jacoBLOG

In the midst of a conference call about Sirius’ prospects, CEO Mel Karmazin got off one of his signature great lines: "Great content costs money." A no-brainer, perhaps, but given the economic pressures that all of radio is now facing, it’s a quote that should go above desks and cubicles throughout our industry, whether in […]

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Lately, I have been spending more time in sales meetings.  That’s a pretty amazing admission for a programming consultant, but it is emblematic of what’s happening in radio in 2008.  In some ways, it’s a sign that broadcasters are realizing that strategy meetings that don’t include programming, sales, and web managers aren’t accomplishing a whole […]

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Today we have a guest post from Paul Jacobs who offers his insight on how radio needs to invest in solutions to reach younger consumers: A recent article in The Detroit News about how the automotive industry is rapidly moving away from traditional media toward digital solutions to reach younger consumers, who they place a […]

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As we learn more about streaming video, an interesting demographic schism is forming.  18-34 year-old women have a stronger tendency to watch video on network TV sites.  Clearly, this is strongly connected to their attachment to popular network offerings, such as Grey’s Anatomy.  Younger men, on the other hand, are more likely to stream video […]

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This month marks the third anniversary of the JacoBLOG.  We’ve written more than 800 postings to date, and as I’ve come to learn, there’s no shortage of issues and topics to blog about. During this time, there have been a lot of changes the radio industry has faced – many predictable, but a few curve […]

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At the recent RAB convention, the group heads panel produced some telling quotes about the state of radio sales in 2008 (as told by Tom Taylor of Radio-Info) Lew Dickey: "I’m frankly surprised radio’s done as well as it has (because of staff and budget cutbacks)." Peter Smyth, noting the paucity of sales training:  "I’d […]

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Contrary to what you may read, there’s a lot of music being sold these days.  But much of it is not being sold in traditional ways.  As record labels lose their grip on the musicians and bands that used to be their bread and butter, music is being consumed in very non-traditional ways. Of course, […]

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We think not. (As seen in New York City.  Photo credit:  Greg Strassell.  Thanks to Bob Harper for noticing.)

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The momentum for Guitar Hero and now Rock Band continues to point to the exploding popularity of video games that take the player beyond the typical controller.  With one part air guitar, one part "School of Rock," and another part Reality TV, these games give fans a chance to play along.  So far, Activision reports […]

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As Clear Channel moves from the public arena to private ownership, how should we evaluate "Less Is More" as a strategic initiative to change the radio advertising model?  In a recent Wall Street Journal article, CEO John Hogan indicated that three years after the debut of "Less Is More," that program is "yesterday’s news." Claiming […]

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Perhaps I’ll get the collective "Duh" when this blog is posted, but the aftermath of all the expensive Super Bowl TV spots is the difference in web traffic that advertisers garnered.  The big Internet winners were Hyundai, Paramount, and GoDaddy.com. And how did they do it?  It was driven primarily by adding a URL to […]

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Jacobs Media’s Bill Jacobs shares a client promotion that has garnered national attention: Stations are constantly on the lookout for ways to garner attention and make some noise in their markets.  If you take enough shots, every once in a while something breaks through in such a big way that it takes on a life […]

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Paul Jacobs chimes in on the importance of leadership with vision: Several years ago, in a last-ditch attempt to save the company, the board of Apple Computers turned to the one person who truly understood the company’s core values – Steve Jobs.  The rest is history.  By restoring the "mojo" of the company and focusing […]

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Kudos to RAB CEO Jeff Haley for underscoring the crying need for broadcast radio to once again become the "anywhere" medium.  As Haley notes, "The goal is to have an FM radio in every PDA and cellphone."  This picks up where David Rehr’s "2020" speech at last year’s NAB left off. The focus groups we […]

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So I open my SmartBrief email from the NAB, and come across this headline: "Clear Channel Describes ‘Genuine Threat’ of Satellite Concentration" No, it’s not "The Onion," but it sure reads like one of their headlines.  And the story goes on to say that Clear Channel reps told three FCC Commissioners and their staff members […]

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Today, it’s a guest blog from our client, Virgil Thompson, VP/GM of the legendary KISS in San Antonio.  It’s a memo that Virgil wrote to his sales staff last week, and we thought you’d find it interesting.  We couldn’t have said it better. Last Week Emmis flipped their jazz station to “WRXP The New York […]

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Jim Cramer, the renegade stock picker from CNBC and TheStreet.com, features a video on his site that totally trashes broadcast radio, and its industry leaders.  It’s a tough video to sit through, but important to realize that his well-respected opinion (in some circles) is now "out there."  Clearly, the Wall Street "futures" on radio are […]

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