The Jacobs Media Blog

Clearly the highlight (or the low point) of last week’s Republican convention in Tampa was the appearance of Clint Eastwood prior to Governor Romney taking the stage for his big acceptance speech. Days after Eastwood’s improv routine with the chair, the Internet is still ablaze with opinions – in both directions – about the effectiveness of […]

It’s not easy being Jay Leno these days. First, you know about the story where he took that salary reduction, along with the loss of many staffers. Next, other big name talk show hosts are taking shots at him.  Howard Stern has had a field day ridiculing Leno and his pay cut.  Calling him a […]

All of us at Jacobs Media wish you a welcome respite from your labors this weekend, good times with family and friends, and the opportunity to recharge your batteries to get ready for the rest of the year. Pictured above is a segment of the famous Diego Rivera mural, The Detroit Industry, on display in […]

Everyone is getting into the music game.  And I mean everyone. Recently, Hertz (yes, Hertz) announced a new “Movin’ With Music” initiative that will hope to differentiate their rental car service from all the others circling around the airport. Hertz already has a partnership with LiveNation, so it was a small step to create the […]

Today’s post comes from Lori Lewis and a version of an article she wrote for All Access’ Merge.  It closely connects to a post that appeared here earlier this month, “The Power of One.”  How we view audience and brand growth in 2012 is different from the old school ways in which we were taught.  Here, […]

The news that the film, Quadrophenia, is being released newly restored on Blu-ray and DVD today brought back some vivid memories of why being present is so important.  More on the film in a moment. As PDs and GMs are being spread all over clusters – and half of America – it is becoming more […]

Every year Beloit College (Beloit, WI) puts together a compelling list that is often a reality check for those of us north of 40 years-old. Taking a look at their incoming freshmen (The Class of 2016), their team creates a list of things these young people – born in 1994 – think, believe, and experience […]

At times in this blog, we have lamented the departures from day to day programming of some of the great PDs of the past few decades.  That is especially the case with Richard Sands, former program director of Live 105/San Francisco. When Jacobs Media was developing The Edge (yes, it’s still trademarked) in the late’80s/early ‘90s, […]

As the PPM journey continues to elate, confuse, confound, and cause wonder about the state of radio measurement, we are increasingly seeing the power that just a handful of metered respondents can have on the impact of the ratings. This is an issue that I will gladly let Arbitron deal with among their clients, but […]

Yesterday, we discussed Saga Communications’ decision to end ad insertion in its streams.  And that opens the door to a larger conversation and a bigger question: If we cannot monetize it, why are we still doing it? Of course, there are certain activities that radio stations should engage in that will never generate revenue – […]

Finally, a broadcaster has stepped up and done what radio people have been talking about for a decade. In case you missed it, Saga Communication has dispatched their ad insertion streaming apparatus and is now simulcasting its terrestrial programming on its digital streams. Broadcasters have wrung their hands about this for years – for all […]

First, it was rock and pop stars dying on the weekend. Then it was tornadoes. Now Mitt Romney chooses Saturday morning at 9am ET to announce his new running mate, Paul Ryan. For some reason, big news keeps happening on Saturday and Sunday when many media outlets are staffed with part-timers – or worse, automation […]

Bruce Springsteen blew through Boston this week, another leg of his 2012 Wrecking Ball Tour.  And one of his biggest fans, Greater Media Boston programmer (WROR and WBOS), Ken West, was on hand and taking copious notes.  This morning, Ken brings us six lessons that on-air talent and personality shows could glean from observing The […]

If about half of your company’s sales leads came from one key source, something tells me that you’d do everything you could to keep that financial reservoir happy and healthy.  When your best opportunity for exposure, sales, and word of mouth emanates from a single source, smart executives would most definitely laser focus on keeping that fire hose […]

Remember the first time you saw the PC/Mac commercial featuring these two guys? In a smart series of ads, Apple reinforced many deep-seated beliefs about Microsoft and the differences between the two companies. It was powerful, memorable, and effective. Image matters. So does design. That’s why when I saw this new Charles Schwab spot for the first […]

Last week, we devoted a post to Radio Ink’s “40 Most Powerful” list – its dominance by CEOs and SVPs, and the role of programming, programmers, and talent in the grand scheme of all things radio. The post was highly read and circulated, sparking a number of comments that I believe are pertinent to the […]

Jacobs clients and those who have seen us speak at conferences over the past couple of years have likely heard us say, “Everybody in the audience has an audience.” That’s a quote from social media author (and former Arbitron employee) Greg Verdino.  Speaking at one of our conferences a couple of year ago, Greg reminded […]

In our ongoing dialogue with clients about how to best utilize social networks as a marketing and communications tool for radio and its personalities, we keep running into questions about how many “likes” or “friends” a station have in fill-in-the-blank market size. Lori Lewis, in particular, is adamant about how thinking about the numbers of friends misses […]

Another year and another ranking of Radio Ink’s “40 Most Powerful People In Radio” is on the streets and on coffee tables at stations everywhere. And guess what?  It continues to be comprised of CEOs, EVPs, and other heads of companies.  This is nothing new.  Now I know that inside the corner offices, those fortunate […]

The Wall Street community always amazes and confounds me at the same time.  (Remember I suggested that Facebook would be a good buy.) So when it comes to investing in media, are you smarter to commit your portfolio to up-and-coming new media outlets like Pandora OR stick with traditional media companies?  Or Treasury Bills?  Or Apple? […]