The Jacobs Media Blog

If you’re a Mad Men watcher, one of the new story lines a couple episodes back was the possibility of a new account for the fledgling ad agency, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.  Jaguar was part of the story line as the agency principles wined and dined (and then some) that car company’s account manager. It turns […]

These days, many stations and broadcast companies are grappling with the role of the DJ. Gone are the days when “four and out the door” was acceptable.  In 2012, personalities and hosts need to bring more to the table – social media skills, blogs, video, agency calls, and a host of other duties and touch […]

Last week, our post about the sons of the Beatles possibly reuniting generated a lot of comments about how the Classic Rock radio format is being forced to go after younger demos to satisfy media buyer demands for 25-54 adults. Now along comes a nice piece from Forbes called “Five Misconceptions About Marketing To Boomers.”  It’s […]

With thousands of broadcasters running through casinos at the NAB, let me remind you that there is no formula for winning in roulette. But smart bettors realize that the more numbers you can cover, the better your chances of winning. It’s a form of gambling ubiquity.  You may not be able to control the spin […]

There’s that old saying, “The fish rots from the head down.” In the case of Best Buy, that may be an unfair assessment of the Brian Dunn era.  But his resignation as CEO calls into question whether that mega-company has been beset by leadership problems that have trickled down from the corner office.  On the heels […]

Perhaps you saw the AdAge headline – “Young Consumers Switch Media 27 Times An Hour.” Not a day.  An hour. And if you’re over 40, you probably read the story and concluded that there must have been a typo.  How is it even possible to make an average of 27 media audibles an hour? That’s because if […]

You NBA fans will remember the exciting years we witnessed here in Detroit in the mid-2000s when the Pistons emerged as the league’s hardest working team.  They won a championship in 2004, besting the Kobe/Shaq-led Lakers in the NBA Finals, and continued to play great basketball until age, change, and bad draft picks conspired to […]

As regular readers of this blog know, the car/radio relationship has been an ongoing theme of many posts.  We all know how important the automotive industry has been to radio – from national and local advertising to the fact that many people do the lion’s share of their listening behind the wheel. Last week, we ran a […]

The news that Facebook is acquiring Instagram for an estimated one billion dollars sends out all sorts of messages.  Instagram has amassed 30 million users in under two years.  It’s CEO, Kevin Systrom, is another young entrepreneur (like Mark Zuckerberg) who found a killer app. Here are a few angles and thoughts: Photos rule – […]

In today’s post, Paul Jacobs takes a hard look at a recent Radio Ink interview with the owner of a New Jersey car dealership – his views about advertising on radio and why he’s shifted his dollars to Pandora. In 1990, United Airlines ran a memorable TV commercial that featured a CEO convening a meeting […]

Don’t blame me for the title of this morning’s post – it actually was written by msnbc.com’s Courtney Garcia.  The story is about how James McCartney has apparently contacted Sean Lennon, Dhani Harrison, and Zak Starkey in an attempt to form the next generation of Beatles. (Thanks for the heads-up, Mr. Prep.) (In the picture below from […]

That’s right – everyone has one. And one of the true downsides of all this content and all these platforms is that it opens the door to anyone and everyone to sound off. Yes, including me.  I try to use this space wisely as our blog blew past the 7 year milestone in February and […]

One of the downsides of being on the road 40+ weeks a year is that all those hotel, airline, and rental car company encounters simply become a blur.  Unless there’s a really great or a heinous experience, they all run together. But you have to give many of these brands credit – there is no […]

Regular JacoBLOG reader Mike Seltzer recently shared an article devoted to the “Groupon effect.”  The article from Fast Company asked the key question: Do Groupon And Living Social Do More Harm Than Good? The article acknowledges rampant growth in the deal space, but also points to substantial losses for both Groupon and Living Social, as well […]

Mad Men is a show that I have historically gone back and forth on.  I watched religiously during the first season, but have come and gone in successive years.  For Season 5, I’m back with a vengeance, very much enjoying how Don Draper and company are navigating the turbulent ‘60s. Without giving anything away, the […]

In past posts, we have talked about the car as the next battleground for radio content.  As we will soon learn in our Techsurvey 8, more and more Americans are buying vehicles with systems like Ford’s SYNC, enabling a wider range of dashboard entertainment and information. Meanwhile in the cubicles, life goes on as always […]