jacoBLOG

Personalities are the lifeblood of the radio industry – the proprietary “secret sacue’ that separates the great brands from the wannabes. In today’s JacoBLOG, talent guru Steve Reynolds is in the driver’s seat with the 10 things he looks for when determining whether potential personalities have what he calls the “IT Factor.” You’ll want to look for these traits in future interviews with talent, as well as evaluating your own airstaff.

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As audio proliferates, bolstered by new gadgets like smart speakers and smartphones, the question of measurement is on the minds of many radio broadcast executives. And for good reason. There’s a spike in headphone usge and its impact on radio measurement is staggering. Today’s blog post offers up new data and old questions about headphones and ratings.

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Billions of dollars have been spent attempting to determine the most effective ways for brands to market to Millennials. Transparency and authenticity are common values, but it turns out that something even simpler and more direct motivated loyalty and word of mouth. And it’s something every radio station knows a lot about.

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It seems like not a day goes by when a new technology breakthrough rocks our world. In radio circles, rolling with the changes goes to the heart of the challenge facing every broadcasting company. Today’s post looks at the breakneck speed of tech, and how strategists can stay focused and calm – in the middle of the tsunami of change.

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The results are in, and for the fifth consecutive year, Classic Hits and Classic Rock earn “Format of the Summer” honors in the Nielsen PPM ratings. Meanwhile, CHR audience numbers declined, perhaps a contradiction during a period when kids are out of school and the record labels work hard to produce big summertime hits. Of course, we have a theory – and some data to back it up – for why gold-based radio stations continue to win the summer ratings wars. See if you agree.

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It’s hard not to be fearful of the world around us – especially when it comes to our changing, disrupted professional lives. It’s FOFB – or the fear of falling behind. Not to worry – we’ve got a dozen ways to overcome and conquer that fear. And most are fun, painless, and inexpensive. Dive in.

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As a smart obsesrver of media and technology recently quipped, “The revolution will be vocalized.” Today’s post takes a straight-on look at the voice revolution, what it means to broadcast radio, and how some of the habits acquired during the early PPM days won’t work so well in the era of voice. Alexa, open today’s JacoBLOG.

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E-commerce companies are increasingly moving into the retail space – building physical stores to extend their brands. For radio companies, this raises some key question about digital transformation, and how to pull it off. Today’s post takes some important lessons from Amazon, Wayfair, and other e-tailers to make the point that it’s always been about building great brands.

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A recent story in the Columbia Journalism Review declares America’s local news are in a “death spiral.” While public radio has benefitted from the decline of newspapers and local TV news programming, commercial radio’s music station’s have a chance to provide something that most media outlets have abandoned – their sense of place.

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In our age of specialization, just about every taste is served by a radio format or streaming pure-play. But there is a group with an audience of over 86 million that has gone without its own audio entertainment – until now.

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Heads up, Alexa – Amazon’s huge lead in the smart speaker race may be dwindling, thanks to an all-out effort by Google Home. How is Google doing it? And what are the implications for radio stations and the companies that own them? That’s the topic of today’s JacoBLOG post.

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What do these names have in common? Maggie Haberman, Peter Baker, Glenn Thrush, Michael Schmidt, Megan Twohey, Frank Bruni. They’re all star reporters on the staff of the New York Times who are also frequently seen on cable news channels CNN and MSNBC.  They’re like the morning shows of journalism.  To many viewers, they have achieved celebrity […]

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At many of the conferences I’ve atttended in 2018, podcasting and smart speakers often emerge as the hottest topics in radio circles. But are they additive or erosive to broadcasters, and how are smart companies developing strategies for these new platforms. In today’s post, we’ve got some brand new research to share, as well as some observations.

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Research has shown that when radio personalities acknowledge fans, good things can happen. But our newest Techsurvey indicates an even more pronounced trend pointing to the fact that social media acknowledgment has become even more important for radio stations and their on-air staffs – even in the ratings.

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Evergreen radio station events may be successful – for both advertisers and listeners. But even the biggest and best promotions will get stale or become the “same old same old” if they aren’t evaluated and updated. Today’s post looks at 6 steps a station’s team can take to ensure big events stay fresh, vital, – and profitable. And help prevent that dreaded “déjà vu all over again moment.”

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