The “big news” story on Friday was all about BlackBerry, and how parent company RIM missed their earnings projection. This sent their stock tumbling 28% in what CNN Money referred to as “a surprise loss.”
Surprise loss? To whom?
It was certainly no surprise, especially to stations that participated in this year’s Techsurvey9 – or even the last five. Part of the broadcaster challenge is to understand the smartphone platforms audiences favor. While the wizards at jacAPPS, our mobile app company, always recommend you have great applications on both iOS and Android, the fact is that consumers sometimes favor one platform or the other. In the short term, developing an app for their preferred operation system can be cost-effective.
In the main, our data across 260+ stations and more than 71,000 respondents shows amazing growth in the smartphone space. First and foremost, more than six in ten of our participants own a smartphone – up an impressive 19% from one year ago.
So it’s a great space, and in Techsurvey9, we see a clear out-and-out drag race between Apple and Android. Both are working hard and showing gains in this incredibly amazing mobile space. And then there’s BlackBerry. At a time when everything is going up, BlackBerry is headed down – and has been moving in that direction since the iPhone hit the market. And this has been occurring among men, women, and all age groups.
Whether it’s your station or your financial portfolio, it’s important to be able to see around corners. In the case of RIM, their inability to understand the importance of apps and those of us who develop them was a fatal flaw. Remember that it wasn’t that long ago – back in 2010 – that the smartphone horse race looked like this:
As The New York Times pointed out, Apple sells as many iPhones in one week as BlackBerry 10s were shipped in a quarter. We’ve seen this before in the fast moving digital space. One time leaders become also-rans in a hurry, from MySpace to Yahoo to…BlackBerry.
The answers are right there in your database. It’s available to anyone and everyone in radio. I would like to take a moment to thank all our stakeholder stations for participating in Techsurvey9 as well as its companion survey for public radio – PRTS5. And at the same time, encourage everyone in radio to learn more about your audience and the digital space early in 2014 when we launch our tenth annual national survey for commercial radio, and later in the year, our sixth public radio survey in cooperation with PRPD.
This is the time when radio needs to be a level playing field, armed with the same stats and knowledge base as our digital competitors.
The truth is out there.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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