jacoBLOG

Since our Techsurveys expanded last year, our ability to explore formats has become one of the most popular dimensions of these studies, designed to help radio see around corners.  Our expressed goal since we started this research initiative nine years ago was to help the industry understand what listeners do when they’re not tuned into […]

Read More

A recent article on CNBC’s website highlighted the coffee wars between Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and McDonald’s and gave us a glimpse into some “corner office wisdom” each company’s corporate leadership. But what struck me in the story was Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz’s take on the competitive landscape, in addition to how he considers Starbucks a […]

Read More

Recently, Lori Lewis tweeted out a Huffington Post piece from Craig Kanalley that will get you thinking: “10 Smart Quotes from ‘Innovation Uncensored’ Conference” Sponsored by Fast Company, the conference took place in New York City and it included an impressive array of luminaries and contemporary businesspeople. Click on the link above to peruse all these words of […]

Read More

As big announcements in the tech world go, this will not go down in history as one of them. But the news that Detroit’s Ford Field – the home of the Detroit Lions – now has a new Verizon Wi-Fi system – should be of interest to football fans, technologists, and perhaps even sociologists. No, the […]

Read More

You have to hand it to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. While his company went through tough times, Netflix continued to do some amazing things.  The release model for House of Cards is a case in point. While we wait patiently for the next episode of Newsroom, Game of Thrones, or Homeland, Netflix released the entire debut […]

Read More

Last month, the Rock family lost an important person in the history of the genre – and chances are, you never heard of him.  But you are sure familiar with his work. Strom Thorgerson, the guy who designed album covers like Dark Side of the Moon and other iconic LPs from Pink Floyd, 10cc, Zeppelin (Houses […]

Read More

As radio looks back on the past four years of living in a world rapidly filling up with smartphones and apps, there are more questions than answers. Are listeners using our app? Can we monetize it? How important is the stream to our station’s success and how will it be measured? What other features can listeners […]

Read More

This is nothing new.  It’s been going since the days of Eddie Fritts at the NAB Convention and at The Radio Show – the movers and shakers in radio get more accomplished in private meetings or in the lobby bar/restaurant at the “unofficial” hotel of corporate honchos.  In Las Vegas recently, it was the Encore.  In years […]

Read More

Now that the Boston Marathon bombing story is ending up in the legal system, it is instructive to look back at the winners and losers in the media and technology race during last week’s big news story. There doesn’t seem to be any question in too many people’s minds that Twitter came out of this […]

Read More

How often have you heard this comment in a focus group, a Listener Advisory Board panel, or simply from your neighbor, your spouse, or one of your kids: “Why do all the radio stations in town play their commercials at the same time?” Now back in the “Diary Days,” the reality is that this wasn’t […]

Read More

That’s not a typo.  We’re talking 8,000 pounds here. That’s because if I told you that virtually your entire audience can be found every day at a key, easy to access, free location, would that be of interest to you? And if I told you that this large group of your P1s, P2s, and P3s […]

Read More

Recently, The New York Times profiled Michael Dubin, the newest hot entrepreneur. But this story’s a little different.  Michael’s Dollar Shave Club is a very simple concept that isn’t really techie.  And it’s a runaway hit.  OK, the tech part is that his wildly popular viral video has propelled Dollar Shave Club, generating lots of […]

Read More

Celebrities have amazing power. Everyone knows them, they are household words, and they have the ability to surprise, amaze, and enchant – often just by showing up. However, too often, much of what we read, see, and hear about celebrities is shocking.  Pop culture rollercoasters along from Lindsay Lohan to Justin Bieber to Tiger Woods.  We form opinions […]

Read More

A recent MediaPost “Online Spin” commentary by Joseph Jaffe addressed one of the biggest corner office dismissals of the year (so far) in the retail world.  J.C. Penney’s innovative CEO, Ron Johnson, was shown the door last week.  And with his departure, Jaffe raised a myriad of questions about the implications of this big move. […]

Read More

On a recent MLB broadcast, sports play-by-play legend Vin Scully was reading a liner card about the Dodgers’ Twitter poll where fans were asked to tweet/vote on one of two hashtags. And Scully wondered out loud about what the heck is a hashtag anyway.  You can watch the video below. >EMAIL RECIPIENTS: CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIN SCULLY […]

Read More

I don’t know about you, but I fly so much that when I finally get on board a plane, stow my roller bag, and get settled in, the last thing I want to do is strike up a conversation with the person in the next seat. But maybe I should. In reading an interview with […]

Read More

We’ve talked about it in this blog before.  Yesterday in Boston, something terrible happened at an event that is joyous, fun, and uplifting.  It may be some time before we know precisely what occurred, but our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and the entire Boston area.  They are a tough, durable, resilient […]

Read More

Today marks the celebration of the debut of baseball pioneer and superstar Jackie Robinson.  The way that Major League Baseball now honors Robinson is right up there with the pink wave that has taken over the world of sports, acknowledging breast cancer and the Susan B. Komen organization.  In every game played today, all players in both leagues will wear the […]

Read More

On the heels of a recent post about interest in radio among high school and college students comes a New York Times article written by Tom Agan.  “Why Innovators Get Better With Age” speaks to a different perspective on youthful hires. As Agan points out, the move by companies to populate their cubicles with younger […]

Read More

It is hard to believe that in some circles, there’s a raging debate…about all the wrong things. Are digital futurists falsely predicting the doom of radio? Are automakers conspiring to eliminate AM/FM radio from their “center stacks?” Do we really need to be streaming? Are young people abandoning radio in favor of new media technologies? […]

Read More