The Jacobs Media Blog

Last week, WRIF programmer Mark Pennington sent me a link to a promotional “trailer” for AC/DC’s Beyond The Thunder documentary. The film itself is a whole other story because it is an amazing work in progress by a couple of AC/DC fans who are on a mission to show how the band’s power and influence […]

These days, we’re all engaging in content marketing.  That’s the essence of this blog.  You’ll notice no advertising along the columns or at the top of today’s post.  That’s because our blog’s goal has never had anything to do with increasing revenue – directly. JacoBLOG – and a lot of the social and digital activity that companies generate […]

I have been amused by some of the analyses I’m reading in the trades lately about how radio’s TSL is slipping and the culprit is….(drum roll)…mobile phones!  The most recent was Inside Radio’s big headline “Mobile cuts into radio’s TSL.” Maybe we should ask the NAB to see what they can do to convince the consumer […]

Today’s post is NSFW (or at least for some workplaces).  The title is an indicator of the main thrust of today’s message, so act accordingly.  But without the S-word, the post gets lost in translation.  OK, so much for the caveats…now enjoy.  So there Paul and I were – doing our best to finish the […]

Yesterday, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook and company got on stage in San Jose to talk about the company’s progress and to showcase their new products, specifically the iPad Mini. These are highly anticipated events because Apple has become famous since the Steve Jobs era for dazzling the tech community – and all of America – with the […]

You hear a lot about storytelling these days, but what does it mean and how can you incorporate this ancient art into how your station brands? All this matters because even Arbitron has come full circle on the power of branding in PPM.  If you remember at its beginnings, the conventional wisdom was that branding […]

We’re all working harder these days to keep up with the extra work and pressure.  Sometimes when night falls and you close your eyes, it’s tough to fall asleep. I don’t know about you, but over the last few nights, my head has hit the pillow and I’ve been thinking about heptagrams. In case you […]

Oh, the joys of living in Detroit.  We are consistently a topic at the Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates, we have an ascending baseball team, and we are still the center of the universe when it comes to all things automotive. On the heels of Tim Davis’ great post yesterday about the importance of the User […]

Jacobs Media’s Tim Davis is truly a believer in “the experience.”  And in today’s post, he digs deep to explain that the value of a great user interface falls short if the content isn’t there.  As broadcasters work hard to craft digital platforms that complement their “mother ships,” this post is must reading.  Hope you […]

In an effort to launch Techsurvey9 before the first station goes “All Christmas,” Jacobs Media is announcing that we are officially in sign-up mode for our January 2013 survey. Our new study comes on the heels of its predecessor – Techsurvey8 – the biggest study ever conducted in radio. 170 stations 57,300+ responses More than […]

Yesterday, we looked at a Media Behavior Institute study that strongly suggested that the habits of advertising professionals don’t match those of the general population – especially when it comes to radio listening. In fact, while only 42% of these Madison Avenue mavens listened to radio during the day-long test period, 80% of consumers spent time […]

We’re getting closer to the World Series, and we’re already seeing some hotly contested, competitive games of baseball. And there’s nothing worse than teams that are always going at it with the umps – arguing balls and strikes or feeling that the deck is stacked against them. Similarly, the teams that blame other variables – the […]

While radio often assumes that its mega companies will be the most innovative, Saga Communications has had an interesting several weeks when it comes to stepping out and trying new things. First, it was the announcement that its stations’ streams would no longer have ad insertions, instead opting to simply simulcast their broadcast signals on their […]

Earlier this week, Lori Lewis’ “Merge” column in All Access took on the issue of who’s running your social media efforts.  Maybe because Facebook and Twitter are “free,” broadcasters often feel they are easy to master – or perhaps just aren’t that important in the overall scheme of things. But as we learned in Techsurvey8, […]

It’s amazing the things you are taught by your parents…and then you pass them along to your kids. We were always taught that a personal, handwritten thank-you note was mandatory for gifts and good deeds.  And we imbued that “old school” acknowledgment into our children. As digital media has become the lifeblood of communication, many believe […]

Two of my least favorite words in the new business lexicon are “best practices.”  That’s because the new rules are being written so quickly – and then often modified – that there really isn’t a rulebook anymore. I know that’s a tough thing for a consultant to admit, but the rapid change in the new media and […]

One billion is a lot of zeros and a pretty impressive accomplishment. You might have thought I was talking about McDonald’s with this headline, but burgers are a lot different than digital connections with people (OK, there are lots of dogs and cats in there, too). When observers talk about who “the next Facebook” might […]

Sometimes you just need a break. That’s essentially the way Dave Grohl explained it last weekend as he concluded a Central Park concert.  While he didn’t indicate the Foo Fighters were breaking up, he conceded that he didn’t know when the band would be playing again.  As he explained, “…it’s a good thing for all […]

When it comes to social media, we’re still figuring this out.  And something that Lori Lewis wrote last week for her All Access “Merge” column continues to resonate with me. It’s the age-old question: which metrics truly matter? We’ve had this discussion in radio since Bill Drake.  Is it cume – that is, the total “circulation” of […]

By now, you know the drill.  If you run into a problem with a company or brand, you can go right to their Facebook or Twitter page, and let them know about your complaint or issue. And sometimes you get a positive result – and sometimes you don’t.  Many brands don’t even bother to acknowledge […]