The Jacobs Media Blog

I have a feeling that if President Obama were in radio, he wouldn’t be a big fan of nationally syndicated programming and voicetracking. How do I know this? Well, if you look at what his campaign is up to this summer, you can see that despite having the incumbent’s advantage in holding photo ops from […]

Jacobs Media’s Ralph Cipolla takes a backwards look at tactics that you just might not want to use in your customer engagement strategies.  Or in other words,  “what not to do.” Below is a recent Seth Godin blog that caught my eye. It’s easier to love a brand when the brand loves you back by […]

Now you find out your marketing budget has been slashed as you head into the fall book.  What do you do? Easy – it’s time for some research. On the assumption that you have a database, it may be as basic as putting together a short questionnaire, serving it up to your loyal listeners, and collecting the data. […]

Techsurvey8 dedicated a number of questions to better understanding the Internet environment among the radio listening community.  And to no one’s surprise, Pandora has a huge lead over everyone else in the pure-play world. While well more than 40% of those who stream listen to Pandora, only 5% say they tune in Slacker.  And they’ve […]

Maybe it’s a chicken-egg thing between Instagram and Facebook.  Instagram was already growing quickly when Facebook acquired it.  But now an Android & iPhone app, lots of buzz, and Instagram now sits at 80 million users – and growing. In just the last 13 weeks, Instagram has witnessed a 60% increase in those using its […]

One of the nagging broadcast radio problems that no one wants to talk about is the industry’s ability (or inability) to recruit new, young, fresh talent to the programming and performance ranks.  Larry Rosin – who wrote a great guest post here last week – has long talked about the need for the infusion of […]

A lot has changed in the broadcast mindset in just the past couple years.  I derive a sense of pride when I see so many broadcasters focusing on digital, buying mobile apps, setting up texting platforms, and promoting their streams. When we wrapped up the “Goin’ Mobile” study for Arbitron a couple of years ago, we […]

As the wave of social media has swept over our culture in just the last few short years, it’s fascinating that it has all occurred organically.  You’ve never seen a Facebook television commercial that explained how the site worked or testimonials from satisfied users sitting behind their computers. And you’ve never seen a billboard for […]

Today’s post comes from an “outsider,” but a FOJM for many years, Edison Research chieftain, Larry Rosin.  Here are his observations about the state of radio’s perceptions. “Reports of Radio’s Demise Greatly Exaggerated” So said the headline of a July 16 press release from Alan Burns & Associates. And we have heard this claim before […]

Another week, and another study comes out about how America’s captains of industry don’t “get” social media.  CEO Connection’s Lisa Petrilli reports that her company has revealing new research among heads of companies with revenues of over $100 million. Her findings? Nearly six in ten (59%) don’t use social media for any official communications.  Yes, it’s […]

Over this past weekend, a number of you asked me how it all went at Conclave, especially our third annual Summer School program.  We opened Conclave first thing Wednesday morning to a packed house, attended by people who came to Minneapolis to learn and grow.  When they started bringing in more chairs an hour later, […]

I intentionally capitalized the word “learning” in the title of today’s post.  After returning from Conclave 37 in Minneapolis last week, it reinforced the unique value of this event, as well as the need for greater participation from more people from different sectors of the broadcasting business. Unlike just about every other conference (and we love […]

The passing of Stephen Covey, author of the iconic The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, reminded me of just how influential this book was back when many of us in radio were just getting our careers going. (No, don’t mistake it with Fifty Shades Of Grey.) There have been numerous authors who were influential […]

It’s been a theme in this blog for some time now, amplified by our trip to CES in January, and my appearance on a panel at Convergence this spring. The digital dashboard is coming.  Maybe better put, it’s here now. The CES experience gave us the opportunity to talk to several automotive designers, engineers, and […]

One of the great benefits of our jacAPPS division – now 720 mobile apps strong – has been meeting all kinds of different broadcasters who have gone mobile.  We’re talking all formats, commercial and non-commercial stations, and even Internet-only radio. All these stations are very different, allowing us to design and build apps that reflect […]

The digital and social tools available to every brand – from a local fitness studio to a hometown restaurant group to any radio station – provide marketers with an infinite array of possibilities.  Most of them are actually free, but don’t let the lack of an entry fee lull you into thinking that it is easy to seamlessly […]

That memo to the troops from Bob Pittman last week was a fascinating window into the mind of the guy who is changing radio broadcasting.  (You can read it here, thanks to Radio Ink.) And along with thousands of Clear Channel employees, you were meant to read it, too.  Chances are you did. I believe […]

Today, Jacobs Media consultant, analyst, and raconteur, Ralph Cipolla, talks about how the mobile wave is now sweeping the hotel industry, starting with an innovative inn in Vancouver, BC. “Cell Phone Only” isn’t just an “at-home” phenomenon anymore. Any follower of our JacoBLOG knows the annual Jacobs Media Techsurvey started in 2005 with a major […]

A new Ipsos survey confirms the power of recommendation – and social networks are in the thick of things. It turns out that nearly one-fifth of U.S. consumers say they’ve bought a brand because friends liked it/followed it on a social media site. And while those under 35 are even more likely to buy something […]