The Jacobs Media Blog

Welcome to the Best of JacoBLOG where we’ve gone back into our 2012 archives to dig out the most-read posts of the year.  We try to provide a balance of content from the serious to the thoughtful to the whimsical.  And this post is definitely the latter.  But for some reason, it resonated with a […]

Welcome to the Best of JacoBLOG for 2012.  We went back to the more than 200 posts we wrote this year and dug out the ones that were the most read – and shared.  This one ran way back in March, and became the centerpiece of much of the work we’ve done on the social […]

The “December Surprise” – Nielsen purchasing Arbitron – is undoubtedly a game-changer for the media business.  And many in radio are hopeful that the sale means good things for the industry. While the devil is always in the details, this move would seem to be a big crossroads moment for radio, media, and measurement – […]

Yesterday, we took a look at how Costco has separated itself from Sam’s Club.  Today, let’s head out to the deli – in this case, Zingerman’s right here in Michigan. There’s more to Zingerman’s than great corned beef on rye.  You may have heard about this deli (and so much more).  Located in Ann Arbor, […]

It’s no secret – I’m not a great shopper.  At most stores, I’m looking for a chair so I can check sports scores or email.  Or better yet, a reason not to go in altogether. But then there’s Costco.  I always look forward to a visit.  The employees are attentive, friendly, helpful, and present.  The […]

Another day and another very cool Silicon Alley Insider chart.  The one below shows the insane growth of the iPad, especially compared to Apple’s previous devices – the iPod and iPhone – both game changers in their own ways.  As you look at each gadget’s trajectory after the 10 quarters following their respective releases, iPad’s meteoric […]

Whenever I hear the catch phrase, “Radio was the original social media,” I shake my head.  I don’t really understand what that means because radio wasn’t really ever social, save for the people who always called the control room asking for a song.  And the social part assumed that someone took the time to answer […]

You just can’t make this stuff up. MyPlan.com has quantified it. Nearly 14,000 respondents weighed in about job satisfaction with their current occupations.  Of 300 different occupations, “program director” (radio or TV) comes in at… …299! I hate to leave you with this news going into a weekend, but c’mon! Only mail clerks and mail […]

What do you do when you really need to ring those cash registers? Who do you call at crunch time? When it really counts, who do you want on stage to entertain and enchant? The Mt. Rushmore of Classic Rock. As has been the case at most of the bigger benefits over the past several […]

The title of today’s post says it all. Its source?  The famous singer/song writer Lyle Lovett in a recent New York Times article about the changing state of WMVY, a Martha’s Vineyard progressive station trying to reinvent itself on the web. That admission is an honest assessment of the changing, roiling waters that are the […]

Every business has its own lexicon.  Radio is no different. In the past decade or so, new and different words and expressions have been heard with great frequency. Meter, cluster, streaming, voicetracking, cell phone only, value added, NTR, and spoken word are all part of our new vocabulary. At the same time, other terms and […]

Some recently released stats about the meteoric rise of DVRs say a lot about where television viewing is headed. It turns out that more and more, consumers are watching TV shows when and where they want – not necessarily when they’re broadcast live.  You know this if you own a TiVo or more likely have […]

This past election should be a reminder to all of us that while some people consider basic assumptions as “givens,” others vehemently disagree. That’s been the case about climate change.  While 2012 has now been designated as the warmest year in the history of the U.S., marked by a number of extreme weather events, climate change deniers […]

Thanks to Arbitron, I was honored to do a joint presentation at their Client Conference yesterday devoted to “the digital dash.”  Valerie Shuman was a “great get” for this session (credit due to Dr. Ed Cohen who envisioned this session).  She’s the VP of Industry Programs for the Connected Vehicle Trade Association and had some great insights […]

Just when you thought that between the Hard Rock Cafe, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Scott Segelbaum’s “Rock Art Shows” that the genre has been brand extended for every conceivable exhibit, something new – and exciting – comes along. You may know Alan Cross, a self-described “professional music geek” from Canada, who always […]

As the attention spans of consumers continue to shrink, it’s not hard to see how that phenomenon has impacted brands and branding. We speak in shorthand, we multi-task.  And we’re always on the move.  And smart brands move with us. We abbreviate everything.  The text message turned 20 years old a few days back.  But at the beginning, […]

A recent Social Media Today blog post by J.C. Kendall, CEO of TekPersona, gave me a serious case of déjà vu.  He calls it, “Facebook: Waste of Time for Most Advertisers.” Kendall points out that there’s increasing evidence that Facebook as a money-making tool is looking like a bust.  He quotes IBM reports that underscore […]

When jacAPPS celebrated its fourth anniversary last month, it brought back memories of conversations I was having around that time with clients, friends, and family members when they’d see me whip out my iPhone (and before that, my Treo) at a restaurant or meeting. Some would ask me, “Why would you even want email on […]

OK, it’s true.  I did not attend Radio Ink’s “Forecast 2013” event earlier this week, but I followed the conference on Twitter and through trade press articles. This running theme about how radio is misunderstood by advertisers continues to amaze, perplex, puzzle, and yes, even anger me.  As a programmer and programming consultant, I have […]