How can you provide a more personal, intuitive experience?
And what role can social media play in building connections with your audience or customers?
Car companies are facing many of the same challenges. For decades, there’s been nothing more scalable than the automotive industry. Everyone owns a car. Many own two or even three.
But it may not continue that way forever. And in fact, young people are leading the charge away from private ownership to a world of shared mobility that includes services like Uber and Lyft, as well as ride sharing and ultimately, cars that drive themselves.
After visiting CES last month and spending a lot of time in the North Hall with many different automotive brands, it is becoming clear that car companies are increasingly looking outward – away from the dashboard and toward the Internet of Things – a connected world that links different devices, gadgets, stores, homes, other cars, and even people to their cars.
As this transition goes on, it’s becoming more evident that calling these brands “automotive companies” is grossly limiting to what they’re evolving into.
And to that end, Ford will use a prime :90 slot in the Super Bowl this Sunday to deliver a new message – more like a statement of purpose – about its company, the road it’s on, and what it now stands for.
“Go Further” has been Ford’s positioning statement. And now they’re taking their own advice and doing just that.
In an interview on the Ford website, CEO Mark Fields explained it this way:
“You’ve heard us talk about how we’re expanding business to be both an automotive and mobility company. But why are we doing this? It’s because the world is changing very quickly, and spinning faster than we’ve ever seen before.”
He notes that consumer perceptions on vehicle ownership and transportation are undergoing great change. That has caused the Ford team to “rethink our entire business model.”
Watch the commercial and reach your own conclusion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bUJ0gMUA1A
Is Ford a car company?
Is Ford a mobility company?
Is Ford a transportation company?
Is it all of those things?
What problems is Ford solving for millions of people in the U.S. and around the globe today and in the next five years?
Ford is placing bets on an uncertain future, making sure it is properly positioned to provide mobility solutions down the road – whether they are cars, bicycles, or other modes of transportation.
Its recent purchase of Bay Area startup Chariot, a crowd-sourced shuttle service, is yet another indicator they wish to play in the shared mobility game.
Ford will tell you they don’t have all the answers, and they may not have them all right. But they are boldly looking at their business model and asking fundamental questions.
Times like these demand new thinking, new innovation, and risk-taking. For forward-thinking brands, it means questioning their entire business model.
It is essential the radio industry does the same thing.
The car industry – and where it’s headed – will be a key topic in a webinar we’re presenting in partnership with the RAB next week: “The 10 Things We Learned At CES That Will Impact Radio In 2017 – And Beyond.” There is a fee to attend.
To attend the webinar on 2/7 at 11am ET, click here.
To attend the webinar on 2/9 at 4pm ET, click here.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Fred, Thanks for sharing this perspective – I’m a huge fan of Ford Futurist Sheryl Connelly’s work.
You mentioned connection. Another metaphor (as in emotional payoff) to consider is control. Two examples from front line experience:
1) The meme that millennials aren’t buying cars: What they’re not buying is the process of buying cars. “Dealer” ships are streamlining the transaction from 4 hours to 2 or less. The showroom becomes a delivery room to celebrate delivery – a few will deliver the car to your home. 2016 was a record sales year. Yet most in the industry know the #’s are not sustainable. Note: Elon Musk just dropped the word “motors” from the company name.
2) For radio – When Napster went live, control began a shift from PD’s and record companies to the listener – who became PD and AR director of their personal musical world. When the iPod hit 10 million in sales I was at a radio conference. The statement from many C-suite executives? ” Meh, We have a billion tuners and survived TV, the cassette, etc.” A palpable arrogance.
You make a bold point: Can radio question their entire business model? Are margins – even on less revenue and with shrinking staffs – too good to inspire new thinking? Might a generational shift in leadership a first step?
Jim, thanks for introducing the control piece into the conversation. It’s a big part of Ford’s (and the other OEMs’) thinking as consumers (especially younger ones) want options, and to be free from the financial obligations of car ownership. Ford’s strategy (as the video shows) is to offer an array of transportation choices, in much the same way radio must provide content on a variety of platforms and formats.
Radio is creeping toward that re-evaluation – some companies moving faster and more boldly than others. Today’s Entercom announcement is an important one, providing scale to a company that isn’t crippled with debt. 2017 is certainly off to an interesting start.
Thanks for the comment and the insights.
Fred, thanks appreciate the forum. Consider too that Google evolved as Alphabet to develop revenue beyond search. Facebook purchased Oculus to insure relevance beyond social media (Remember Myspace!). Radio owners must consider subordinating their terrestrial broadcast to developing platforms. Investing in the future and sustaining relevance goes beyond the FM dial.
Spot on, Jim. New brands, new companies, new innovations are all part and parcel of leveraging assets and innovating above transmitters, towers, formats, and car dealership remotes.
So, what Ford wants to say is “LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!”. I guess that’s the reason behind a lot of media marketing. What’s put them in the position to spend all this money to market the company? COMPETITION. It’s a world where you can see two, three, four car commercials back to back on TV these days. That’s due to competition. Thankfully the car industry hasn’t consolidated like so many others, and thankfully Ford has realized that they have to reinvest some of their capital to market the product, research better ways to promote (and sell) their product. While they’re to be praised for what they’re doing-the question remains will radio ever get the point of all of this ? We can see examples in many industries of how to create, research and market a product. Radio-as intangible as it is-is still a pretty awesome product. Could radio use a :90 Superbowl commercial to tell its story? Wouldn’t hurt.
The more time our companies have spent in the automotive space, the more I’ve become an admirer of the way most OEMs do business. They talk about their strengths, admit their weaknesses, and are constantly looking at new areas of growth. They certainly don’t always work, but they’re committed to understanding the changes and finding ways to retain their scale. For Ford (and many others), it is thinking of themselves as a transportation company. That thinking should serve them well, even if there’s an eventual seismic downturn in the number of cars and trucks sold.
And about that radio :90 in the game Sunday, if produced well, it could be an amazing shot in the arm for an industry that needs it. Thanks, Dave.