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So who had a good third quarter this year?  Not too many business categories or companies, that's for sure.  But there was one shining exception – the Hershey Company, makers of chocolate treats from Hershey Bars to Reese's to Kit Kats. While some might simply attribute their success to Halloween, their CEO, David West tells […]

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So what do you do when you're in the entertainment business in an economically depressed market, and your ratings are down?  Simple – get your big celebrities out there and give away some free gas.  But wait – this isn't radio – it's the Detroit Pistons.  Two days before their home opener, the team had […]

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A recent Nielsen "Consumer Insight" report does a great job of exploring the growth of Electronic Arts' Madden NFL game, from its debut in 1988 up to today.  When the game was first released, former coach John Madden was a lot bigger than Electronic Arts, and he was hired to give some credibility to a […]

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Recently, a post described radio's great opportunity to use station websites to sell logoware, and other related merchandise.  Now, a CNN success story reinforces the potential.  In the day after the election, they sold 5,000 Obama commemorative T-shirts – that's $75,000 in sales.   Using web-based merchandising suppliers, your station could do the same – for […]

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Last weekend's news that "Boss Radio" creator, Bill Drake, passed away struck me as both sad and ironic.  As the radio industry goes through its difficult gyrations to stay alive and vital, the guy who helped redefine the industry, while making it come alive in the '60s, has left us. If you're over 40, you […]

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Please excuse the pun in this post's title, but the news that the Bayliss Roast will be on hiatus for 2009 is yet another sign that it's not business as usual in radio – or anywhere else.  The John Bayliss Broadcast Foundation has held these annual fundraisers in New York City for nearly 25 years, and […]

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OK, picture this fantasy scene…. It's the 2009 Grammys, and the winner of the best Rock song or Rock album takes the stage, grabs his/her Grammy, and says the following, "I would like to thank Rock radio for helping me win this prestigious award." I know… it's a fantasy. But during the recent CMA Awards show, […]

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Schadenfreude.  We all feel it from time to time, some of us more than others.  It's that emotion that causes us to feel good when someone else suffers.  Many people are feeling it about Wall Street brokers and the Detroit 3 CEOs right now.  Whether it's rational or even nice, it's hard not to sometimes […]

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JacoBlog reader Bruce Barber drove me to Seth Godin's blog about what The New York Times coulda shoulda woulda done to save itself from becoming downsized and obsolete.  It's a great read that says a lot about the Times…and about radio, and about other businesses that are trying to make the transition.   I am reminded […]

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If there's been a more exciting event in broadcast radio in the last couple of decades than PPM, I can't recall it.  While the PPM rollout has had its ups and downs, it is the buzz of the radio industry.  Last month, markets like Detroit, Washington, and Dallas were added, and as more come online, […]

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The growth of the iPhone is truly amazing, especially since Apple opened up its wildly popular App Store to outside developers.  The range of cool, useful, and whimsical applications makes owning one of these devices a real adventure.  iPhone owners regularly check to discover new apps that are free or require a small fee. In […]

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It's probably not a surprise that those Saturday Presidential radio addresses were started by none other than Hall of Fame broadcaster President Ronald Reagan.  Of course, radio speeches were first popularized by FDR when he took office in the 1930's before the days of television. But President-elect Obama realizes that in order to better communicate […]

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The announcement that Nielsen is back in the radio ratings game now that Cumulus and Clear Channel have signed on for 50 small and medium small markets has achieved "breaking news" status today.  But what does it tell us about the state of our industry, and its inability to get on the same page? PPM […]

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There's been a lot of talk about Joe Scarborough's F-word miscue last week on his MSNBC, "Morning Joe."  Oddly enough, I was watching in real time (while reading email, of course), and just about fell off my chair.  Yet, the lack of reaction afterwards from just about every corner, is even more shocking. First, Scarborough […]

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The sands are shifting very quickly in the world, in our country, and in our business.  It is noteworthy that some companies are "getting it," and responding to the changing emotion of the American consumer, while others are missing it entirely.   In the midst of their new Yankee Stadium project, many luxury suites are going […]

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Wanna hear the new Springsteen song, "Workin' on a Dream?" Don't turn on MTV.  Or iTunes or Sirius or even the new Guitar Hero. And don't listen to it on your favorite Classic Rock station because it won't be there either. You'll hear it at halftime on Sunday night's NFL game between the Cowboys and […]

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Today's guest blog is from our own Paul Jacobs, who stresses to radio that their sales models must change for them to be successful in the future. I was at a family function a few months ago talking to a relative who owns a small fence-building business.  He knew I'm in media, and had a […]

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More and more, it is becoming painfully obvious to programmers, managers, researchers, and yes, consultants, that the simple business model that has guided radio since Marconi is broken.  It used to be that your ratings simply translated into sales.  The higher your rank, the higher your rate. For many stations, the basic transactional basis of […]

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While you're trying to determine what the hot got-to-have toy/gadget will be this holiday season, I'm thinking that the '09 award will go hands-down to the Beatles' new game, which MTV and Harmonix (who makes Rock Band) announced last week.  It's not just that the Beatles have finally committed to a video game (and you […]

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