jacoBLOG

Today’s Arbitron PPM webinar produced another helpful update about how the new service is tracking, along with a strong contribution from CBS Radio CEO Dan Mason, talking about PPM, accreditation, and posting. The slide that jumped out at me covers new markets coming online – and soon.  If you’re programming, managing, or jocking in one […]

Read More

If you haven’t checked out Hulu.com, take some time over a weekend or a slow evening.  But you’d better prepare to spend a couple of hours watching some interesting television – or perhaps, better referred to as video.  A product of NBC Universal and News Corporation, Hulu is the next wave of video streaming, and […]

Read More

When the Cell Phone Only controversy took shape a few years ago when our first Tech Poll was released in ’05, Arbitron’s Ed Cohen told me that the nation’s landline statistics were tracked by the National Center for Health Statistics.  I’ve never figured out why they’re the ones that research this data, but nonetheless, their […]

Read More

In a recent post to "Online Spin," Seana Mulcahy wrote a great piece about the quest for brands to build communities, and the struggles that many face.  We’re going through a similar dialogue in radio.  The good news, of course, is that many radio listeners have profiles on MySpace and Facebook.  The challenge for stations, […]

Read More

You tune in sports talk radio, and you’re bound to hear that cliché debate about whether professional athletes are overpaid.  When a team is winning – like the Celtics – it’s rarely much of an argument.  But when we’re talking about the cellar-dwelling Miami Heat, it’s a different conversation.  Consider the 2007-08 salaries of these […]

Read More

XM’s first quarter numbers are out, and what do you know?  Its losses widened to nearly 6 percent, even though revenue is up.  For the quarter, XM hemorrhaged $129 million, and their customer acquisition costs rose to $73 a subscriber (up from $65 last year). And this is a business that deserves to be rescued […]

Read More

The new Arbitron/Edison study tells us that the more things change, the more they stay the same.  It reports that online listening at-work continues to grow. Correspondingly, listening on-the-job on a standard terrestrial radio has slipped. Of course, Jacobs Media has been proponents of streaming from the beginning – in spite of the corporate excuses […]

Read More

You think it’s tough out there in radio?  Imagine the vibe at the recent leadership conference held by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (or the Four A’s).  From a fun convention that used to include golf and tennis tournaments to the no-nonsense "reality bites" theme that this year’s get-together featured, the tone was serious […]

Read More

If you’re looking for great examples of social networking and consumer-generated content, look no further than Boston’s upcoming album and tour.  When lead singer Brad Delp died last year, the band was hard-pressed to find a replacement with his vocal range and intimate knowledge of Boston songs. Enter Charlotte, North Carolina‘s Tommy DeCarlo.  You haven’t […]

Read More

Since the release of our W.T.D.A. initiative last month, we’ve had some great comment responses to the concept from clients, pundits, and even a broadcaster in India.  Recently, we heard from Bob Bellin, a guy who has managed radio stations and also been involved in digital ventures. Here’s Bob’s "take" on W.T.D.A. and how radio […]

Read More

  This week, I was honored that R&R named our creation of the Classic Rock format one of the 35 pivotal radio events in their long history.  It is moments like this where I feel a great sense of thanks to my old partner, Tom Bender, and the many programmers, managers, and owners that supported […]

Read More

In radio meetings, we’re often talking about how we’re going to have to reinvent events, features, and personality shows that have been around for years or even decades.  The last thing you can do is rest on those laurels in a rapidly changing environment. But what about having to reinvent a hot product that’s only […]

Read More

Long before I read the famous Ries & Trout Positioning book, another little book from the ’70s helped guide how I’ve approached messaging and marketing throughout my career.  Written by an ad guy named Tony Schwartz, The Responsive Chord is one of those neat guides that helps clarify the power of how a message or […]

Read More

How do you market a great brand in 2008?  You could use statistics or positioning statements.  But if you want to create true resonance, you tell a story. Ask marketers like Seth Godin or Tom Asacker.  They’ll tell you that a great story will trump data every time.  The Buffalo Bills are doing that right […]

Read More

Thanks to our Eric Holmes for bringing this to our attention.  It’s all about Oprah and her keen understanding of how to keep moving her audience from show to show.  A visit to her website on April 30th showed the following: Oprah and her team understand the importance of thinking big, drawing attention to what […]

Read More

W.T.D.A.?  They get it, do you?  Well, maybe not everyone… What’s The Digital Application? – find out more at ik9.5f7.myftpupload.com

Read More

In the late ’70s, I attended a luncheon of more than 1,000 advertising and marketing execs here in Detroit.  The keynote speaker was Ted Turner, who had a new concept called the Superstation.  It was one of those standing-room-only crowds of broadcasters and advertisers, ready to hear from one of media’s most dynamic entrepreneurs. What […]

Read More

As "old media" advertising dollars continue to head south, we keep reading about new money chasing texting, social networking, podcasts, and the like.  Radio reps are running out of people to take to lunch. But amidst these declines, sponsorships for concerts and tours have grown 75% since ’03, according to IEG, a company that keeps […]

Read More

Mark Ramsey and I aren’t always on the same page, but we noticed the same piece in Inside Radio’s "INsight" column, written by Bonneville’s New Media Director, James Webb. Urging stations to stop thinking about cumers as listeners, but as users was the highlight of Webb’s piece.  And as importantly, he asked, "Why is radio […]

Read More