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These days, it seems like there’s a very line between the wisdom of “fish where the fish are” OR failing to do that and ending up “swimming with the fishes.”  Those are the increasingly hard choices facing broadcasters as the ad world redefines itself and its priorities. A recent eMarketer article points to the growing interest […]

Early last month, a post on jacoBLOG called “Pyramid Scheme” introduced the idea of an update or makeover of the original Coleman Image Pyramid. It was based on the premise that radio broadcasters are now competing in an infinitely larger media landscape. The Jacobs New Pyramid suggested a different pecking order, with unique personalities/shows at […]

Yup, today’s the day. This blog turns ten years old– an entire decade of posts, observations, opinions, and hopefully, not too much blather about the radio business and how it fits into the expanding world of media, entertainment, and information. Many of you know Tim Davis who was our director of digital during the early […]

With apologies to The Boomtown Rats, let’s get into the new week with some news – almost all of it good. Late last week, the RAB released its 2014 grand sales totals for the year, and (drum roll)…. Yes, 2014 was another flattish year for overall revenue (actually down 1% year to year, with both spot […]

With apologies to The Boomtown Rats, let’s get into the new week with some news – almost all of it good. Late last week, the RAB released its 2014 grand sales totals for the year, and (drum roll)…. Yes, 2014 was another flattish year for overall revenue (actually down 1% year to year, with both spot […]

Over the course of the last several months, we have addressed the changing consumer mindset when it comes to instant-gratification. You know the phenomenon as “skipping.” Bill Jacobs wrote about it last in a post about song skipping. I followed that up with a “Welcome to the Skiposphere” post that provided more thoughts about how […]

There’s not a day that goes by where radio isn’t being attacked or under fire by the likes of Pandora, satellite radio, on-demand elements like podcasts, and even the renaissance of television. It’s a challenge for a medium – as well as the many great AM and FM radio stations that have been a part […]

We all know the phrase, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” It’s credited to one of the greatest showmen and publicity hogs of all time, P.T. Barnum. There are exceptions, of course. One of these was noted by Irish writer Brendan Behan who opined, “…except your own obituary.” And then there’s Brian Williams who […]

We continue to hear from people in the media and advertising communities bloviate about how “no one listens to the radio anymore.” And some of this talk is reinforced in casual conversations at middle school football games, on airplanes, and pretty much everywhere you go.  Like anything else, the more people hear it, the more they believe […]

We all see more research in a week than we used to see in a year. Everyone’s producing data, polls, charts, and graphs that are meant to explain what’s really going on in our media and technology lives. And there’s more to come. In the coming weeks, Techsurvey11 will be rolling out with some amazing […]

Keeping up with the rapid pace of change is challenging to everyone working in radio – not to mention everyone making a living in media, whether it’s about producing information and entertainment on the one hand, or revenue generation on the other.  Keeping up with technology – whether it is content, distribution, or monetization – can seem like […]

Donald Trump has “popularized” one of the most feared two-word combinations in the English language. And even though it seems to happen to just about everybody at one point or another – sometimes multiple times – in a career, it’s never an easy pill to swallow. From rejection to confusion to anger to disbelief, the […]

What makes something valuable? Is it strictly based on cost, or the quality, or the time it took to make it? And what makes one branded item more valuable than another? Is a Porsche a better car than a Corvette? Is a Harley a better motorcycle than a Honda? And would you pay more for a night […]

Many years ago, Coleman Research (now Coleman Insights) came up with a breakthrough idea after years of conducting audience surveys for stations throughout North America and the world.  Realizing that all images aren’t created equal, the Coleman team developed a unique tool that has provided incredible perspective for programmers, marketers, and managers. The Image Pyramid […]

It’s pretty amazing watching the results of Techsurvey11 rolling in.  Like the returns on election night, you can literally track the results as they come in and start the obligatory comparisons to the results from previous years. We’re not quite done yet, but with more than 36,000 in-tab interviews collected, you have a pretty good idea […]